By Eric Rickerson and Kyle Blum
ON THURSDAY, THE state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will present a range of options for the long-term conservation of the threatened marbled murrelet on lands managed by DNR.
The options we’ll be presenting are the result of years of research and substantial dialogue with environmental groups and timber communities across Washington.
It is the work of those who cherish our forests and wildlife resources.
It reflects the strong conservation values of our state.
This small marine bird does not recognize international, federal, state or private boundaries, yet its fate lies in the ability of landowners to work together to conserve its nesting habitat and fishing grounds.
The breeding range of the marbled murrelet sweeps thousands of miles across Alaska and south along the Pacific Coast to Monterey Bay.
Marbled murrelets often fly up to 50 miles inland to nest in old forests, and they spend most of their lives on the Pacific Ocean, diving underwater to prey on herring, anchovy and other forage fish.
The Washington, Oregon and California population of the marbled murrelet was federally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992.
Marbled murrelets have been declining in Washington over the last 20 years, by some estimates as much as 50 percent over the last decade.
The conservation of forests and marine fisheries along North America’s Pacific Coast are vital to the bird’s survival.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the DNR are building a strategy to conserve areas that are important for murrelet nesting.
We believe a careful balance of forest stewardship and conservation can help protect marbled murrelet habitat in Washington.
That is why DNR does not harvest old-growth forests favored by the murrelet and many other species.
It is also why the agency conserves more than 600,000 acres of forest, growing older trees that provide valuable habitat for wildlife, including murrelets and spotted owls.
Where DNR harvests timber to provide revenue for public schools and rural communities, the agency is guided by wildlife biologists, geologists and foresters who make choices based on sound science and sustainability.
Through conservation efforts, marbled murrelets will have old forests where they can nest and raise young.
At the same time, outside the bird’s preferred areas, younger trees can be sustainably harvested.
We believe a long-term plan to secure marbled murrelet habitat should be based on law and informed by science, with consideration of environmental concerns and local communities.
While the bird’s ultimate destiny as a species is tied to the fate of forests and fish along North America’s entire Pacific coast, Washington is committed to helping the marbled murrelet thrive.
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Eric Rickerson is the Washington state supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Kyle Blum is the deputy supervisor for state uplands for the state Department of Natural Resources.