The Marbled Murrelet: Publicly Speaking

Talking points taken to heart: From notes prepared for comments made before the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, convened to consider whether the Marbled Murrelet should be uplisted from a threatened to an endangered species. Portland, Oregon, February 9, 2018.

My name is Lloyd Vivola.

I live in the Johnson Creek Watershed.

I am a citizen of Portland, Oregon.

I lead or participate in a number of organic gardening, nature education, and habitat restoration projects, but I speak here today on my own behalf as a passionate advocate for healthy forests and effective wildlife protection.

Accordingly, I typically support securing complex, natural habitat to the greatest biological range possible, with as little fragmentation as possible. In the case of a bellwether species like the Marbled Murrelet, such a goal is all the more imperative.

When I hear adjectives like mysterious and elusive applied to the Marbled Murrelet, I am reminded, as I hope you are, too, that much in the way of the natural world does remain a mystery, not least of all in times of great shift and disruption; that today, more than ever, we face a challenging, uncharted future with regard to ecological good health and sustainable environmental sanity.

I am also reminded that the best of wildlife and habitat science has as much to say about the human species as it does about those we study and try to manage; that we are relative newcomers to this place we call home; that there is much still to learn and discover about ourselves and all our relations.

But that we meet here today at a threshold of reclassification and in light of so much available evidence - on species decline, on possible extinction, on habitat loss, on climate change - should be reason enough for Fish and Wildlife to uplist the Marbled Murrelet in a manner consistent with federal law and with the policies of our neighboring West Coast states.

Unknowns and uncertainty are swirling all around us, so let us not allow a confluence of obvious trends to go crashing off a cliff for want of taking that simple step and subsequently moving forward with integrated, even innovative, policy-making.

Those of us who advocate for the Marbled Murrelet attend this meeting not to savor a political victory, but do so instead with great sadness and anxiety, not to mention the stubborn hope that reclassification can translate into an opportunity.

More research and greater understanding of the issue are always welcomed and in order, but such studies, which rightfully must include community input, can effectively be performed with the Marbled Murrelet listed as endangered.

That said, it is my sincere hope that the next time expert analysis and public comment are invited to convene on this issue, it will be to discuss interim survival guidelines for this fascinating bird and the habitat it shares with so many others.

After an agonizing day of expert analysis and comments from an array of Oregon citizens and activists, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-2 in favor of listing the Marbled Murrelet as endangered.

On June 7, 2018, at a public meeting in Baker City OR, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, under pressure from the timber industry, reversed its decision and chose not to uplist by a vote of 4-2. Interim survival guidelines, as researched, vetted and compiled by ODFW staff, would be drawn up but not put into effect.

On August 7, 2019, a Lane County Circuit Court ruled that the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, having not given adequate reason or evidence, had violated state law when it reversed its original decision of February 2018 and voted not to list the Marbled Murrelet as endangered.

On July 9, 2021, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission reclassified the Marbled Murrelet as Endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act.