Final Report DRAFT for Public and Peer Review

Status Review of the (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Oregon and Evaluation of Criteria to Reclassify the Species from Threatened to Endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife September January 20187

Foreword

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the status of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Oregon in response to a petition from several conservation groups. The petition requests that the be reclassified from threatened to endangered (uplisted) under the Oregon Endangered Species Act.

This draft report has been prepared by the Department for the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, as a guide to the requirements of the Oregon Endangered Species Act and, as an draft assessment of the biological status of the species, and as a document for public and peer review. Prior Marbled Murrelet status reviews by the Department (ODFW 1995, 2013) served as the starting point for this report, and new or updated information was incorporated wherever possible. A draft of this document A final report will beunderwent peer and public review in fall 2017 produced following completion of the public comment and peer review processes. All comments received were considered in the preparation of this final report.. The Department expects to present the final status review and reclassification analysis to the Commission in February 2018.

Cover Photo: Martin Raphael, U.S. Service. Available from Flickr.

Suggested Citation: ODFW. 20187. Draft sStatus review of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Oregon and evaluation of criteria to reclassify the species from threatened to endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act. Report prepared for the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission and for public and peer review, September January 20187. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Salem, Oregon.

DRAFT Marbled Murrelet Status Review i

Executive Summary

The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a small seabird that breeds along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to central California. Marbled Murrelets spend most of their lives at sea and forage on small fish and invertebrates in nearshore marine waters. Throughout much of their range, they fly inland for nesting in old-growth and late-successional . Marbled Murrelets do not construct nests, per se, but instead lay their single in a depression in , lichen, or tree litter or other substrate on a large or deformed tree branch, generally high in the live canopy.

Marbled Murrelets in Washington, Oregon, and California were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1992, and were subsequently listed as state-threatened in Oregon under the Oregon Endangered Species Act in 1995. The species is listed as state-endangered in both Washington and California.

This status review and reclassification analysis is part of a rulemaking process undertaken by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. In response to a petition to uplist the Marbled Murrelet from threatened to endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act, the Commission must determine whether circumstances meet specific legal criteria to warrant reclassification. This review focuses on information relevant to the species’ biological and legal status in Oregon, and will help to inform the Commission’s decision. In order to uplist the Marbled Murrelet, the Commission must determine that the likelihood of survival of the species has diminished such that the species is in danger of extinction throughout any significant portion of its range within Oregon. It must also find that one or more of the following three factors ex