Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

Finally, the plan recommends maintaining residual habitat areas aroundexisting owl pairs and territorial singles. These small areas will help maintainoptions to provide for owls throughout the landscape in the future.A broader array of management practices will be used in the matrix than in theDCAs. The timing and location of management practices will be designed toachieve desired conditions through time. Details of matrix management are insection III.C.2.Nonfederal LandsIn many areas throughout the owl's range, federal lands are not adequate toprovide recovery. In these areas, nonfederal actions are needed. Currently,primary nonfederal action is providing habitat for existing owl pairs to avoidtake of those owls as defined by the Endangered Species Act. A variety ofnonfederal contributions is envisioned in this plan (section III.C.4), and manycontributions may be made in lieu of take provisions. These actions aretermed protective management and may include: 1) helping to meet objectivesfor DCAs where nonfederal lands are mixed with federal lands; 2) providing forclusters of breeding pairs on nonfederal lands; 3) providing habitat for individualowl pairs; and 4) providing dispersal habitat.Evolution of the StrategyThe recovery strategy should evolve as more information is collected on owlsand their habitat. The monitoring and research program is designed to providethat information. The recovery plan recommends establishing an interagencygroup to coordinate this gradual refinement and modification of the recoveryplan strategy, and it recommends maintaining the Recovery Team to fulfill thisfunction until such a group is established.Organization of This ChapterAll facets of the proposed recovery plan are discussed in the following sections.Section III.C.2. reviews management on federal lands. It discusses the delineationof DCAs: criteria used to determine where matrix prescriptions should beapplied; and specific management recommendations for the DCAs and thematrix. Section III.C.3. discusses implementation strategies and tools forfederal and nonfederal lands, and a proposed implementation schedule.Section III.C.4. presents a comprehensive discussion of recovery goals for alllands in each physiographic province. It also describes how those goals mightbe implemented on nonfederal lands. Section III.C.5. describes coordinationefforts that will be needed to make the recovery plan successful. SectionIII.C.6. outlines the monitoring and research program that will be needed toimprove the plan over time and to provide information for delisting.106