Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

5. Activities that comply with these guidelines should provide positiverecovery benefits as demonstrated in Appendix G. Actual implementationexperience, however, is not extensive. A modest rate of implementation isprudent and will provide the opportunity to assess and refine activities.Acreage to be manipulated by silvicultural activities will be limited to 5percent of the total area in any DCA within the initial 5-year period of therecovery plan, unless actions concerning large-scale disturbances (asdescribed later) explicitly are justified.6. Some habitat modification activities in DCAs will generate enough revenueto pay for themselves. Others will not and need to be supported byappropriated funds. Since the purpose of silvicultural activities in DCAsis to advance recovery, it is not appropriate to conduct only activities thatgenerate a commercial return and ignore the needs of stands that cannotbe treated commercially. A balance will be maintained between activitiesin young stands that produce no commercial return and in somewhatolder stands that have the potential to produce commercial products.7. Owl habitat needs increasingly are well defined. However, all species donot derive comparable benefits through actions designed to improve owlhabitat. To the extent feasible, habitat requirements of other listed orcandidate species also will be considered in planning silvicultural activities.Guidelinesfor Salvage. 'Salvage" is defined as the removal of trees from anarea following a stand-replacing event which may result from wind, fire, insectinfestation, or disease. In certain circumstances, salvage operations in DCAsmay be compatible with recovery objectives while providing removal of merchantablewood. For example, salvage could help promote regeneration whereexcessive amounts of coarse woody debris interfere with seedling growth.However, it is important to recognize that tree mortality is a natural processwithin a forest ecosystem. Dead, diseased, and damaged trees are key componentsof stand structure and assist in meeting owl needs. Accordingly, toprovide development of suitable owl habitat, DCA management planning mustacknowledge the considerable value of leaving dead trees in the forest as wellas the benefits from salvage activities. General guidelines for salvage follow.1. The potential for benefit from salvage is greatest when stand-replacingevents are involved. Salvage in disturbed sites of less than 10 acres is notappropriate because small forest openings are an important component ofold-growth forests. In addition, salvage will occur only in stands in whichdisturbance has reduced canopy closure to less than 40 percent, asstands with more closure are likely to provide dispersal habitat for owls.2. Surviving trees will provide a significant residual of larger trees in thedeveloping stand. In addition, defects caused by fire in trees may acceleratedevelopment of structural characteristics suitable for owls. Also,those trees which eventually die will provide additional snags. Consequently,standing live trees will be retained, including those scorched butlikely to survive. Inspection of the cambium layer can provide an indicationof potential tree mortality. All trees that may live should be retained.3. Snags provide a variety of habitat benefits for owls. Accordingly, wheredisturbance events leave snags, management will focus on retaining allsnags likely to persist for 100 years. During this period, the stand doesnot otherwise contribute significant quantities of large diameter snags ordown logs. Snags from the original stand may be an important componentof flying squirrel habitat as forests develop after fire. Although thereis some uncertainty concerning the optimum density of snags to beprovided for squirrels, management to provide maximum benefit likely for113