INTERIOR COLUMBIA BASIN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PROJECT

112 East Poplar Street, Walla Walla, Washington 99362, PHONE: (509) 522-4030 FAX: (509) 522-4025

        Date:           Jan. 21, 1994
        Reply to:       BLM: 1736                                    
                        FS: 1400, 1900

        Subject:        Eastside Ecosystem Management Strategy Charter

        To:             BLM:    State Directors, OR/WA, ID, MT
                        FS:     Regional Foresters, R-1, R-4,
                                R-6 Station Directors, PNW, INT/RM

In May 1993, a team led by Forest Service scientist Dr. Richard Everett completed an "Eastside Forest Ecosystem Health Assessment." In July, as part of his plan for ecosystem management in the Pacific Northwest, President Clinton directed "the Forest Service to develop a scientifically sound and ecosystem-based strategy for management of eastside forests", and further stated that the "strategy" should be based on the forest health study recently completed by agency scientists as well as other studies. To further elaborate and extend this charge, we are jointly directing that an ecosystem management framework and assessment be developed for lands administered by the Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on those lands east of the Cascade crest in Washington and Oregon and within the interior Columbia River Basin (CRB).

We have jointly decided that the processes outlined in the Interim CRB Assessment and Eastside Ecosystems Management Strategy Project Charter are essential steps leading to sound management decisions. We, and our respective line officers, will use the science products (framework, assessment, and evaluation of alternative EM Strategies) derived from this process as input into our decision making processes. Line officers within the BLM and FS will develop management direction using the science products as a portion of the total input considered in developing such direction.

We have been motivated to request these products because management of the public resources within the interior CRB require new direction that is based on ecosystem concepts within the context of the larger Basin. Recent advances in our understanding of ecosystem principles, cumulative effects, biophysical interactions, and concerns of ecosystem integrity and species viability, point to the need to undertake the studies outlined in the Charter. Since current land and resource plans were signed, new information and changing conditions require a re-evaluation of management direction.

Therefore, updated management directions are needed for the Eastside National Forests and some lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. From an ecosystem standpoint, an overall assessment is needed for the interior Columbia River Basin, so that management decisions can be made within this larger context.

Recognizing that ecosystems encompass lands that cross jurisdictions, and actions taken on lands administered by one agency affect outcomes on lands administered by another, there must be shared vision, commitment, and leadership among agencies in development of ecosystem management strategies and their implementation. The Forest Service is to take the lead responsibility in assembling the appropriate interagency structures and processes to accomplish this assignment. This includes invitations to State governors and tribal government leaders, local governments, key interested parties and affected parties, and other Federal and State agencies to participate in the process.

As part of this assignment, Jeff Blackwood, Forest Supervisor on the Umatilla National Forest, will assume the responsibilities of Project Manager for the project. Patrick Geehan will be the BLM Project Coordinator. Thomas M. Quigley, Manager, Blue Mountains Natural Resources Institute, will be the Science Team Leader, and George Pozzuto, District Ranger on the Lake Wenatchee Ranger District, will be the EIS Team Leader. Patty Burel, Public Affairs Officer for the Blue Mountain Narural Resource Institute, will be the Communications Team Leader. Kay Pennel and Cathy Weise will provide administrative support. Teams and activities will be located in Walla Walla, Washington. Team leaders will need your cooperation and support in filling needed positions and completing the project.

As further direction, we refer to several key points made by Assistant Secretary James Lyons in announcing the intent of the Forest Service to develop a new management strategy for national forests in eastern Oregon and Washington. The strategy will:

1. be based on ecosystem management concepts;
2. focus on restoring the health of forest ecosystems;
3. be scientifically sound and ecosystem based;
4. be based on the forest health study recently completed by agency scientists and other studies;
5. be a multi-agency effort involving the public in an open process; and
6. link with the development of a draft environmental impact statement to be completed by spring or summer of 1994.

Development of a scientifically sound and ecosystem-based management strategy for eastern Oregon and Washington will require (1) a framework for ecosystem management for the entire interior Columbia River Basin, and (2) a broad assessment of ecosystem processes and functions, species, social systems, and economic systems within the Basin. This should lead to the development of an EIS useful to both the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management that would result in decisions for implementing the strategy. The EIS would include the development of a wide array of alternative strategies for eastern Oregon and Washington and an evaluation of the consequences of each alternative based on the best technical and scientific information available. The EIS will be presented to the responsible federal decisionmakers for appropriate action.

