Regional Interagency Executive Committee
333 SW 1st P.O. Box 3623
Portland, Oregon 97208-3623
Website: www.reo.gov E-Mail: REOmail@or.blm.gov
Phone: 503-808-2165 FAX: 503-808-2163

Memorandum

Date:

October 4, 2007

To:

Regional Interagency Executive Committee (see attached distribution list)

From:

/s/Ed Shepard, Chair, Regional Interagency Executive Committee

Subject:

REGIONAL INTERAGENCY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES FOR AUGUST 21, 2007

Regional Interagency Executive Committee
August 21, 2007 DRAFT Meeting Agenda

Time

Topics

Purpose

Presenter

8:30 a.m.

WELCOME

House-
keeping

Facilitator

8:40

OPENING REMARKS

Opening

Ed Shepard, Chair

8:50

• Priority Questions and Accomplishments (10)
• Monitoring Program Update (10)

Update

Shawne Mohoric, FS

9:10

• Fire/Owl Model (30)
• Future Fire Subcommittee Activities (20)

Update
Decision

Ray Davis, FS
Kristi Young, FWS

10:00

Break

10:15

• Westwide Energy Corridor (10)
• Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline (5)
• Palomar Gas Transmission Project (5)
• SMG Energy Subcommittee (10)

Update

Joyce Casey, FS
Mike Haske, BLM

10:45

• Salmon & Steelhead Recovery Planning: Status and Implementation (30)
• Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan (15)

Updates

Mike Crouse, NOAA-Fisheries
Dave Wesley, FWS

11:30

Lunch

12:30

• Status
• RIEC Coordination Process

Decision

Dick Prather, BLM

2:00

Break

2:15

• Critical Habitat
  • Marbled Murrelet & Northern Spotted Owl
• Interim Barred Owl Working Group
• Survey & Manage Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
• Coastal Coho Court Decision
• Northwest Natural Resources Forum Update
• SMG Transition Update
• REO Transition Update

Updates

Scott McCarthy, FWS
Kristi Young, FWS
Mike Haske, BLM
Mike Crouse, NOAA
Frank Shipley, USGS
Mike Crouse, NOAA
Anne Badgley, FWS

2:40

• Assignment/Agreement/Recommendation review
• Future meeting dates and topics

House-keeping

Kath Collier, Facilitator

2:45

CLOSING REMARKS & RECOGNITION

Close

Ed Shepard, Chair

3:00

ADJOURN

Topic: ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT & MONITORING SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT: Priority Questions And Accomplishments & Monitoring Program Update

Sponsors: Cynthia West, PNW Deputy Station Director, and Cal Joyner, R6 Deputy Regional Forester

Presenter/REO Contact: Becky Gravenmier, PNW Station Representative

Summary: After the April 2005 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) Conference, the Regional Interagency Executive Committee (RIEC) and Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC) identified adaptive management and monitoring as high priority management topics. The RIEC created a subcommittee, originally led by Tom Quigley and Jim Golden, to begin the process. A small staff group, led by Lisa Freedman (FS, R6) and John Laurence (PNW), was convened to evaluate tasks that might improve adaptive management and refine NWFP monitoring efforts. The three main tasks of the staff group were to develop:

1. A process to facilitate RIEC review/agreement, and prioritization of regional management questions and issues;
2. An adaptive management framework; and
3. Management experiment templates that can be used by the field for implementation of experiments.
   

At this meeting, Becky Gravenmier (PNW) reminded the RIEC of the tasks completed to date by the Adaptive Management subcommittee including:

1. Development of an Adaptive Management Framework;
2. RIEC identified 16 Priority Questions to help focus monitoring and research;
3. RIEC decisions on monitoring budgets and options;
4. Development of the Management Experiment Primer; and
5. Development of a process for Regional Adaptive Management Accomplishment Reporting.
   

Becky also provided an overview of the draft FY2006 NWFP Interagency Regional Monitoring & Science Accomplishment Report which was provided to the RIEC members. The report will be posted shortly on the REO website after final editing is completed.

Becky also provided an update on the development of the two Management Experiment Templates: (1) Post-fire management, including salvage logging in some treatments; and (2) Fuel reduction in support of upland wildlife, specifically northern spotted owl, with both production and protection objectives. These Management Experiment Templates are expected to be completed by December 2007.

