Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

2. Residual habitat areas will be provided for all known and newly discoveredpairs and territorial singles up to this density.3. Each residual habitat area will include a minimum of 100 acres of suitablehabitat as close to the nest site or activity center as possible. This isintended to preserve an intensively used portion of the breeding seasonhome range. Timber management within this area is not appropriate.Management around the area will be designed to reduce the risks ofnatural and human-caused disturbance.4. At least 50 percent of the federal forest matrix outside of the DCAs will bemanaged to provide stands of trees that average at least 11 inches dbhand have at least 40 percent canopy closure. This guideline will beapplied on each quarter-township, and will be calculated based on theamount of federal land within that quarter-township. Calculation shouldbe made separately for lands managed by each of the federal agencies.All forested land that is capable of attaining the 1 -inch dbh standardand the 40 percent canopy closure standard will be included in thecalculation. Hardwoods may be included in meeting the canopy closureguideline, but excluded from the diameter calculation where they normallydo not attain that size. Canopy contribution will be counted onlyfor evergreen hardwoods. There should be reasonable flying space underthe hardwood canopy (i.e., 6 or more feet between the bottom of thehardwood canopy and the top of the shrub layer). Reserved pair areas(see matrix prescription B), managed pair areas (see matrix prescriptionC), and residual habitat areas may be included in the calculation.In general, a stand meets the guideline if the tree of average basal area isat least 11 inches dbh and the total canopy closure is more than 40percent. However, where there is much variation in dbh, the intent isthat 40 percent canopy closure be contributed by trees which meet the1 -inch dbh standard.PRESCRIPTION B -SUPPLEMENT DCA NETWORKManagement objectiveProvide habitat (reserved pair areas)for pairs and territorial singles in thematrix to supplement the DCA network where the network is deficientbecause itfails to meet: 1) spacing criteria; 2) criteriafor existing habitatacreage: and/or 3) criteria for either existing pairs orfuture pairs.Discussion. Existing habitat and landownership conditions make it impossibleto implement a fully adequate network of DCAs across the owl's entire range.At numerous locations the existing distribution of habitat and/or owls necessitateddeviation from the size, spacing, or owl numbers criteria (section III.C.2).Where these deficiencies are significant, it is important to supplement theDCAs by maintaining additional suitable habitat and owl locations in thematrix. This reinforcement of the matrix population will improve stability ofthe owl population in the DCA and provide additional assurance of dispersalsuccess across the matrix.Criteria for applying prescriptionReserved pair areas will be established where any of the following conditionsoccur:Category 1 DCAs contain less than 15 currently known pairs and territorialsingles, or have a current expected capability to support fewer than 20 pairs of121