Upon completion of each product, line officers within the Forest Service and BLM will consider the recommendations and make decisions to modify or retain existing management direction. The ultimate decision to adopt or reject the recommendations resides with us and our appropriate line officers. We will use the scientific information to enhance our understanding of trade-offs, interactions, consequences, and potential results. We will be issuing decision documents, policy statements, and other policy direction as we deem appropriate through the life of the Charter and following its completion.

Attached is the initial charter and summary of products we expect the team to produce over the next 9-12 months.


/s/ Jack Ward Thomas

JACK WARD THOMAS

Chief,

USDA Forest Service



/s/ Jim Baca

JIM BACA

Director,

USDI Bureau of Land Management

Definitions

"Interior Columbia River Basin" includes lands in the continental United States tributary to the Columbia River east of the crest of the Cascade Mountain Range. For purposes of this Charter, the terms "Basin-wide" and "Basin" are interchangeable with "Interior Columbia River Basin". This will include portions of Forest Service Regions 1,4, & 6 and portions of lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

"Eastside," in this charter, refers to the National Forests and appropriate BLM administered lands in eastern Washington and Oregon lying east of the crest of the Cascade Mountain Range. This may also include lands managed by other federal agencies within this geographic area.

Situation

Since forest plans were established in eastern Washington and Oregon in 1989 and 1990, a number of scientific and administrative studies have been conducted generating new information relevant to National Forest management. In July 1993, as part of his plan for ecosystem management in the Pacific Northwest, President Clinton directed "the Forest Service to develop a scientifically sound and ecosystem-based strategy for management of eastside forests," and further stated that the "strategy" should be based on the forest health study recently completed by agency scientists as well as other studies.

The Forest Service and BLM are considering implementing the interim direction to conserve Pacific Salmon throughout their range in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California. This interim directionwill be followed by development of a long-term management strategy to address this issue in these states as well as Alaska. This Charter identifies, as a minimum, initial studies and plans appropriate to implement the Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation Strategy (formally called "PACFISH") within the interior Columbia River Basin.

The combined tasks of developing an ecosystem management strategy and implementing the Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation Strategy, necessitate an overall framework to guide planning for ecosystem management within the Interior Columbia River Basin. Additionally, a Basin-wide scientific assessment is needed. It should examine the ecologic, economic, and social systems, looking at current as well as historic conditions, and the probability that outcomes associated with current practices and trends will result in change within the systems it will provide essential information for evaluating and implementing ecosystem management within the Basin.

Ecosystems transcend administrative boundaries. The evaluations undertaken will use available data where appropriate or applicable. This effort is not intended to request new data from private land owners, enter their lands, or otherwise establish direction for management of those lands.

Project Expectations

Implementing an ecosystem management strategy will require the development of several products. Two initial studies will include a Basin-wide scientific framework and a Basin-wide scientific assessment. The interior Columbia River Basin (CRB) ecosystem management scientific framework will provide the broad concepts and analytical processes recommended for ecosystem analysis, planning, and management. The interior CRB scientific assessment will examine historic and current ecologic, economic, and social systems and discuss probable outcomes if current management practices and trends continue.

Drawing from the concepts and principles of the Basin-wide scientific framework and information from the Basin-wide scientific assessment and the environmental impact statement (EIS) scoping response, an EIS will be developed for the eastside National Forests that will array a variety of ecosystem management strategies for management of lands administered by the Forest Service and a portion of the Bureau of Land Management lands in eastern Oregon and Washington. The EIS will, as a minimum, address the Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation Strategy recommendations. This EIS will be supported by a scientific evaluation of the issues and alternatives identified by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping and public involvement process. The decision document(s) resulting will address the management of affected BLM and Forest Service managed lands. It is anticipated that similar decision documents will be issued in Idaho and portions of California, although the nature of the decisions in addition to the Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation Strategy for those states has not yet been determined. The Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation Strategy will be considered in Forest plan revisions and BLM resource management plans in Alaska. The decision documents and processes for those states will be done in a coordinated manner among the Regions and Districts involved. Through these activities, a Basin-wide framework forecosystem management and a Basin-wide assessment of resource conditions should result in a comprehensive, coordinated approach to resource management within the Basin.

