Barbara D. Craig
Experience
Barbara Craig is a partner of the firm practicing in the Natural Resources and Land Use
group. She focuses her practice on federal environmental and natural resources law
with an emphasis on endangered species compliance, and forestry and energy facility
permitting and compliance issues. Barbara has extensive experience on issues
involving the Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Forest Management Act (NFMA),
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Federal Power Act (FPA), Natural Gas Act,
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Bald and
Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Clean Water Act (CWA) and Administrative
Procedures Act. Representative clients include forestry companies and associations,
ports, pulp and paper interests, developers and owners of hydropower dams, wind
energy projects, utilities, and oil and gas facilities in complex permitting matters.
Governor Kulongoski appointed Barbara to the Oregon Board of Forestry, where she
served from 2004 through 2008.
Prior Experience
Barbara served as law clerk to the Honorable Robert C. Belloni, U.S. District Court for
the District of Oregon, and has assisted Judge Owen M. Panner, Judge Malcom F.
Marsh and Judge James A. Redden, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, in
cases involving NEPA, the NFMA and the ESA.
Barbara has her B.S. in Forest Management from Oregon State University and worked
Partner
Portland, OR
(503) 294-9166 direct
(503) 220-2480 fax
(503) 318-6048 mobile
barbara.craig@stoel.com
Education

Certificate in Environmental and
for the U.S. Forest Service as a project forester for five years in the Leavenworth
Natural Resources Law
Ranger District in the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington. As a project forester,
she was responsible for all aspects of timber management, including NEPA documents,
silvicultural prescriptions, sale design, field layout, contract compilation and
Lewis & Clark Law School, J.D., 1987
Cornelius Honor Society

appraisal. She was a member of the Redmond Hotshot Crew, fighting forest fires in
Oregon State University, B.S., Forest
Management, 1980
the region. Before joining the U.S. Forest Service, she worked as a private contractor
Admissions
for four years, procuring labor contracts in forestry for activities such as reforestation,

Oregon

Washington

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
slash piling, fire-line construction and precommercial thinning.
Representative Work

Assisted timberland owners in Washington and Oregon with strategy and
development of a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) for the northern spotted owl
under the ESA. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) critical habitat
designation excluded all of the clients' lands encompassing 81,587 acres under
the SHA.

Advised utilities on ESA, MBTA and Eagle Act issues for their hydropower projects
and distribution and transmission lines, including the development of Avian Bat
Circuit
Barbara D. Craig
Protection Plans (ABPPs) or Bird and Bat Conservation Strategies (BBCS) and Eagle Conservation Plans (ECPs).

Advised wind energy companies on ESA, MBTA, Eagle Act, NEPA and related NHPA issues and tribal consultations for existing
wind projects, including the development of ABPPs or BBCS, ECPs, Section 7 ESA consultations and Section 10 Habitat
Conservation Plans (HCPs) and ESA take avoidance agreements.

Advised wind energy companies on ESA, MBTA, Eagle Act NEPA and NHPA issues in developing and constructing wind projects,
including the development of Avian Bat Protection Plans (ABPs) or Bird and Bat Conservation Strategies (BBCS), Section 7 ESA
consultations, Section 10 HCPs and Eagle Conservation Plans (ECPs).

Advise utilities on federal and state permitting strategies for the development of energy projects, including Section 10 Rivers
and Harbors Act issues, ESA compliance and NEPA and Waterway Suitability Assessments for the U.S. Coast Guard Letter of
Recommendation.

Advise utility on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license compliance issues consistent with its FERC license arti cles
and agreements, including advice regarding HCP terms and the development of hatchery genetic management plans (HGMPs)
and Section 10 ESA permits.

Represented energy company in siting facility and obtaining a FERC certificate that included U.S. Coast Guard Letter of
Recommendation, NEPA, Section 7 ESA consultation and MMPA compliance strategy related to the proposed construction and
operation of the energy facility and pipeline in Pacific Northwest.

Advised numerous private clients on ESA compliance strategies related to the Oregon silverspot butterfly, including completion
of an HCP for a real estate development, completion of conservation agreements and take avoidance plans.

Advised Potlatch Corp. in renewal of its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the CWA and
Section 7 ESA consultation for the company's Lewiston, Idaho pulp and paper mill, and successfully defended consultation in
federal court litigation.

Represented intervenor Longview Fibre Company in litigation brought by environmental plaintiffs against the State of Oregon
under the ESA. In PRC v. Brown, plaintiffs alleged that the State Forester was in violation of the ESA by approving timber
harvest plans that could impact streams where listed fish were found. Due to a variety of circumstances, including revisions to
the Oregon Forest Practices Act and the de-listing of the Coho, the court dismissed the case.

Represent utility in FERC dispute through FERC license amendment and negotiated settlement agreement of HCPs under the ESA
and FPA and associated tribal consultation.

