Regional Interagency Executive Committee
333 SW 1st P.O. Box 3623
Portland, Oregon 97208-3623
Website: www.reo.gov E-Mail: REOmail@or.blm.gov
Phone: 503-808-2165 FAX: 503-808-2163

Memorandum

Date:

September 7, 2006

To:

Regional Interagency Executive Committee (see attached distribution list)

From:

/s/Anne Badgley, Executive Director

Subject:

REGIONAL INTERAGENCY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES FOR AUGUST 16, 2006

Regional Interagency Executive Committee
August 16, 2006 Meeting Agenda
Regional Forester’s Conference Room, 6^th floor, Robert Duncan Plaza

Time

Topics

Purpose

Presenter

8 a.m.

House-
keeping

Facilitator
Anne Badgley, REO

8:10

Opening Remarks

Opening

Linda Goodman, Chair

8:15

Update
Discussion

Alan Christensen, FS
Ken Denton, SEIS Contractor Lead

8:55

Update

Sue Zike, FS

9:25

BREAK

9:40

Adaptive Management and Monitoring

Update

Lisa Freedman, FS

10:10

Information

Terry Rabot, FWS
Steve Morey, FWS

11:10

Decision/ Preferences

Anne Badgley

11:35

Updates

Mike Crouse, NOAA
Terry Rabot, FWS
Mike Mottice, BLM

11:50

Closing Remarks

Closing

Linda Goodman

11:55

Close Out

House-
keeping

Facilitator
Anne Badgley, REO

12 p.m.

Adjourn

Topic: SURVEY & MANAGE UPDATE

RIEC Sponsor: Linda Goodman, RIEC Chair

REO Contact: Kathy Anderson, BLM Natural Resource Specialist

Issue Statement: The purpose of this presentation is to update RIEC members on recent activities related to Survey and Manage.

Summary of Discussion: Ken Denton, Contractor Lead, PBS Engineering and Environmental provided background on the Survey and Manage program and an overview of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) released in January 2004. The 2004 ROD was challenged by a coalition of environmental and conservation groups, and Judge Pechmen found the agencies deficient in three areas. Ken summarized the January 2006 court order and reviewed progress made in preparing a new supplemental EIS. He noted that the supplement is not a stand-alone document; it is intended for use with the 2004 SEIS.

Next Steps: Alan Christensen, Forest Service Region 6, provided a brief overview of how the agencies are assisting field units. A Survey and Manage strategy team has been chartered to identify immediate field unit needs and develop tools to address them; clarify and/or draft agency direction; provide short-term management of the S&M Program until the Final Supplement is released; and develop options for longer term S&M Program implementation. Future RIEC updates will be provided.

Schedule:

Draft Supplement

July 7 - October 5, 2006: 90-day public review.

Final Supplement

Expected publication date: end of December 2006

ROD

To be signed no later than: March 30, 2007

Topic: LITIGATION UPDATE

RIEC Sponsor: Linda Goodman, RIEC Chair

Presenter: Sue Zike, Forest Service, Region 6

REO Contact: Anne Badgley, REO Executive Director

Summary: Sue Zike presented an overview of ongoing litigation related to implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), and provided a handout showing the status of cases involving Forest Service and BLM. While there was an apparent lull in litigation during preparation of the NWFP, the number of cases per year has risen over the last decade. Given the interagency nature of processes and actions under the NWFP, litigation generally affects more than one agency, even if only one defendant is named in the lawsuit. Sue suggested that working relationships and information sharing among agency attorneys and litigation coordinators could be improved through periodic conference calls or other informal communication forums.

Next Steps: RIEC members agreed to foster more communication among agency attorneys and litigation coordinators to improve litigation support. Anne Badgley will compile a list of agency litigation contacts and inform them of the RIEC’s interest in improving communications, after which Sue Zike will make an initial contact to assess opportunities for coordination. (If additional management support is needed, Anne can engage the Senior Managers’ Group on this topic.)

Topic: ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT & MONITORING SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATE

RIEC Sponsor: Jim Golden, Forest Service, Region 6

Presenter: Lisa Freedman, Forest Service, Region 6

REO Contact: Becky Gravenmier, REO Representative (PNW)

Issue Statement: The Adaptive Management & Monitoring Subcommittee continues to make progress on tasks to improve adaptive management and refine NWFP monitoring efforts. The group has completed their main tasks and are working on a few remaining items.