The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are proceeding as outlined in this Charter with the full expectation of bringing in other federal agencies (for example, Environmental Protection Agency, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Soil Conservation Service) as cooperators in the process.

The EIS process proposed in this Charter will provide a basis for the Forest Service and BLM to make decisions to amend or revise current land management plans for ecosystem management strategies on the National Forests and participating Bureau of Land Management lands of eastern Oregon and Washington. It is assumed that scientific expertise will be assembled from a wide array of disciplines, agencies, universities, and other organizations to evaluate the issues and alternatives.

The role of the scientists in this regard is to assess, based on the best information available, the tradeoffs, consequences, outcomes, and interactions that are associated with each alternative. It is the Federal EIS team members' role to develop the array of alternatives and to critically review the science products for possible use within the EIS. Any land management decisions based upon the EIS will be made by the appropriate line officers in BLM and the Forest Service.

Key Participants and Roles

Chief, USDA Forest Service, and Director, Bureau of Land Management: Authorize an Executive Steering Committee to oversee the processes outlined in the Charter. Any subsequent changes to the Charter will be with the concurrence of the Chief and the Director.

Columbia Basin WO Coordinators: Director, Land Management Planning, Forest Service, and the Science Advisor to the Director, Washington Office, BLM, shall receive progress reports and arrange for resolution of issues that exceed the scope of the Charter.

Columbia Basin Executive Steering Committee: Shall oversee the implementation of the Charter, monitor and report progress, propose needed amendments, ensure other appropriate participants are involved in its implementation, propose resolution to issues within the Charter, elevate issues and suggested resolutions to the Chief and Director for resolutions. The Executive Committee shall include:

1. Regional Forester, R-6
2. Regional Forester, R-1
3. Regional Forester, R-4
4. Station Director, PNW
5. Station Director, RM/INT
6. State BLM Director, Oregon-Washington
7. State BLM Director, Idaho
8. State BLM Director, Montana

The Executive Steering Committee will solicit the participation of other potential partners (e.g., National Marine Fisheries Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and Soil Conservation Service). They will be added to the Executive Committee as appropriate through amendment to this Charter.

Eastside Project Managers: Are responsible to the Executive Steering Committee for accomplishing the actions and products outlined in the Charter. The Project Manager is Jeff Blackwood; Science Team Leader is Thomas M. Quigley; and the Bureau of Land Management Project Coordinator is Patrick Geehan.

Coordination with States, Tribal Governments, and Key Interested Parties

An essential element of this process will be to coordinate with, and seek involvement of, affected State governors and tribal government leaders. In addition, local governments, key interested and affected parties, and other federal and state agencies will also be encouraged to participate.

Key Actions, Products and Timelines

Updated management directions are needed for the Eastside National Forests and lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Since current land and resource plans were signed, new information and changing conditions suggest a re-evaluation of management direction. From an ecosystem standpoint, an overall assessment is needed for the interior Columbia River Basin, so that management decisions can be made within this larger context. All products developed from this charter will be presented to the responsible federal decisionmakers. The expected actions, timelines, and products for the Columbia Basin Project are summarized below. The Eastside EIS and Scientific Evaluation of alternative ecosystem management strategies will be proveded by a subgroup of the Executive Steering Committee consisting of the R-6 Regional Forester, PNW Station Director, and BLM Director for Oregon and Washington.

(1) SCIENTIFIC FRAMEWORK FOR ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT IN THE INTERIOR COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN

Objective:

Develop an ecosystem management framework that includes principles and processes which may be used in a NEPA process to develop management direction for federal agency ecosystem analysis, planning, and management at all levels within the Basin. Concepts and principles from the frameword will link to subsequent products.

