Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 635 - DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE › Division 415 - FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT MITIGATION POLICY › Section 635-415-0005 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
For the purposes of OAR
				635-415-0000 through
				635-415-0025 only:
(1) "Department" means the Oregon Department
			 of Fish and Wildlife.
(2)
			 "Development Action" means any activity subject to regulation by local, state,
			 or federal agencies that could result in the loss of fish and wildlife habitat.
			 Development actions may include, but are not limited to, the planning,
			 construction, and operational activities of local, state, and federal agencies.
			 Development actions also include subsequent re-permitting for activities with
			 new impacts or continued impacts that have not been mitigated consistent with
			 current standards.
(3) "Essential
			 Habitat" means any habitat condition or set of habitat conditions which, if
			 diminished in quality or quantity, would result in depletion of a fish or
			 wildlife species.
(4) "Fish and
			 Wildlife" means all fish, shellfish, intertidal animals, wild birds,
			 amphibians, reptiles, and wild mammals over which the Fish and Wildlife
			 Commission has jurisdiction.
(5)
			 "Habitat" means the physical and biological conditions within the geographic
			 range of occurrence of a species, extending over time, that affect the welfare
			 of the species or any sub-population or members of the species.
(6) "Habitat Quantity" means the amount of a
			 given habitat type.
(7) "Habitat
			 Quality" means the relative importance of a habitat with regard to its ability
			 to influence species presence and support the life-cycle requirements of the
			 fish and wildlife species that use it.
(8) "Habitat Type" means the classification
			 of a site or area based on its dominant plant, soil, and water associations or
			 other salient features (e.g. tidal influence, salinity, substrate, alkalinity,
			 etc.) of value to the support and use by fish and wildlife.
(9) "Home Range" means the area that a
			 species traverses in the scope of normal life-cycle activities.
(10) "Impact" means an adverse effect of a
			 development action upon fish and wildlife habitat.
(11) "Important Habitat" means any habitat
			 recognized as a contributor to sustaining fish and wildlife populations on a
			 physiographic province basis over time.
(12) "In-kind Habitat Mitigation" means
			 habitat mitigation measures which recreate similar habitat structure and
			 function to that existing prior to the development action.
(13) "In-proximity Habitat Mitigation" means
			 habitat mitigation measures undertaken within or in proximity to areas affected
			 by a development action. For the purposes of this policy, "in proximity to"
			 means within the same home range, or watershed (depending on the species or
			 population being considered) whichever will have the highest likelihood of
			 benefiting fish and wildlife populations directly affected by the
			 development.
(14) "Irreplaceable"
			 means that successful in-kind habitat mitigation to replace lost habitat
			 quantity and/or quality is not feasible within an acceptable period of time or
			 location, or involves an unacceptable level of risk or uncertainty, depending
			 on the habitat under consideration and the fish and wildlife species or
			 populations that are affected. "Acceptable", for the purpose of this
			 definition, means in a reasonable time frame to benefit the affected fish and
			 wildlife species.
(15) "Limited
			 habitat" means an amount insufficient or barely sufficient to sustain fish and
			 wildlife populations over time.
(16) "Mitigation" means taking one or more of
			 the following actions listed in order of priority:
(a) Avoiding the impact altogether by not
			 taking a certain development action or parts of that action;
(b) Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree
			 or magnitude of the development action and its implementation;
(c) Rectifying the impact by repairing,
			 rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment;
(d) Reducing or eliminating the impact over
			 time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the
			 development action and by monitoring and taking appropriate corrective
			 measures;
(e) Compensating for the
			 impact by replacing or providing comparable substitute resources or
			 environments.