Dear Guy- I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for several days to discuss the Wildlife section of the Draft Forest Plan, but have been unable to do so. Today is my last day before I depart for a 3-month sabbatical. While we are continuing to prepare our formal comments on the Proposed Action, I wanted to make sure that you had the three papers below that relate to fishers in the NPC, please consider this as a comment in response to the Proposed Action. In particular, I call your attention to Sauder and Rachlow 2014 which found (I’m paraphrasing) that where mature forests represented 50% of the area (on multiple use FS lands), Fisher were twice as likely to be found, compared with the industrial forests, where ~22% of the forests were in mature/late seral conditions. In light of the importance of contributing to the long-term persistence of fisher on the landscape, especially in light of potential increases in the rate of timber harvest, I urge you to consider specific forest plan components to respond to these findings. I also wanted to make sure that you have a copy of the Wolverine map that was developed by the WCS. I encourage you to coordinate with their organization and Mr. Jeff Copeland jcopeland224@gmail.com to ensure that best available science is considered with regards to wolverine. At the attached map illustrates, the NPC region is of critical relative importance to the persistence of wolverine, especially in light of climate change. Coupled with the lack of a listing from USFWS, specific plan components should be developed and the species should be reconsidered for inclusion on the Species of Conservation Concern list. Finally, so you know, I will be out on sabbatical until Nov. 11, in the meantime, on Forest Planning issues, please keep John Robison in the loop at jrobison@idahoconservation.org or at 208-345-6942 ext. 14 Thanks, jonathan - - - - - Jonathan Oppenheimer Senior Conservation Associate Idaho Conservation League PO Box 844, Boise, ID 83701 208.345.6933 x 26 • fax 208.344.0344 • cell 208.867.3505 http://www.idahoconservation.org • http://www.idahoconservation.org/blog Twitter: iclnaturerocks Facebook: /idahoconservationleague Idaho’s leading voice for conservation