The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a small seabird that nests predominantly on the large, mossy limbs of old-growth trees within about 50km of salt water. It is found only on the western coast of North America, and is presently classified as “threatened” under the federal Species at Risk Act. Loss of old-growth nesting habitat has been the main concern to-date in the conservation of this species.

The bulk of the British Columbia nesting population occurs in the Coast Forest Region, but the Northern Interior Forest Region (RNI) has significant populations in the coastal portions of the Kalum Forest District.

Doug Steventon, RNI Research Wildlife Ecologist (Smithers office) is a member of the federal/provincial Marbled Murrelet Recovery Team designing revised conservation strategies for the species. He has led an effort to conduct formal risk assessment for the species both coast-wide and for the North Coast LRMP. For more information on this topic, please go to the links provided below.

Coast-wide Risk Assessment documents:

• Long-term Risks to Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) Populations: Assessing Alternative Forest Management Policies in Coastal British Columbia (778 KB Adobe pfd file).

• Policy Implications of an Assessment of Long-term Risks to Marbled Murrelet Populations in British Columbia (542 KB Adobe pfd file).

Northern Coast radar-based Murrelet survey (includes Kalum District) and North Coast LRMP Risk Assessment:

• A Radar-based Inventory of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus), Northern Mainland Coast of British Columbia (798 KB Adobe pdf file).

• North Coast LRMP Environmental Risk Assessment: Marbled Murrelet (1.75 MB Adobe pfd file).

Additional Marbled Murrelet Information:

• Coast Region Marbled Murrelet Home Page