Represent utility in relicensing strategy that incorporated HCPs and additional settlement agreement measures for new FERC
license under the FPA and assisted in Section 7 ESA consultations with the FWS, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and
FERC.

Represented utility in development of successful ESA consultations to obtain HCP incidental take permits for two FERC
hydropower projects.

Negotiated and drafted decommissioning settlement agreement for hydroelectric project in Washington, resolving all issues
related to interim project operations and project decommissioning involving numerous stakeholders, including American Rivers,
NMFS, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Yakama Nation and the Columbia River Intertribal Fish
Barbara D. Craig
Commission. Negotiated a related agreement under which the U.S. Department of Justice, acting in its capacity for Indian
tribes, and four Indian tribes released potential claims against client.

Advised coalition of private and public utilities on ESA compliance for the operation of the Federal Columbia River Hydropower
System. Successfully defended in federal district court against a preliminary injunction that could have resulted in the judge
running the operations of the river at great cost to the region and with a large loss of flexibility and reliability to the
hydropower system. Successfully assisted in the development of a biological opinion pursuant to the court's remand order.

Advised utility on interim ESA consultation with FERC for its ongoing hydroelectric operations, fortuitously providing incidental
take coverage before a catastrophic event occurred. Represented the same utility in excluding its FERC project lands from being
designated as critical habitat on the basis of its prior ESA compliance strategy.

Advised private utility in ESA consultation, including the Lost River and shortnose suckers and coho, for its FERC hydroelectric
project with the Bureau of Reclamation, the FWS, FERC and the NMFS. Successfully defended the ESA consultation compliance
through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Advised an energy client in negotiating a settlement agreement with ranchers to acquire water rights to dedicate to instream
flows to enhance fish habitat as part of an HCP.

Advised industrial developer in all permitting associated with building a fabrication plant, including ESA compliance for
Bradshaw's lomatium. Successfully defended ESA consultation in federal court litigation through the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals without any injunctive relief.
Professional Honors and Activities

Selected by Best Lawyers® as Natural Resources Law Lawyer of the Year, Portland, 2011

Listed in Best Lawyers in America© (currently: Natural Resources Law), 2009-2016

Selected as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" (Oregon) by Chambers USA (currently: Environment), 2010-2016

Past General Counsel, current Board Member and President, Northwest Hydroelectric Association, 2014

Recipient of the Ted Young Stewardship Award from OFIC, 2009
Presentations

"Finding the Balance: Wind Energy and Avian Conservation," Webinar, 2014

Moderator, "Sage Grouse in the Western Landscape," Northwest Mining Association Annual Meeting, 2012

"Teaming to Build a Defensible Record," 2011

"Eagles and Wind Farms - Can't We All Just Get Along?" 2011

Moderator, "Renewable Energy and the Endangered Species Act: Advancing Sustainable Energy While Protecting Wildlife," ABA
Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Law Summit, 2010

"Avian Laws and Wind Energy Development," 2010

Moderator, "The Might Columbia," The Seminar Group, 2007
Barbara D. Craig

"Demystifying the Endangered Species Act," Law Seminars International: Land Use in Southwestern Washington, 2007

"Hatchery Policy & Steelhead 'Downlisting' Invalidated," The Seminar Group CLE Webcast, Seattle, 2007

"New Legal Standards and Requirements: A Status Report, The Endangered Species Act," National Hydropower Association Annual
Conference, 2006

"A Primer on the Endangered Species Act: The Species List, Take Prohibition, Permits & Federal Consultation Requirements,"
2006

Moderator, "The Mighty Columbia – A River for All," The Seminar Group, 2005

"Endangered Species Act: New Changes and How They May Affect You," 2005

"The Present and Future of HCPs: With or Without 'No Surprises,' Habitat Conservation Plans and "No Surprise Rule" Panel, 2005

"ESA and FERC Relicensing, PacifiCorp Case Study: Lewis River Hydroelectric Projects," National Hydropower Conference, 2005

"Major Court Decision Affecting Critical Habitat in the Gifford Pinchot Case," National Hydropower Conference, 2004

"The Intricate Interplay Between CWA and ESA Issues," ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, 2002
Publications

"Wind Energy Operators Need Eagle Eyes for New Rules," Law 360, 2014

"FWS Extends Eagle "Take" Permit to 30 Years | What You Need to Know," Stoel Rives Environmental Law Alert, 2013

"Final Rule Issued: FWS Extends Eagle 'Take' Permit to 30 Years--What You Need to Know," Stoel Rives Environmental Law Alert,
2013

"Avian Impacts and the Law," Compliance and Conservation Strategies for Permitting Projects, 2013

"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance for Wind Projects," Stoel Rives Environmental Law Alert,
2013

"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines," Stoel Rives Environmental Law Alert, 2013

"Endangered Species Act: Endangered Species Act Developments," Oregon Insider, 2005

"National Forest Planning & Anadromous Fish Protection: A Trilogy of NEPA Cases," Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation,
1988