Oregon receives grant for endangered species study

SALEM (AP)–Federal and state funds totaling $1 million have been set aside to study a new endangered species protection plan in Oregon forests, a decade after a similar effort stalled.

The money is earmarked to fund the beginning of a three-year process aimed at laying out new rules for protecting endangered species in 630,000 acres of state-owned forest land west of the Cascades.

The plan would consider species including the spotted owl and marbled murrelet, and set guidelines for timber harvesting and recreational use.

The Oregon Forestry Department announced the funding Monday.

A previous attempt to create a plan ended in 2008 without new guidelines being adopted.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contributed $750,000 with the remainder coming from the state.