Shawne Mohoric (FS, Region 6), Interagency Monitoring Program Lead, provided an update on various aspect of the Monitoring Program:

• Integrating stream reach data with GIS data and satellite imagery
  • Watershed condition will be assessed on every (Federally-owned) 6th-field watershed.
• Developing new watershed condition attributes
  • May help units meet state water quality reporting requirements for sediment and shade.
• Pilot efforts underway to test east-side decision-support models (using PACFISH/INFISH Biological Opinion data)

• Developed new monitoring protocol with Tribal Monitoring Task Group that was approved by Senior Manager’s Group
• Implementation begins in 2007

• Meta-analysis planned for FY 2009
• Testing random plot population surveys as alternative to demography studies
• Evaluating options in 2008 for cost/effectiveness

• Develop new protocol using existing data sources
• Implementation begins in 2007

• Continue monitoring populations and habitat through 2007 for power analysis dataset
  • Evaluate options in 2008 for cost/effectiveness

• Formed partnership with Interagency Mapping and Assessment Project (IMAP) to produce existing vegetation maps and landscape assessment models.
• Pilot efforts underway to quantify differences between IMAP and previously used existing vegetation map.
• Region 5 (California) will use IMAP methods for existing vegetation in NWFP California areas.
• Updating fire and harvest changes from 2002-2007 using remote sensing change detection.

Discussion: The RIEC members were complementary on the content of the 2006 Interagency Regional Monitoring & Science Accomplishment Report and suggested it be sent to FS and BLM field units and posted on the REO website.

Next Steps: The Adaptive Management task group will share remaining management experiment related products with RIEC upon completion. Suggestions for revisions to monitoring protocols will be coordinated through the Senior Managers Group.

Topic: FIRE-PRONE SYSTEMS SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATE

Sponsor: Ren Lohoefener, FWS

Presenters: Ray Davis, Umpqua National Forest and Kristi Young, FWS

REO Contact: Kristi Young, FWS Representative

Issue Statement: Progress made by the Fire-Prone Systems Subcommittee was discussed.

Summary: An overview was presented on a model to map at-risk northern spotted owl (NSO) habitat in the dry-forest provinces to improve NSO habitat management planning and consultation. Progress made by the Fire-Prone Systems Subcommittee was also discussed. The Fire-Prone Systems Subcommittee has made progress on the risk model, but no progress has been made on the other two tasks (budget and riparian reserves). The Senior Managers Group (SMG) recommended that the subcommittee drop the other two tasks and focus solely on the habitat risk model.

Decision: The Fire-Prone Systems Subcommittee will focus on the habitat risk model. (The budget and riparian reserve tasks were dropped given higher priority work.)

Topic: NORTHWEST ENERGY PROJECTS

Sponsor: Linda Goodman, FS Regional Forester, R6

Presenters: Joyce Casey, FS and Mike Haske, BLM

REO Contact: Joyce Casey, FS Representative

Issue Statement: RIEC reviews of proposed plan amendments related to the Westwide Energy Corridor and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline are anticipated. The SMG recently endorsed the creation of an interagency energy policy subcommittee and a technical project support group to coordinate these and similar proposals.

Summary: Updates were presented regarding several ongoing and anticipated energy rights-of-way proposals. The role of a newly formed interagency Energy Subcommittee and a Technical Project Support Group were also discussed. The two teams were formed to support collaborative State and Federal information sharing and coordination efforts where possible. The RIEC expressed strong support for both groups.

Topic: SALMON AND STEELHEAD RECOVERY PLANNING: STATUS AND IMPLEMENTATION

Sponsor/Presenter: Mike Crouse, NOAA-Fisheries Northwest Region

REO Contact: Kim Kratz, NOAA-Fisheries Representative

Issue Statement: The NMFS’s Northwest Region has made substantial progress in developing recovery plans, and is now focusing on collaborative mechanisms necessary to implement them and evaluate effectiveness.

Summary: Mike Crouse discussed the recovery planning process, emphasizing that the NOAA strategy is to build plans from the ground up to encourage regional buy-in. He indicated that recovery plans are a source of information for agencies and individuals who are trying to focus their resources on efforts that will be of most help to salmon, and he invited all agencies to assist in recovery planning and recovery plan implementation.