Framework Components:

The framework will be based on an ecosystem approach to management with emphasis on biological and human ecosystems. It will examine the interrelationships of the biophysical, social, and economic systems. It will consider public expectations, management capabilities, biological/ecologicalcapabilities, science processes, and current scientific literature (e.g., Eastside Forest Health Assessment, the product of the Forest Ecosystem Management Team (FEMAT), Eastside Forests Scientific Society Panel Report, and other material). The result will be principles and processes that can be used to develop management direction (consistent with NEPA, National Forest Management Act (NFMA), Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and applicable laws) for planning ecosystem management at all levels on federal public lands within the interior Columbia Basin.

These preliminary planning actions will identify the scale, coarse filters, viability and risk assessments, economic and social assessments, monitoring and evaluation, technology needs, and public participation processes that may be useful in implementing ecosystem management on these lands within the Basin.

Framework Product and Timeline:

A Basin-wide scientific framework for ecosystem management on lands administered by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in the form of a scientific, peer-reviewed document that will be made available for public comment prior to final publication. It provides recommendations on linking science processes and products with planning on Federal lands. It is not a decision document. The draft scientific framework will take approximately 3 months from the date the Charter is effective.

(2) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT FOR ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT IN THE INTERIOR COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN

Objective:

The broad scientific assessment of the resources within the interior Columbia River Basin will characterize and assess landscape, ecosystem, social, and economic processes and functions and describe probable outcomes of continued management practices and trends. It will identify the primary social and ecologic values and functions that will be addressed through the additional planning and implementation processes outlined within the ecosystem management framework for the Basin. Information generated through this assessment will be used, as a minimum, in the NEPA process which will be conducted to provide a basis for management direction to modify and implement the Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation Strategy within the Basin.

Scientific Assessment Components:

The broad scientific assessment of the natural resources within the interior Columbia Basin will characterize and assess landscape, ecosystem, social, cultural, and economic processes and functions. The assessment will describe relationships within and among ecologic, social, cultural, and economic systems and interpret effects of past human interactions. Primary components of the evaluation will include:

1. landscape, economic, cultural, and social characterization;
2. identify the probability that change may occur in the components of diversity (landscape, ecosystem processes and functions, species);
3. identify social, cultural, and economic systems;
4. identify emerging issues that relate to ecosystem management within the Basin;
5. identify the social and cultural values of natural resources.
6. identify technology gaps, research needs and opportunities to advance the state of knowledge.

Assessment Product and Timeline:

A Basin-wide narrative report on the ecologic, economic, cultural, and social systems, describing the relationship within and among systems while interpreting effects of past human interactions. In addition, a research, development, and application plan will be developed to fill knowledge gaps and advance technology. This will be published as a scientific, peer-reviewed document in a format useful to other public and private land managers and policy makers. The draft scientific assessment will take approximately 9 months from the date the Charter is effective. The Assessment will be made available for public comment prior to finalizing. This is not a decision document.

(3) EASTSIDE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Objective:

Develop an Eastside EIS proposing a broad array of alternative strategies that encompasses up to 10 eastside Washington and Oregon National Forests and portions of 4 BLM Districts. The EIS process will be consistent with the principles of the scientific ecosystem framework, incorporate information from the scientific assessment of the interior Columbia River Basin, and draw from the scientific evaluation described below. The scope of the EIS will include, as a minimum, all lands administered by the Forest Service east of the Cascade crest in the states of Oregon and Washington. It will also include eastside Bureau of Land Management lands within the existing range of the of the Pacific Salmon, forested lands, and bull trout habitat. The EIS process must include an open scoping process with the public.

EIS Components:

A NEPA scoping process will be used to identify issues. From that scoping and other information, a range of management alternatives will be developed that integrates considerations of sustained long-term economic, social, and ecological values of the region and issues identified in scoping. Analysis of alternatives for managing forest and rangelands will consider the Eastside Forests' Scientific Society Panel, and other information. A broad array of potential strategies will be developed. This array should reflect societal expectations for public lands within the planning area.

As a minimum, each alternative will take into account the following factors:

1. * effects on cultrual, historic, and current public uses and values, including scenic quality, recreation, subsistence, and tourism;
2. * conceps of adaptive management;
3. * effects on environmental and ecological values, including air and water quality, habitat conservation, sustainability, threatened and endangered species, biodiversity, and long term productivity;
4. * jobs attributable to natural resource management, both commodity and non-commodity oriented, including jobs attributable to investment and restoration associated with each alternative;
5. * economic and social effects on local communities and other governments including tribes, and effects on revenues to counties and the national treasury;
6. * economic and social effects associated with the protection and use of forest resources that might aid in transition of the Region's industries and communities to sustainable econmies;
7. * economic and social benefits from ecological services within each alternative;
8. * regional, national, and international effects as they relate to timber supply, wood product prices, and other key economic and social variables;
9. * practicality of and barriers to implemantation.

