Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Forests May Be Protected To Aid Murrelet

From Staff And Wire Reports

Nearly 3.9 million acres of forest in Oregon, Washington and California will be protected as critical habitat for the threatened marbled murrelet seabird, The Oregonian reported Wednesday.

The planned U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service action would rank as one of the biggest actions to preserve lands for a bird shielded by the Endangered Species Act.

The agency is under a court order to designate critical habitat for the bird.

Most of the national forest land in the 3.9 million acres already is protected, but the decision could put greater environmental controls over 865,000 acres of state and private timber, according to agency documents obtained by the newspaper.

The robin-size murrelet, which nests in old-growth trees in the Coast Range, was listed as a threatened species in 1992.

Scientists estimate 18,000 to 32,000 of the birds live in Oregon, Washington and California.