Department of
State Lands
For
immediate release
10/13/14
More
information:
Eric Metz;
503-986-5266;
eric.metz@state.or.us
Julie
Curtis;
503-986-5298;
julie.curtis@state.or.us
Essential
salmon habitat maps
to be discussed at
public meeting
Changes in stream
designations will
affect state wetland
and waterway permits
Klamath Falls –
Staff from the
Oregon
Department of
State Lands’
removal-fill
permit program
will present
information,
answer questions
and take formal
testimony at a
public meeting
regarding
proposed new
rules to change
state maps
designating
“essential
indigenous
anadromous
salmonid”
habitat (ESH):
Oct. 22, 2014
11:00 a.m. – 12:30
p.m.
Klamath Community
Room
133 North 4th
St.
Klamath Falls
The first hour will
be an informal
discussion and
information
exchange; the second
30 minutes will be a
formal, recorded
rulemaking hearing.
The Department of
State Lands (DSL)
works with the
Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
to update statewide
maps designating ESH.
Changes in the maps,
which affect DSL’s
removal-fill permit
program, are adopted
through formal
rulemaking. At the
meeting, ODFW staff
will be available to
discuss the maps,
and DSL staff will
cover definitions
and policy
implications of the
proposed rules.
ESH streams are
identified as such
because they and
their tributaries
provide critical
spawning and rearing
habitat for fish
listed as threatened
or endangered by the
federal government,
or sensitive by ODFW
(for example, chum,
chinook and coho
salmon, and
steelhead and
cutthroat trout –
all known as “salmonids”).
If a stream is
designated ESH, it
means a permit from
DSL will be required
for any non-exempt
activities
regardless of the
amount of removal or
fill in the
waterway. This
includes adjacent
wetlands that are
seasonally connected
to the ESH stream.
Exemptions to permit
requirements in ESH
streams include
routine agricultural
and state forest
management
activities,
emergency road
repair, and
voluntary stream
restoration.
Exemptions will be
discussed at the
meetings, along with
expedited permits
that may be used for
regulated activities
in ESH.
The public comment
period for the new
ESH rules opened on
Sept. 1, and will
close at 5:00 p.m.
on Nov. 28, 2014.
Comments received
outside this 90-day
period will not be
considered. The
public may provide
comments in person
at the meeting, or
by sending comments
to DSL:
rulemaking@dsl.state.or.us;
Department of State
Lands, 775 Summer
St. NE, Suite 100,
Salem, OR 97301-1279
More information,
including the new
ESH maps, is
available on the DSL
website:
http://www.oregon.gov/dsl/Pages/Rulemaking-Activity.aspx.
Additional meetings
will be held in
Salem, Tillamook,
Charleston, Grants
Pass and Klamath
Falls. The agency
hopes to adopt the
new rules by March
2015.
The State Land Board
consists of Governor
John Kitzhaber,
Secretary of State
Kate Brown and State
Treasurer Ted
Wheeler. The
Department of State
Lands administers
diverse natural and
fiscal resources.
Many of the
resources generate
revenue for the
Common School Fund,
such as state-owned
rangelands and
timberlands,
waterway leases,
estates for which no
will or heirs exist,
and unclaimed
property. Twice a
year, the agency
distributes fund
investment earnings
to support K-12
public schools. The
agency also
administers Oregon’s
Removal-Fill Law,
which requires
people removing or
filling certain
amounts of material
in waters of the
state to obtain a
permit.
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www.oregonstatelands.us
