• Acquire old growth forest land according to one of the following options: 



Option 1 : Purchase 3,956 acres of Douglas fir forest land with the majority of the 

 timber stand being at least 150 to 200 years old and possessing the attributes of true 

 "old-growth" forest. 



Option 2: Purchase 5,934 acres of second growth forest land that is at least 40 years 

 old for eventual replacement of old-growth. 



Option 3: Take 25 percent of the average cost of Options i and 2 (approximately $20 

 million) and dedicate it to partial mitigation of old-growth when the opportunity arises, 

 with the remaining to be spent to maximize the other mitigation opportunities m the 

 proposal. 



• Improve and manage these acquired lands. 



• Use enhancement on public lands and other options to achieve mitigation goals when 

 and where the opportunities exist and are consistent with the overall mitigation goal. 



3. The Palisades Proposal (Summarized from "Wildlife Protection, Mitigation and 

 Enhancement Plan - Palisades Project," Final Report, 1986.) 



Palisades Dam and Reservoir are located on the South Fork Snake River, approximately 50 

 miles southeast of Idaho Falls, Idaho on the Idaho/Wyoming border. Construction of Palisades 

 Dam began in 1951, and the dam and power plant were completed in 1957 and 1958, respectively. 

 Palisades Dam created a 1 5,600 surface-acre reservoir (890 acres are in the state of Wyoming) 

 with over 1 million acre-feet of water storage capacity. Palisades Dam (131 MW) is a multipurpose 

 facility and is operated and maintained by the Bureau of Reclamation. Congress provided no 

 funding to mitigate the impacts on wildlife. 



The wildlife mitigation proposal for Palisades Dam was completed by the Idaho Department of 

 Fish and Game in November 1986 and submitted to the Council for action in early 1987. 

 Development of the wildlife mitigation proposal was consistent with the planning provisions 

 contained in Section 1003(b) of the fish and wildlife program. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 was the lead agency for the development of the wildlife loss statement for Palisades Dam. The 

 Idaho Department of Fish and Game was the lead agency for the development of the 



1W There was disagreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oregon 

 Department of Fish and Wikjiife over the level of mitigation for the old-growth component of 

 the proposal. The disagreement has not been resolved. Therefore, the Oregon Department 

 of Fish and Wikjiife provided three funding options for the Council to consider m its action on 

 the proposal. 



12./ The Bureau has been responsive to agency requests for flow releases from Palisades 

 Reservoir for fish and wildlife values. However, no structural measures have been 

 implemented to mitigate for the loss of habitat due to the impoundment of Palisades 

 Reservoir or for the loss of wikJIife below the reservoir. 



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