Topic: BLM WESTERN OREGON PLAN REVISIONS

Sponsor: Ed Shepard, BLM State Director, Oregon and Washington

Presenter: Dick Prather, BLM Project Manager

REO Contact: Debbie Pietrzak, BLM Representative

Issue Statement: The BLM presented information regarding the Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as part of their ongoing coordination with the RIEC regarding plan revisions in western Oregon.

Summary: Dick Prather described the status of the plan revision effort, noting that a Record of Decision is scheduled for completion in July or August of 2008. His presentation focused on key provisions of the alternatives in the Draft RMP/EIS. The RIEC discussed options to facilitate ongoing coordination on the plan revisions in light of their new annual meeting schedule. Executives were encouraged to contact Dick Prather, BLM Project Manager, at 503-808-6627 at any time regarding the plan revisions.

Decisions:

• The RIEC as a whole (rather than a subcommittee) will continue coordinating on the revisions. The RIEC agreed on the need for executive-level discussions and expressed commitment to attend a meeting focused on the plan revisions in January.
• The revisions will be a standing agenda item at monthly SMG meetings. The senior managers will continue their discussions and keep their executives informed as the planning process continues.
• The RIEC agreed to provide written documentation indicating that coordination (under page E-17 of the NWFP) has been completed. The BLM plans to conclude coordination and request that documentation sometime in 2008 (prior to signing a Record of Decision).

Follow-up: REO will arrange a RIEC meeting focused on the plan revisions in January 2008.

Topic: CRITICAL HABITAT: Marbled Murelett & Northern Spotted Owl

REO Contact: Kristi Young, FWS Representative

Summary of Discussion: Agencies expect to extend the comment period for review of Marbled Murelett and Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) critical habitat. This would allow reviewers more opportunity to review these documents in concert with the BLM draft RMP/EIS produced as part of the Western Oregon Plan Revision effort.

Topic: INTERIM BARRED OWL WORKING GROUP

REO Contact: Kristi Young, FWS Representative

Summary of Discussion: The working group will have a role in coordinating several activities including various management actions, Barred Owl public outreach efforts, and review of potential options for controlling Barred Owls. New information regarding Barred Owl and NSO interactions was highlighted during the discussion. For example, when Barred Owls are present, NSO tend to be quiet and may not respond when called. Implications for NSO field survey protocol are being explored.

Topic: SURVEY & MANAGE FINAL SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

REO Contact: Joyce Casey, FS Representative

Summary of Discussion: Forest Service and BLM decisions based on the Survey and Manage Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) were signed in July 2007, removing Survey and Manage provisions. In addition, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation associated with removal of species from Survey and Manage per the annual species review process was completed. The agencies have asked that the injunction be lifted and are awaiting the court’s reply.

Topic: COASTAL COHO COURT DECISION

REO Contact: Kim Kratz, NOAA-NMFS Representative

Summary of Discussion: A brief update was provided; additional information on this topic is available from Kim Kratz at NOAA.

Topic: NORTHWEST NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM UPDATE

Presenter: Frank Shipley, USGS

REO Contact: Laurie Lee Jenkins, NPS Representative

Summary of Discussion: The Northwest Natural Resources Forum (NWNRF) will be held in Astoria on October 17-18, 2007. Invitees include RIEC executives plus representatives from other Northwest agencies, and Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury will be a guest speaker. The meeting will focus on how climate change could affect agency resource decisions in the Pacific Northwest and California. In addition, the agenda will include a roundtable where executives can share and discuss other key issues they are facing. Frank Shipley, USGS, and Rory Westberg, NPS, have taken the lead for the 2007 meeting.

Topic: SMG TRANSITION UPDATE

Presenter: Mike Crouse, NOAA-Fisheries Northwest Region

REO Contact: Kristi Young, FWS Representative

Summary of Discussion: The SMG continues to meet monthly. They are actively addressing NWFP issues, as well as broader issues including eastside consultation and streamlining. The BLM Western Oregon Plan Revisions are a standing topic on the SMG agenda, and SMG members will keep their executives apprised of key issues related to that topic.

Topic: REO TRANSITION UPDATE

Presenter: Anne Badgley, REO Executive Director

REO Contact: Kath Collier, Management Analyst

Summary of Discussion: By the end of September 2007, the REO will no longer occupy office space on the second floor of Robert Duncan Plaza. REO representatives will coordinate from their home offices and convene as needed. Kath Collier will continue working with the REO through mid-2008 and has relocated to the sixth floor.