Background: After the NWFP Conference in April 2005, the IAC met to prioritize a set of management implication topics from the 10-year monitoring reports. As a result of this meeting, adaptive management and monitoring were identified as priority action items. Jim Golden (FS, R6) and Tom Quigley (PNW) were designated as co-leads for the RIEC Adaptive Management/ Monitoring subcommittee. A small staff group, led by Lisa Freedman (FS, R6) and John Laurence (PNW), was convened to evaluate tasks that might improve adaptive management and refine NWFP monitoring efforts.

Status of Task Group Work: Lisa Freedman gave a brief summary of the history of the task group work including completed products and an overview of remaining tasks.

Completed Tasks: The following products have been developed by the task group for the RIEC:

• Improvements to Regional Adaptive Management Process (framework document; revised August 2006)
• RIEC identified Priority Questions (16) to help focus monitoring and research (March 2006)
• RIEC decisions on monitoring budgets and options (March 2006)
• Development of the Management Experiment Primer (April 2006)
• Development of a process for Regional Adaptive Management Accomplishment Reporting (August 2006)

Remaining Tasks: The following tasks are still in progress

• Review of existing monitoring protocols to refine or suggest changes to protocols as appropriate based on previous RIEC input on monitoring options including annual cost ceilings. (Estimated Completion: Fall 2006)

• Develop two detailed management-experiment template examples written in the form of study plans that could be attached, after local modification, to future decision documents: (Estimated completion date: 12/2006)
  1. Post-fire management, including salvage logging in some treatments;
  2. Fuel reduction in support of upland wildlife, specifically spotted owl, with both production and protection objectives.
• For each management experiment template example, write sample National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) language to support possible decision-documents, including learning objectives and supporting elements such as an uncertainty framework and minimum monitoring objectives. (Estimated completion date: 12/2006)
• Write a General Technical Report (GTR) on the management experiment concept, using the Management Experiment template and the examples that can be cited in NEPA analyses for future projects. (Estimated completion date: Draft GTR by mid-FY 2007 for use in project planning in late FY2007 and 2008).

Discussion: The following items were discussed.

• There was general support to report annually on monitoring and research accomplishments that contribute to Priority Questions.
• Research Executives felt that reporting research accomplishments would be beneficial and would help get key science findings in front of managers.
• It was suggested that additional reporting requirements for research should be kept to a minimum and coordinated through the Research Executives group that meets regularly.

• Management experiment templates are intended to be a product that field units can utilize as they design management experiments. The templates are intended to make it easier to test various management approaches at the site scale.

Decisions/Assignments: The following decisions and assignments were made.

• The task group will share the remaining management experiment related products with the RIEC upon completion.
• Suggestions for revisions to monitoring protocols will be coordinated through the Senior Managers Group.
  • The annual process for regional adaptive management accomplishment reporting will be led by Jim Golden (FS, R6) and Cindi West (PNW). Staff coordinating the annual report will include Jon Martin (FS, R6, Interagency Monitoring Coordinator), Becky Gravenmier (PNW), and Dave Busch (USGS). The annual product will likely be in the form of a white paper. Science input into regional accomplishment reporting will be coordinated through the research executives.

Topic: STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING

RIEC Sponsor: Renne Lohoefener, FWS, Region 1

Presenter: Steve Morey, FWS

REO Contact: Kristi Young, REO Representative (FWS)

Summary: Steve Morey provided an introduction to structured decision making. He explained that Federal managers’ decisions are usually not "slam dunk" decisions. Instead these decisions are typically very complex; involving multiple objectives, numerous alternatives, several stakeholders, and varying degrees of uncertainty about the outcomes or consequences. An approach to making decisions that divides problems into tractable parts, identifies clear objectives and alternatives, and allows an explicit analysis and comparison of the alternatives will assist Federal managers in making decisions that are rational, transparent, and defensible.

Steve explained the steps of a structured decision making process, highlighting the need to have clear objectives and explicit management thresholds or decision criteria to allow for the direct comparison of alternatives. The process allows decision makers to weigh how well each alternative meets the expressed objectives. He showed some examples of where structured decision making has been used in the Northwest, including during the FEMAT science panels, the Survey and Manage Annual Species Reviews, and the northern spotted owl 5-year review. He then walked through the steps of structured decision making using a recent workshop on Indiana bat consultation and recovery as an example. RIEC members discussed other examples of similar processes being used in the Northwest, and expressed interest in identifying further learning opportunities for managers and staff.

