Old Douglas Fir in the Adams Ridge Sale Parcel

Oregon’s Department of State Lands has announced a new proposal to sell 2,700 acres of the Elliott State Forest, to be voted on at a State Land Board meeting in December.

The plans for privatization include three parcels in the Western side of the Elliott State Forest. All three parcels contain sections of mature, never-before-logged forest –potentially habitat for the marbled murrelet, an endangered sea bird that nests in old growth. This summer, a group of volunteer marbled murrelet surveyors with the Coos County-based conservation group Coast Range Forest Watch documented murrelet nesting behavior in one of these parcels, making it a candidate for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

DSL says that the land sale is necessary in light of a pending lawsuit–filed last year by several conservation groups on behalf of the marbled murrelet– that has made the Elliott “unproductive.” Clearcutting murrelet habitat in the Elliott is currently halted under federal injunction.

“In a time when the State Land Board should be taking responsibility for the mismanagement of the Elliott State Forest, they are going over the heads of the public and the courts and finding ways to manage our public lands for profit instead of conservation,” says Erin Grady, an activist with Cascadia Forest Defenders.

DSL will accept comments on their proposal until September 3rd. With only two weeks left in the comment period, they have not released any details on age of stand, value of timber or potential environmental impact if these parcels are sold. “They are avoiding public process as much as possible with this decision.” says Grady.

Conservation groups are concerned that the parcels will be sold to the highest bidder–most likely to a logging company. Much of the private land that surrounds the Elliott State Forest is already managed by the Washington-based Weyerhaeuser Corporation, one of the largest landowners in North America. Under private ownership, raw logs from the 2,700 acres could be exported overseas, rather than processed in local mills.

“Once land is privatized, the public will never again have a say in what happens to it,” says Grace Pettygrove of Cascadia Forest Defenders. “It won’t be ours anymore- for jobs or the environment.”

Since 2009, Cascadia Forest Defenders have held tree sits, banner drops, and rallies to protest the clearcutting of native forests in the Elliott. In 2011, Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild and other conservation groups launched a lawsuit over the mismanagement of marbled murrelet habitat on state lands. Judge Ann Aiken issued an injunction in November 2011 that effectively stopped cutting in potential murrelet nesting habitat. The ongoing lawsuit is the catalyst for this abrupt plan to dispose of the Elliott. See the summary of the plan on the Department of State Lands website: http://www.oregon.gov/dsl/SLB/docs/agenda_items/2013%20Agenda%20Items/slb_jun2013_item1b.pdf

For photos of the parcels up for sale, follow this link. Media is welcome to use any of these photos:
http://s1348.photobucket.com/user/coastrangeforestwatch/library/Elliott%20Sale%20Parcels?sort=3&page=1

During the 2013 survey season, we documented several instances of occupied behavior in the Adams Ridge area, in the Southwest corner of the Elliott State Forest. We had a total of 118 detections in this area over five survey days and the most exciting days of all season for spotting the elusive marbled murrelet. Below is a copy of the letter we drafted to managing agencies and conservation organizations to explain our findings. This area is part of a 2,700 acre land sale proposed by the Department of State Lands.

July 30, 2013

To whom it may concern,

This letter accompanies results from a series of supplemental citizen surveys performed by Coast Range Forest Watch in the Elliott State Forest in July and August of 2013. The intent of this letter is to explain the results of our surveys and the accompanying data forms. All surveying and data transcription was completed by Coast Range Forest Watch volunteer surveyors who received professional training in surveying for Marbled Murrelets provided by Mad River Biologists. Mad River Biologists provide training courses to standards set by the Pacific Seabird Group’s Marbled Murrelet Survey Protocol. These courses are the industry standard for qualifying Marbled Murrelet observers.

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Coast Range Forest Watch is extending an invitation to any and all to come survey for Marbled Murrelets with us on the morning of Sunday, August 4. The survey start time is just after 5:20am we will be surveying just five miles from Highway 101 by Hauser, OR in the Elliott State Forest. The survey area is along Palouse Creek (at the 3595 spur) in an area under consideration for sale from the State Forest. We’ve seen and heard many Marbled Murrelets in this area so it should be an exciting survey morning. Please e-mail us (at coastrangeforestwatch@gmail.com) if you’d like to come and we can provide more detailed directions. Please visit our “Marbled Murrelet Project” page for more information on our surveying project. It’s an early morning, but it will be well worth it!

On the morning of July 6, Coast Range Forest Watch’s surveyors documented significant Marbled Murrelet detections in the Elliott State Forest. Below is a copy of the letter sent to managing agencies and conservation organizations to inform them of this development. We are hoping to make progress with managing agencies soon to ensure this area is protected. We’ll post updates as they happen!

July 11, 2013

This letter is accompanied by the results from a supplemental Marbled Murrelet survey performed by Coast Range Forest Watch on July 6, 2013 in the Elliott State Forest. In order to make the results accessible to those not familiar with the Pacific Seabird Group’s survey protocol and Oregon Marbled Murrelet survey forms, a summary of the project and results is provided below.

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Volunteers rise early for a chance to see and hear endangered seabird