Josephine County, OR Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Rookery/nest structure setback
- 300 feet
- Protected species named
- Osprey, great blue heron
- Trigger
- ODFW inventory furnished to county
- Variance review path
- Chapter 19.44 JCC
- ODFW notice period for exception
- 30 days
- Maximum fine
- $500 noncontinuing, $1,000 continuing
Summary
In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, documented osprey and great blue heron rookeries get a 300-foot structure setback under the Rural Land Development Code. JCC § 19.72.040(C) applies once the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has inventoried and furnished the county with a sensitive nesting, roosting or watering site.
Rookery or Nest Sites. There shall be a structure setback of 300 feet from rookery or nest sites when the habitat has been documented on an inventory as a sensitive bird nesting, roosting or watering resource for osprey or great blue heron by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and the inventory has been furnished to Josephine County. A variance may be authorized to this setback requirement when adverse impacts to the rookery or nest site are resolved by an approved mitigation plan. The ODFW shall be given 30 days' prior written notice of the proposed setback exception, to include a copy of the mitigation plan. The Department may comment on the plan or object to the proposed development.
Full Breakdown
040(C) imposes a 300-foot structure setback from any rookery or nest site once the habitat has been documented on an inventory as a sensitive bird nesting, roosting or watering resource for osprey or great blue heron by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and that inventory has been furnished to Josephine County; an unreported site does not trigger the setback. 44 JCC and is judged solely on whether the site remains significant habitat or whether an approved mitigation plan adequately offsets adverse impacts to the rookery or nest.
Before the county acts, ODFW must receive 30 days' prior written notice of the proposed setback exception along with a copy of the mitigation plan, and the Department may comment on the plan or object to the proposed development. 020.
Violations & Fines
Building within the 300-foot rookery buffer without an approved variance is enforced under the Rural Land Development Code's general violation process in Chapter 19.19: the Planning Director issues written notice citing the violated section and allows up to 30 days to correct it, escalating to District Attorney prosecution or Board of County Commissioners civil remedy, with fines up to $500 for a noncontinuing offense and $1,000 for a continuing one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can I build to an osprey nest in rural Josephine County?
Can the 300-foot rookery setback ever be reduced?
Does this setback apply if the nest isn't on an official inventory?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Josephine County
Compare Josephine County to another location·View the Oregon animal ordinances overview
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