EIS Product and Timeline:

A legally sufficient EIS developed trhough an open public process from which a Record of Decision can be developed that may include adjustments to land and resource plans. The draft Eastside EIS will take approximately 9-12 months from the date the Charter is effective. The final EIS will follow as soon as public review and evaluation is complete. From the final EIS, a Record of Decision can then be issued by the responsible federal decision maker.

(4) EASTSIDE ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION OF PLANNING ALTERNATIVES

Objective:

The Eastside Ecosystem Management Evaluation is a scientific evaluation of issues and alternatives identified through the NEPA scoping process for the Eastside EIS. This evaluation will be done in conjunction with an analysis of the effects of implementation on tribal values and rights. It will address the practicality of implementation of each alternative strategy.

Evaluation Components:

The evaluation should analyze each alternative in terms useful for analysis of cost and benefits, to the extent possible, and consider, as a minimum, the criteria listed under the EIS component of this charter.

The evaluation will be based on concepts documented in the ecosystem framework with consideration for maintenance and restoration of biological diversity, particularly that of late-successional and old- growth forest ecosystems; maintenance of long-term productivity; maintenance of sustainable levels of renewable natural resources, including timber, other forest products, grazing, fish, and other resource- related values of forests and rangelands; and maintenance of rural economies and communities. To the extent possible, the evaluations will link the biological, cultural, social and economic concerns at each hierachical scale.

Outcomes associated with each alternative should be evaluated relative to maintaining and/or restoring productivity, maintaining economic, social, and cultural systems, and maintaining and/or restoring forest and rangeland resources (commodity and non-commodity). The levels of protection, investement, and use that will be necessary to achieve the stated outcomes for each alternative will be described.

The evaluation should provide an integrated landscape characterization within a structural data base. this should include terrestrial and aquatic systems and, to the extent possible, social and cultural systems.

The evaluation should include implementing adaptive management within an ecosystem framework. The specific linkages to research, inventory, monitoring, and other ownerships should be highlighted, and ways should be discussed for transitioning to adaptive management.

The evaluation will consider long-term ecosystem health. It will carefully examine the role that natural processes and human activities have played in shaping the eastside ecosystems, landscape patterns, patch sizes, productive potentials, and resource changes. It will consider the variability nature has provided through these disturbance and change elements, the implications these elements have on sustainable long-term ecosystems, and ways disturbances and change can be accounted for in the over- all management scheme. Also it will examine the alternative means by which disturbance elements can be mimicked on the landscape and the role these management activities might play providing ecological and social benefits.

In addressing biological diversity, consideration should not be limited to any one species and, to the extent possible, each alternative should be assessed for long-term management against viability. On eastside spotted owl Forests, the assessment should examine alternative measures to maintain spotted owl habitat within the FEMAT framework on those areas where such habitat is temporally highly dynamic and may be lost to natural successional and disturbance processes.

The evaluation will consider social and cultural diversity as well as elements of ecological diversity. Changes in social and cultural diversity associated with shifts in resource flows, availabilities, access, and conditions will be specifically addressed. Probable impacts on lifestyles, social interactions, and interdependencies will be described.

Product and Timeline:

A scientific peer-reviewed document evaluating the effects of implementing a variety of ecosystem management strategies on eastside National Forests. The draft scientific evaluation will be available for consideration by the Eastside EIS Team about 9 months from the date this charter is effective. It is anticipated the EIS Team will consider the Scientific Evaluation along with other information it considers relevant to preparing the draft EIS. This evaluation is not a decision document - it is a scientific evaluation of the effects of implementing the various ecosystem management strategies. It will be made available for review.


/s/ Jack Ward Thomas


JACK WARD THOMAS Chief, USDA Forest Service

/s/ Jim Baca



JIM BACA Director, USDI Bureau of Land Management