Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

ITable 3.10. Summary comments on the designated conservation area (DCA) networkin the eastern Washington Cascade province. (Section III.C.2. and Appendix Iprovide further information on the criteria and process used to delineate theseareas.)DesignatedConservationAreaWD-6, WD-7WD-1 N, WD-5, WD-1 2,WD-14 through WD-16,WD-20 through WD-24,WD-33, WD-37 throughWD-42, and WD-44CommentsThese are the category 1 DCAs in the province. They are currently estimatedto contain fewer than 20 pairs of owls, but each has the potential toincrease to 20 pairs.Because of natural habitat limitations and lowpopulation densities, these remaining DCAs are allcategory 2s. They have potential capabilities tosupport from 1 to 18 pairs of owls. They weredelineated in this area to address local demographic, distribution, andlinkage concerns.General threats to spotted owls in the province include loss of habitat, habitatfragmentation, lack of stable owl populations, and high risk of large-scale fireand insect damage (Appendix F). Historically, ground fuels were decreased byfrequent fires that occurred as low intensity underburns that burned withoutkilling overstory trees. A history of fire suppression has resulted in an accumulationof fuels, especially on national forest lands. This accumulationincreases the probability of stand-replacement fires that potentially couldeliminate northern spotted owl habitat from large-scale landscapes.Three areas of special management emphasis have been identified for recommendationson nonfederal lands; specific recommendations are provided tohelp alleviate threats to owls in these areas.Biological goals and implementation on federal landsIt is recommended that two category 1 DCAs, and 19 category 2 DCAs beestablished in this province (Tables 3.6 and 3.7). They vary in size from 9,900acres to more than 112,000 acres, and include a total of 94 owl pairs of which84 are located on federal lands. These represent 69 percent of the total knownowl pairs on federal lands (Table 3.9 and Figure 3.13). The DCAs contain 46percent of the nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat on federal land (Figure3.14).The DCA recommendations for the area north of Lake Chelan (north of DCAsWD-37 and WD-38) reflect low viability of owl populations that result fromnatural and human-caused habitat fragmentation. In this area, all knownactivity centers have been delineated as small DCAs. Any future activitycenters that are located also should be added to the DCA network. The longtermrecovery objective in this area is to develop small DCAs with owl clustersof two or more pairs, since category 1 DCAs are not possible.In addition to the DCA network, threats to the owls in the province requireareas of specific matrix management recommendations. The bulk of federalmatrix land is recommended for management prescription A (see III.C.2.), but159