SALEM — The Council of Forest Trust Land Counties, or CFTLC, has countered the Oregon Department of Forestry’s proposed habitat conservation plan, or HCP, with an alternative proposal.

The goal of the forestry department’s proposed HCP is to mitigate harm to 17 species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act or could gain protection. Some logging groups and rural communities view the plan as a threat because it would set aside hundreds of thousands of acres for conservation, reducing timber harvesting.

“Those timber revenues go to counties and special districts like fire and rescue districts, school districts. ODF’s plan could really hurt communities, not to mention timber jobs,” said David Yamamoto, Tillamook County Commissioner and CFTLC chair.

CFTLC, a division of the Association of Oregon Counties, which represents Oregon’s 36 counties, submitted an alternative proposal this month.

“We’re really just trying to find a solution that meets the economic needs of our counties as well as the habitat needs of endangered species,” said Lauren Smith, executive director of CFTLC.

CFTLC claims its alternative would better protect species than ODF’s plan because it would focus on managing threats rather than just creating habitat.

If adopted, ODF’s plan would designate 275,500 acres as habitat conservation areas and 70,000 acres as riparian conservation areas. In contrast, CFTLC’s proposal would set aside about 100,000 fewer acres and focus instead on threats.

Northern spotted owls, for example, one of the species to be protected, face threats from the invasive barred owl. CFTLC’s plan would focus on managing invasive species, developing nesting platforms and emphasizing population numbers rather than total acreage.

“ODF’s model assumes if you simply create habitat, the species will return,” said Yamamoto of CFTLC.

This model, he said, has proven costly and ineffective.

“We believe there are better ways,” he said.

Liz Dent, state forests division chief for ODF, responded that the state’s HCP already includes language allowing for a barred owl management program, and added that management of threatening species “has to be balanced with creating and maintaining suitable habitat.”

CFTLC submitted its alternative proposal through the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, “scoping” process, during which stakeholders may propose alternatives.

Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will weigh the alternative against ODF’s plan later this year, the NEPA evaluation will be completed in  mid-2022 and the Oregon Board of Forestry will make a final decision in 2023.

Joe Justice of La Grande, region manager of Hancock Forest Management lands in northeast Oregon and member of the Oregon Board of Forestry, said he understands CFTCL’s reasoning.

“They make a strong point, I guess,” said Justice. “I would say my opinion is they make a strong point that if we’re going to protect endangered species like the spotted owl, we need to think about threats from other species. I think it’s a viable consideration and alternative.”

Justice did not comment on whether he might vote in favor of the alternative. He did, however, say choosing an alternative would mean more work for ODF.