Our forest stewardship in Oregon
Company proposes enhancing protections on 30,000 acres
Port Blakely is working to provide enhanced protections for water quality and wildlife habitat on 30,000 acres of our forestland in Clackamas County, OR under a voluntary stewardship agreement being proposed with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF).
Under a stewardship agreement, a landowner agrees to exceed ODF regulatory requirements designed to protect natural resources in exchange for long-term regulatory certainty under Forest Practices Act rules. Port Blakely would follow an ODF-approved forest management plan which would permit forestry operations under that plan for 50 years, regardless of future regulatory changes.
In parallel to the stewardship agreement, we are working with US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on a complementary Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). This would be our third voluntary federal conservation agreement. Port Blakely entered into a 50-year multi-species HCP with the USFWS and NMFS in 1996 which now covers approximately 10,000 acres in Pacific County, Wash. In 2009, the company signed a 60-year Safe Harbor Agreement with the USFWS to protect spotted owl and marbled murrelet habitat on 45,000 acres in Lewis County, Wash.
The proposed stewardship agreement contains forest management and conservation measures that provide enhanced protection for fish-bearing streams and aquatic water bodies. The measures also aim to create and sustain a mosaic of diverse habitats to meet the needs of many land-based wildlife species. The habitat requirements of 20 total species, both listed and unlisted by the Oregon State Department of Fish and Wildlife, are addressed, including breeding, foraging and dispersing habitats.
“This agreement is a great example of Port Blakely’s approach to stewardship forestry, our commitment to demonstrate that forestlands are best managed for shared economic, environmental and community benefits,” said Court Stanley, President of US Forestry for Port Blakely. “It will allow us to continue to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat while also ensuring long-term regulatory certainty, and therefore economic stability, for our customers, employees, and family owners.”
The proposed agreement can be viewed online at: https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Working/Pages/FPA.aspx.
# # #