Currently, 583,000 acres of DNR land in Washington are conserved for marbled murrelets, though other species benefit as well. The six alternatives would increase the acreage by as little as 10,000 acres to as much as 151,000 acres.

The last option, favored by conservationists, would increase the total DNR acreage conserved for murrelets to 734,000. They say the alternative is better because it includes areas recommended for conservation by a group of scientists. Those scientists convened in 2004 and released their recommendations in 2008.

“We felt like there was a scientifically-based, vetted method for choosing these areas,” said Lisa Remlinger, forest campaign director for Washington Environmental Council.

Overall, however, Remlinger and other groups like Seattle-based Conservation Northwest, argue that none of the DNR alternatives would adequately protect the murrelets.

“Even though DNR is considering a range of efforts to reverse the decline — and that’s good, we support the efforts to do that — there are certain components that are not sufficient to protect the birds,” Remlinger said Friday.

Remlinger said she wants to see more acreage conserved.