# Presentation: 677190

## An Effective Approach to ESA Consultation 

- An Effective Approach to ESA Consultation
- and Planning for Projects in
- Northern Spotted Owl Habitat
- Doug Laye
- Klamath Falls Fish and Wildlife Office

**Notes:**
Thanks to the folks at Crater lake National Park, Fremont-Winema NF and Klamath Falls Resource Area of the BLM.  They have been patient and helpful as we have struggled together to balance owl habitat with other projects and try to adapt to the ever changing legal and biological situation.

## What is an effective consultation?

- One that:
- ►	Fully considers the impacts to T and E species
- ►	Helps to attain the goals of the project
- ►	Is consistent with regulations or statutes
- ►	Is timely

**Notes:**
Somewhat in the eye of the beholder.

I also understand that from an action agency point of view the issue of timely has been a concern.

The points that I want to make today will lead to more timely consultations

## What is the key to effective consultation?

- A)  Waiting until the last minute to talk to anyone about the project
-       because that gives them the least amount of time to derail it.

- B)  Waiting until your boss tells you that you’ve got to involve “others”
-       in the planning process.

- C)  Pretending that consultation is only for projects that aren’t as
-       important as yours

**Notes:**

First of all a little test for everybody..............                     I don’t want to see a show of hands on this one

Of course as you can see none of these are correct

## What is the key to effective consultation?

**	**

- ► 	Early
- Preferably when the project is in the first stages of consideration
- or even the brainstorm phase
- Before documents get drafted and the action gets locked in

- ► 	Often
- Because this builds a relationship between people of different disciplines and issues will surface more informally
- before strong positions are developed

**Communication**

**Notes:**
Waiting may seem like a way to put off uncomfortable discussions and debate for later but later always means less decision space to Modify processes or projects and requires people to be reactive Rather than proactive.  This is especially true in new relationships that have not had the opportunity to develop trust.  Often there are a lot of assumptions about various specialist’s positions on projects and early discussions can insure that those are explored and corrected.

Bottom line communication can’t be too early

Now this might be kind of a new area for the fire community because their experience often comes from a world of reaction driven by emergency whereas habitat improvement projects using fire and fuels reduction are planned actions with different types of goals and objectives.

This is where we have made some of our greatest gains in efficiency and timeliness and is the embodiment of the concept of streamlining. (Reminder of the streamlining guidance to the agencies and Service about Level 1 streamlining)  Except most people don’t take it far enough. 

Take biological assessments for example most people read the word early and see “share draft”.  We began to see a problem with that approach because of investment of time in the documents and fear of having someone grade a messy early draft.  We actually started building a detailed outline for the BA so that the writer, and the Service would be reviewing the building blocks of the BA without waiting for the “draft”.

## What is necessary for good communication?

**Calibration** - Developing common understandings of
-                            words and phrases

**Calibration**

**Notes:**
Why is this important?  You have to make sure that the meanings of the words you use are Because the more each person Understands about the detailed meanings the less time they will spend arguing over mis-understandings.  To have good communication you have to calibrate.  Time spent calibrating is also time spent together building a relationship.

## Calibration needs to start in the field

**Notes:**
Why?              Well,     Who recognizes the following phrase   “In country not seen in daylight................... “

Right it is one of the 18 Firefighter Watch out Situations

The principle is the same if we are going to do a good job of managing our lands and owl habitat, we’ve got to become familiar with it.  Anything else is operating in the dark.

When everyone is standing in front of the environment we’re talking about we are more likely to recognize whether we are talking about the same things in the same way.

Forest management and habitat quality can be subtle and easier to show than to describe.  For example
A forester or silviculturist  probably has a very different view of a “good tree” than a biologist.

There is also another reason for getting into the field most resource folk are more at ease in the field and discussion can often be more informal and seem less threatening.  Often this environment leads to more frank discussions and questions.

Some folks will say I don’t have the time to go to the field and discuss the project and look at examples..................  I would argue that you can’t afford not to because developing common understandings and learning about various disciplines saves you time on all future similar projects and builds trust through common understanding.

## Consistency – To be or not to be......

**Notes:**
When it comes to treatments and potential effects to species often there is a tendency to just repeat what other Forests or Resource areas have done.  We often do this because we get uncomfortable if we’re doing something “different” than someone else.  The comforting thing about being with a crowd is that right or wrong other people have done the same thing and everybody’s story is the same.  This leads to sameness not necessarily success.

One of the biologists I talked to when I was developing this presentation told me that in the early days of the Forest Plan there was a tendency for Service biologists and action agency folks to base projects on exactly what had been done in other areas across the range of the owl but this was problematic when you take into consideration the habitat differences (in this case east of the cascades vs west of the cascades).

I think on the eastside we have reached a point where we have to look at site specific areas and come to site specific decisions but with landscape view.  Fire and owls differ on the eastside so defaults prescriptions or treatments that come from north, south or west of your area need to be examined for validity and reasonableness at your site. What has been done somewhere else should not be the reason to ignore site specific restraints or opportunities.

Now here is the important caution.......
If your team decides to do something slightly different due to local conditions or information....Document your rationale so that your reasoning is clear and so that it can’t be misused by someone trying to extrapolating it to another area that does not have the same on the ground situation AND so that others can learn from the specifics of your success or error.

## What types of site specific information 

- ► 	Owl biological information
- ► 	Habitat Distribution
- ► 	Environmental factors
- ► 	Fuel Distribution
- ► 	Fire behavior
- ► 	Fire starts

- What types of site specific information
- might lead to customized projects?

- Site specific information such as:

**Notes:**

Owls – Where are they nesting, how is their site occupancy and reproduction
	trending?

Habitat – How is nesting roosting foraging habitat distributed and how might it grow in the future

Environmental factors – Where are cold pockets or soil types that are likely	to affect future vegetation response

Fuel Distribution –  What type of fuel and how distributed on landscape

Fire behavior – How is fire likely to move in this area

Fire starts – Where and how often

## So now you’ve got a well planned,

- site specific, rational project that has sailed
- through consultation....
- What could go wrong now ?????

**Notes:**
You’ve gotten good communication early in the project planning, you’ve calibrated the team on the terms and meanings, early formulation of the BA
And the consultation has been a breeze.

## Failure at the implementation level

- Goals and objectives must be clearly communicated
- to the folks that are implementing the action
- on the ground

## “You can’t remove too many large

-  trees from spotted owl habitat”

**Notes:**
Anybody see how this statement might not be good direction for implementation??????

Why,  because if they aren’t then the project will not be implemented as expected........the project won’t have the effects that were anticipated......and trust in the process and between people will fall. 
Why is this important

Destroys relationships, trust, fails to achieve goals and objectives,  And sets up complications for future projects

This doesn’t mean handing these people binders of technical information.  Find a way to get the information to them.

Timber sale administers – contracts Lighting crews – fire plan

Woodrat nests

Discussion with timber sale administrators “oh if I’d have known
That was what you wanted.................”

## Communication

- Calibration
- Site specific information
- Informed implementation

**Notes:**
Why,  because if they aren’t then the project will not be implemented as expected........the project won’t have the effects that were anticipated......and trust in the process and between people will fall. 

Destroys relationships, trust, fails to achieve goals and objectives
And sets up complications for future projects

This doesn’t mean handing these people binders of technical information.  Find a way to get the information to them.

Timber sale administers – contracts Lighting crews – fire plan??????   Rats nests and owls and lighters
 Discussion with timber sale admisitrators “oh if I’d have known  That was what you wanted.................”

## Questions ????