Or. Admin. R. 635-100-0140

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 6, June 1, 2024

Section 635-100-0140 - Endangered Species Management Plans for State Land Owning or Managing Agencies

(1) Within four months of its decision to list a species as endangered, the commission shall determine if state land can play a role in the conservation of the species. In making this determination, the commission shall consult and coordinate with the appropriate state land owning or managing agencies.

(2) The commission shall consider the species' biology and the geography of the land base (i.e., location, quality and quantity of the species' habitats) to determine if the species or its habitat is found on state land.

(a) If neither the species nor its habitat is found on state land, the commission shall determine that state land has no role to play in the conservation of the species. If the commission makes such a determination, then state land owning and managing agencies shall not be required to prepare an endangered species management plan.

(b) If the species or its habitat is found on state land, the commission shall consider the impact state agency actions may have on the species and its habitat in determining whether the state land can play a role in the conservation of the species. If the commission determines that state land can play a role, it shall notify the affected state land owning or managing agencies in writing.

(3) Once notified that state land can play a role in conservation of the species, each agency shall, in consultation with the department, determine the role the state land it owns or manages shall serve in the conservation of the species. This role may include, but is not limited to, conservation, contribution toward conservation or take avoidance. In making this determination, each agency shall balance the following:

(a) The statutory or constitutional requirements, rules and policies applicable to the agency's programs;

(b) The social and economic impacts that conservation would have on the state;

(c) The conservation needs of the species;

(d) The purpose of the state land; and

(e) The roles that land other than state land will play in the conservation of the species.

(4) The agencies shall balance the factors listed in section (3) of this rule consistent with the biological aspects of species management identified by the department and the statutory or constitutional obligations of the agencies (including the land's statutory purpose).

(5) To carry out its consultation role under this rule, the department shall provide the agencies with an assessment of the conservation needs of the species, as well as a list of the existing management rules, plans and other management guidelines and biological information related to management of the listed species. The assessment of the conservation needs of the species should be based on the information and factors the commission considered in listing the species. In order to expedite the development of endangered species management plans, the department shall provide this information in as timely a manner as possible.

(6) After determining the role its land shall play, each agency shall develop, and approve according to the agency's procedures, an endangered species management plan within 18 months of the commission's decision to list a species as endangered. The agency shall develop the plan in consultation with the department and consistent with this rule. The plan shall address, at a minimum:

(a) What state land is covered by the plan;

(b) What role that state land is to play in conservation of the species and how the agency defined that role (i.e., how the agency balanced the factors listed in sections (3) and (4) of this rule);

(c) How the agency will manage the state land to achieve its defined role;

(d) Whether the agency will monitor implementation of the plan, and if so, how and when;

(e) Whether the agency will reassess and review the plan and its implementation, and if so, how and when. For example, the agency may determine that new biological information, catastrophic events, changes in the species' listing status, changes in land use practices, or other factors will trigger the agency's reassessment and review of the plan;

(f) How the agency's plan relates to other state agency endangered species management plans, federal recovery plans and state and other recover efforts;

(g) What process the agency used in developing the plan, including the review and approval process, if any.

(h) The agency shall submit the plan to the commission for review and approval. The commission shall review the plan to determine whether it achieves the role defined for the affected land is consistent with the commission's rules for endangered species management plans. If the commission determines that, based on the biology of the endangered species, the plan does not achieve the define role, in consultation with the agency, it may modify the plan as necessary to be consistent with the role as defined under section (3) of this rule. The commission shall approve the plan as submitted or modified within 24 months from the date the species listed as endangered.

(7) Once the commission approves an agency's endangered species management plan, the agency's plan shall supersede the survival guidelines for the species for purposes of implementing ORS 496.182(3).

Or. Admin. R. 635-100-0140

DFW 22-1998, f. & cert. ef. 3-13-98

Stat. Auth.: ORS 496.004, 496.171, 496.172, 496.182, 496.192 & 498.026

Stats. Implemented: ORS 496.004, 496.171, 496.172, 496.182, 496.192 & 498.026