December 3-4, 2015 - LCDC Salem <br />Agenda Item 4, Attachment H <br />IOREGONI <br />rz/ <br />Fish &Wildlife] <br />MEMORANDUM <br />Department of Fish and Wildlife <br />Wildlife Division <br />Date: October 28, 2015 <br />To: HB 2254 RAC and DLCD staff <br />From: Joy Vaughan, Land Use and Waterway Alterations Coordinator <br />Subject: HB 2254 Rulemaking <br />ODFW provides the following comments and recommendations in support of our letter <br />submitted to the RAC on 9/8/15 and LCDC on 9/17/15. As mentioned in those letters, it <br />is the policy of the state of Oregon to manage fish and wildlife to prevent serious <br />depletion of indigenous species and to provide the optimum recreational and aesthetic <br />benefits for present and future generations of the citizens of this state (ORS 496.012). <br />In addition, the Statewide Planning Goal 5 Guidelines includes consideration of the <br />carrying capacity of the air, land and water resources of the planning area and <br />Implementation Criteria 4 states that "fish and wildlife areas and habitats should be <br />protected and managed in accordance with the Oregon Wildlife Commission's fish and <br />wildlife management plans". In support of these policies, it is critical that the long-term <br />preservation of these natural resources are considered early in the planning phase for <br />UGB expansions. This will help to identify opportunities for maintaining habitat <br />connectivity, avoiding and minimizing impacts to the significant resources and reducing <br />conflicts from urban development and infrastructure. ODFW believes it is important for <br />cities to consider natural resources not only for protection and conservation of those <br />resources for present and future generations, but also in balancing cost, feasibility and <br />public safety associated with urban development. <br />Therefore, ODFW recommends that DLCD consider three "screens" for cities to apply <br />when evaluating land containing habitat resources. The first "screen" would be those <br />resources captured under OAR 660-038-0160(c) that may be excluded from a study <br />area. The second "screen" would be an opportunity during the study area evaluation for <br />a city to coordinate with ODFW and exclude and/or reduce buildable land capacity for <br />certain lands that require limiting or prohibiting urban development to ensure the long- <br />term preservation of significant natural resources. Depending on how Section 7, <br />Subsection 2 of HB 2254 is interpreted, the provision for exclusion may be more <br />suitable to be "screened" under OAR 660-038-0170. For those resources where limiting <br />urban development are identified, an appropriate reduction of buildable lands would be <br />applied. The final "screen" would help address the local/regional habitat concerns at a <br />finer scale when applying urban plan designations in OAR 660-038-0180. Language <br />should provide an opportunity for more site specific consultations and technical <br />assistance from ODFW to evaluate resources within the UGB to avoid and/or minimize <br />impacts from development actions. <br />ODFW HB 2254 corrunents for RAC, 10.28.15 Page 1 <br />