Follow-up: The FWS’ National Conservation Training Center is developing a course in structured decision making. Currently, NCTC has scheduled several sessions of the course "Principles of Modeling for Conservation Planning and Analysis." This class includes several modules on structured decision making and is taught by two experts in the field. The FY 2007 schedule for this class is as follows:

Students can apply to these or any NCTC classes at http://training.fws.gov/

Topic: EXAMINING THE RIEC/IAC FUTURE STRUCTURE

Presenter/Sponsor/REO Contact: Anne Badgley, Executive Director

Background: Several interagency groups were established to oversee and support imple-mentation of the NWFP. The current group structure includes the RIEC, the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC), the Regional Ecosystem Office (REO), Provincial Interagency Executive Committees (PIECs), and Provincial Advisory Committees (PACs). Charters for the IAC and PACs expire in 2007, and the Memorandum of Understanding under which the NWFP agencies collectively operate expires in 2008. This, combined with the ongoing BLM Resource Management Plan revisions (scheduled for completion in 2008) and the upcoming Forest Plan revisions, make this an appropriate time to consider how the organizational structure supporting the NWFP should look in the future.

Proposal: Anne Badgley proposed bringing in an outside party to assist with the analysis and facilitate a discussion about the future organizational structure of the NWFP. Follow-up discussions would occur at the next RIEC meeting scheduled for October 12. Costs would be paid out of existing REO funds (no additional funding would be requested of the RIEC).

Decision: The RIEC will utilize an outside party to facilitate a discussion that will focus on the future structure of the RIEC, IAC, PIECs, PACs, and REO. Linda Goodman (FS, R6) and Mike Crouse (NOAA-Fisheries) will assist Anne Badgely in interviewing and selecting a facilitator for this process. Possible sources for facilitation include the Oregon Consensus Institute and the National Policy Consensus Center.

Topic: NMFS Recovery Planning

REO Contact: Steve Morris, REO Representative (NOAA-Fisheries)

Summary of Discussion: Mike Crouse provided background information regarding NMFS’ salmon recovery plan development process, which includes completing recovery plans for all 26 listed species by the end of this calendar year. Mike reported good progress on the plans, including completion of plans within Washington State for the Puget Sound and the Lower Columbia (Washington) recovery domains. NMFS Southwest Region is responsible for developing a recovery plan for the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coho ESU, and is about one year behind. NMFS is currently having internal discussions regarding recovery plan implementation. Hopefully recovery plans will provide guidance in evaluation of proposed actions; there appears to be a significant nexus between recovery plans and Forest Service and BLM management plan revisions.

Topic: Status Of Willamette-North Coast Thinning Programmatic and Fish Habitat Restoration Programmatic Biological Opinions (BOs)

REO Contact: Kristi Young, REO Representative (FWS)

Summary of Discussion: Mike Mottice (BLM) reviewed the current status of two programmatic BO’s (thinning and fish habitat restoration). These programmatic BOs were envisioned to facilitate increased efficiency in consultation processes, and to yield cost savings. Questions have been raised about progress being made by the teams, and the potential utility of draft products. Recent feedback from field managers indicates that there is support for finishing the products. While the initial programmatic BOs will have a fairly narrow range, they are being viewed as a positive step toward development of broader programmatics. Also, the "variance" process being developed for the thinning programmatic will provide more flexibility. The variance process allows for adjustments to design criteria based on site specific conditions. Timeframes for completion of the initial programmatic BOs are fall/winter 2006. The products will be brought to the RIEC for distribution and potential application throughout the NWFP area.

Anderson, Kathy (FS/BLM)

Kubo, Teresa (EPA)

Pietrzak, Debbie (BLM)

Badgley, Anne (REO)

Lakey, Bob (EPA, Research)

Rabot, Terry (FWS)

Christensen, Alan (FS)

Landon, Marina (REO)

Rodriguez, Socorro (EPA)

Collier, Kath (REO)

Lohoefener, Ren (FWS)

Roush, Paul (BLM, CA)

Crouse, Mike (NOAA-Fisheries)

Loop, Curt (USACE)

Shipley, Frank (USGS)

Eav, Bov (FS, PNW)

Makowski, Tom (NRCS)

Sullivan, Annika (REO)

Freedman, Lisa (FS)

Mohoric, Shawne (FS)

Thome, Darrin (FWS, CA/NV)

Goodman, Linda (FS)

Morey, Steve (FWS)

Westberg, Rory (NPS)

Gravenmier, Becky (PNW)

Morris, Steve (NOAA-Fisheries)

Willits, Sue (PNW)

Haske, Mike (BLMO

Pendleton, Beth (USFS, PSW)

Young, Kristi (FWS)

Jenkins, Laurie Lee (NPS)

Phifer, Paul (FWS)

Zike, Sue (FS)