At the Council’s August 16, 2012 request, the ISRP reviewed a proposal for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program (#2011-003-00). This program was established by the Willamette River Basin Memorandum of Agreement Regarding Wildlife Habitat Protection and Enhancement between the State of Oregon and the Bonneville Power Administration in October 2010. The program has developed a new public process and criteria to be used for prioritizing projects that apply to receive acquisition funding from BPA. This program attempts to address the most critical and urgent needs for habitat protection on a landscape scale, which should benefit a multitude of species. The program’s habitat protection and restoration focus is on protecting those habitat types that have been identified as most at risk in the Willamette basin.
The ISRP reviewed the material provided and requests a response. The proposal sections that need to be clarified and expanded are identified in the attached memo. At this stage, the ISRP focus is on the selection criteria proposed for acquiring lands. In the future, the ISRP should review the protocols for monitoring and evaluation of lands purchased.
