273 



PopulatkNi DediiM in Califbrnta 



The suiotnent that Marbled Munelets have declined by 90 to 93 paceni in CalifiMTiu is often 

 coade. iiowevcr. desplK this ofiea-inade stateojent, and belief in its accuracy, the »ni reman is 

 only a hypothesis, and thert is no direci evidenca chat the ciarem Marbled Miurelet populanon 

 i& California isi now smaller or larger than in the past The hypodiesis aasumes thsx Marbled 

 Mtmelets occupied all ftamer old growth faests in the coastal zone of CjiUfrrmia at densitijcs 

 DOW seen in Odifornia forests. In addition, the hypothesis assumes diat nranhnre manse areas 

 along Ae coast of California ne amform and equally able lo support fcnging Marbled Mundets. 

 Both these assuinptiotis are insupportable. Please note thai there are a few locatians within the 

 range of the MarUed Munelei in California where birds are now absent from inland areas 

 fonneriy "occupied" and marine "foraging" areas, but these an limiwsH (gee the coaqxehenstve 

 reviews of Carter and Eiickson 1988, 1992). In short, in the northwest coast area of nonbeiB 

 Califonua, the area where the lands of The Pacific Lumber Company are located, there is no 

 direct evidence m suggest that the regional Marbled Murrelet population now present is smaller 

 or larger than the past regional populatioo. 



I most point oui that throughout the listing process in CaKfbmia. and at the federal level, there 

 has been a general lack of atieniion to the capacity, or lack thereof, of coastal marine waters to 

 support Marided Murrelet popuiatioiis. Unfortunately, this lack of attendoo of the importance 

 of die marine canying capacity generally continues. Indeed, there sre many reasons to expect 

 maiine environments to differendally limit Marbled Murtelei populatians, as the coastal marine 

 areas are both temporally and spatially dynamic, with some more productive dian others, and 

 same tnore {vedictable than others. 



Inland Nesting Distribiition of the Nortfacrn Califoniia Population 



The work by researchers at the Redwood Science Laboatory in Areata, California, a team lead 

 by Dr. C John Palph, has had consideiable success of determining the bioed u sea distributiofl 

 and abundance of the Marbled Mnrrelei in Nonhem CaliToEnia coastal waters. In addition, they 

 have been actively engaged in forest surveys for Marbled Munelets throug^tom the region, and 

 have established, in broad and general terms, the forest distribudoi of the species in the area, 

 including the identification of areas where Marbled Morrelets sre apparemly more abundant. 



Hbwevo'. the current state of MarHed Murrelet survey technology (Ralph et aL 1993) and 

 knowledge of Marbled Murrelet social behavior at idaiid forest areas does not allow for the 

 accurate estimation of nombers of Marbled Munelets at particular forest areas. Indeed, I do not 

 believe that it is possible to determine die piupmil oa of the regional Marbled Munelet population 

 that is associated with and nests in forest areas on the lands of The Pacific Ljimber Company. 

 Dr. Ralph's esrimare that 20 percent of the regional Marbled Murrelet popoladoB nests on the 

 lands of The Pacific I Jiiober Company is a hypothesis, and nothing noore. 



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