The Conservation Biology Alternative for Grizzly Bear Population Restoration
in the Greater Salmon-Selway Region Central Idaho and Western Montana

X. SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Under this alternative, a Salmon-Selway Grizzly Bear Scientific Committee is established to carry out additional research, implement translocations of grizzly bears, and monitor the results of the project. This interdisciplinary team shall have participants employed by state and federal governments and members from the non-governmental, independent scientific community.

SALMON-SELWAY GRIZZLY BEAR SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

(a) DEFINITIONS

(1) The term ?Scientific Committee? means the Salmon-Selway Grizzly Bear Scientific Committee established under subsection (b).

(2) The term ?population recovery zone? means those portions of the States of Idaho and Montana depicted on the maps accompanying this alternative.

(b) SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

(1) ESTABLISHMENT--Not later than 60 days after signing a final decision notice on the Record of Decision and Final Environmental Impact Statement, the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences, shall establish a Salmon-Selway Grizzly Bear Scientific Committee. The Scientific Committee shall consist of 10 members appointed by the Secretary of the Interior after consideration of comments received pursuant to paragraph (4) and full and good faith consultation with the National Academy of Sciences and the Society for Conservation Biology and professionals in the fields of wildlife, population ecology, plant ecology, range, forestry, and conservation biology.

(2) MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS??-The Scientific Committee shall consist of ten individuals, each of whom is an acknowledged expert in one or more of the following disciplines?? A) the design and implementation of grizzly bear recovery plans (private sector appointment); B) economic analysis of forest ecosystems (private sector appointment); C) landscape ecology; D) grizzly bear habitat requirements and habitat use patterns; E) plant ecology and the remote sensing/GIS based analysis of vegetation on a regional scale; F) population viability analysis; G) fire ecology; H) conservation genetics; I) restoration of forest ecosystems.

(3) OTHER REQUIREMENTS?? Not more than 5 members of the Scientific Committee may be employees of any Federal or State agency or from any industry involved in resource extraction. Not less than 5 members shall consist of persons from the non-governmental, independent scientific community and academia.

(4) PUBLICATION AND COMMENT PERIOD??The Secretary of the Interior shall publish for public comment the proposed appointees to the Scientific Committee in the Federal Register.

(5) AUTHORITY?? The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shall have sole authority and responsibility for implementing recovery efforts pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The Secretary, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shall act in good faith upon the recommendations of the Scientific Committee and in accordance with its legal responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act requiring the Service to use the best available scientific information in formulating, implementing, and monitoring recovery efforts.

(6) COMPENSATION??The members of the Scientific Committee shall be compensated for expenses associated with travel, meals, and lodging required to attend meetings of the committee. Committee members may also be provided a daily per diem for work done pursuant to their duties as committee members.

(7) REPLACEMENT--In the event that a member of the Scientific Committee should become unable to serve, the Secretary of the Interior, using the process prescribed in b(1), and keeping in mind the requirements set forth in b(3), shall appoint a new member to the Scientific Committee.

(c) STUDY--The Scientific Committee shall design, coordinate and conduct studies in the Salmon-Selway region. All lands associated with this alternative, including the population recovery zone, the Corridor Special Management Area, and the habitat restoration areas shall be studied utilizing an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach. The Committee will implement the following projects??

1) A refined and extended satellite mapping of habitat types, quality, and distribution shall be initiated throughout the population recovery zone and the Corridor Special Management Area using existing and, when necessary, newly collected data. These data on habitat quality will be combined with existing demographic data and principles derived from other populations to estimate a carrying capacity for grizzly bears within the population recovery zone. This work will include analysis of spring, summer, and fall habitat components, bear use patterns, human access, expected human use, and mortality risk factors. This same analysis shall also produce recommendations for any needed boundary adjustments to the population recovery zone;

2) Population analyses of potential source areas for grizzly bear translocations to determine the impact of removing bears under any option considered under c(5) below;

3) A review of techniques and results of all previous translocations within and between other recovery areas;

4) An analysis of the Selway-Bitterroot-Lochsa area for potential release sites for translocated bears;

5) A determination of the ideal number of grizzly bears to be translocated and whether these translocations are to take place in one season or spread out over several years;

6) A review of the scientific literature on the impacts of road densities and loss of cover. Based on this review the committee shall develop management standards for open and total road densities and cover requirements which shall apply to all areas within the population recovery zone outside of wilderness and roadless areas;

7) An evaluation of opportunities for linking the population recovery zone to other grizzly bear population recovery zones by establishment of land corridors capable of supporting grizzly bear movements and natural genetic exchange;

8) A review of the extent of habitat fragmentation caused by development actions, particularly logging and roadbuilding, and the effect such fragmentation has had on the numbers, distribution, densities, movement, and viability of the grizzly bear;

9) Monitoring any human translocated grizzly bears into the population recovery zone from other bear populations including their movements, feeding patterns, and reproductive success;

10) Monitoring the population recovery zone for evidence of grizzly bear reproduction and recruitment levels of offspring;

11) Monitoring the design, implementation, and progress of restoration work in the habitat restoration areas.

12) Identification of additional priority areas for habitat restoration by means of road closures and/or reestablishment of cover.

d) IMPLEMENTATION OF HABITAT MANAGEMENT STANDARDS--Not later than six months following formation of the Scientific Committee, the Scientific Committee shall propose standards for open and total road densities and cover requirements which shall apply outside of wilderness and roadless areas within the population recovery zone.

(e) ANNUAL REPORTS--The Scientific Committee shall prepare interim reports due annually which document the status of the population restoration project, including successes and failures, and make recommendations for adjustments and establishment of additional Corridor Special Management Areas. These reports shall also incorporate the results of additional habitat mapping within the population recovery zone. The first annual report shall include the results of the population analysis of potential source areas for translocated bears as well as the analysis of potential release sites and ideal number of bears to be translocated.

(f) TIME FOR STUDY AND FINAL REPORT--A final report documenting the results, conclusions, and recommendations of the Scientific Committee shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior, with peer review by the National Academy of Sciences and the Society for Conservation Biology, no later than 5 years after the signing of the Decision Notice and Final Environmental Impact Statement. Following submission of the final report, the Scientific Committee shall be dissolved and longterm monitoring of the project shall be carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with cooperation from former committee members and professionals in the disciplines described in b(2).

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