Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

they may have under federal law. Several hundred permit applications wereaffected in some way during 1990 by Washington regulatory requirementsrelated to the northern spotted owl. The regulations also provide protection tonontimber resources, including wildlife habitat, within designated riparianareas.Washington Environmental Policy Act. This law is similar to the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act. Implementing regulations require environmentalanalysis and public review, and set substantive environmental goals for allagencies.Local Zoning and Land Use Control. Local government permits are requiredfor land use conversion, clearing and grading, and building construction.Permits generally are subject to SEPA analysis.Wildlife Laws. Pursuant to Washington's wildlife laws, the state WildlifeCommission may by rule designate a species of wildlife as endangered. Huntingof or trafficking in endangered wildlife species is prohibited. The northernspotted owl is listed as endangered under Washington law.Land ManagementState Lands-Federally Granted Trusts. These lands were granted toWashington by the federal government to be managed in trust for the financialbenefit of schools and other legally designated beneficiaries. About 1.3 millionacres of forestland are currently in this ownership. Common law requires thestate, acting through the Department of Natural Resources, to exercise thesame prudence a private person would exercise in managing his or her ownland. Case law requires undivided loyalty to the trust beneficiaries. Forestedtrust lands are managed on a sustained-yield basis. Trust lands are subject tothe same regulatory requirements as those of other landowners. Beyondregulatory requirements, wildlife habitat objectives are incorporated intomanagement, consistent with trust requirements.State Lands-Forest Board. State statute created this state ownership ofapproximately 620,000 acres. These lands, mostly second-growth, are dedicatedto perpetuate the forest resource. Revenues from management benefitcounty junior taxing districts and the state general fund. Case law indicatesthat the state has a trust relationship to county beneficiaries.Commission on Old-Growth Alternatives. In June 1989, this broad-basedcitizens' commission made consensus recommendations to the Department ofNatural Resources on management of old-growth forest on state lands on thewestern Olympic Peninsula. Recommendations included a 15-year harvestdeferral on 15,000 acres of the most critical owl habitat, acquisition from thetrusts of 3,000 acres of land with high ecological value, creation of a 260,000-acre experimental forest and a forest research center, and calculation of asustained-yield level for these lands distinct from other state lands. Theseproposals are in various stages of consideration and implementation.Industrial Lands. This is the largest nonfederal forestland ownership categoryin Washington, responsible for more than half of the total state timbersupply in recent years. Although managed to provide economic returns,industrial lands are subject to the state forest practices regulations describedearlier. In some cases, relatively large contiguous ownership blocks areconducive to effective voluntary management for some nontimber values,87