Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

Supplemental pair areas - Habitat delineated for pairs or territorialsingle spotted owls on nonfederal lands. Such habitat is managed orreserved, depending on agreements made. These areas are intended tosupplement population deficiencies in the federal DCA network. The sizeof these areas will vary by province.Nortfederal clusters - Habitat provided to support a localized cluster ofsupplemental spotted owl pair areas intended to contribute to owl populationneeds as described in the province narratives.Protective management - Measures taken by nonfederal entities toconserve spotted owls and/or their habitat; measures may includeparticipation in conservation planning (as defined in Endangered SpeciesAct section 10) or other actions that benefit owls; entities may be states,private landowners, Indian tribes, or others.The biological recommendations for nonfederal lands take several forms. Thestatus of local owl populations and habitat conditions determines whetherrecommendations are made for specific areas, and the form of those recommendations.The biological principles underlying these recommendations arediscussed in section III.B.2. Specific recommendations for each province arediscussed in the province narratives. They generally can be described in one ofthe following ways.1. Nonfederal lands within DCAs - Provide adequate nesting, roosting, andforaging habitat, in conjunction with federal lands, to achieve the DCAs'target for owl numbers and demographic stability. This could apply tocheckerboard and non-checkerboard ownership patterns. It may includethe provision of supplemental pair areas. This habitat may be either managedor reserved from timber harvest, depending on the protective managementagreements for the area.2. Nonfederal population clusters - Establishing large clusters of owls isrecommended in some areas where federal lands cannot support the recoveryobjective without contribution from other ownerships (e.g., southwestWashington, northeast Oregon, and coastal California). This would requirethat habitat be provided for a cluster of breeding owl pairs with contiguousor nearly contiguous home ranges, and for floater owls and dispersingjuveniles. Clusters would include 15 or more owl pairs to provide at leastshort-term population stability. The size of an area provided for a clusterwill depend on the current suitability and natural potential of habitat, thepossibility of natural disturbance, and the type and level of forest managementproposed within the area. Clusters provide the opportunity to exploreand test hypotheses about owl response to forest management that may notbe tested within the federal DCA network. Generally, a large cluster of owlpairs would require 30,000 to 100,000 acres of habitat managed for owls.As with supplemental pair areas, habitat for a population cluster may beeither managed or reserved from timber harvest, depending on the protectivemanagement agreements for the area.In areas of low owl density, where goals for large clusters cannot be metfully, this recommendation may be modified to provide for smaller owlclusters. Small clusters have a lower assurance of population stability thanlarge clusters.142Alternatively, in some areas a recommendation is made for supplementalpair areas distributed across the landscape at a density lower than thatdescribed for clusters. This may provide for a self-sustaining local populationbut with considerably less long-term population stability than clusters.