Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

connectivity between key DCAs. This results in weak linkages between thewestern Oregon Cascades province and the Oregon Coast Range and CaliforniaCascades provinces. Specific concerns for these areas of special managementemphasis follow.Area between the Oregon Coast Range and Oregon Klamath provinces andthe western Oregon Cascades province (this includes OD-11, OD-12, OD-17, OD-39, OD-56, OD-57, OD-58). Dispersal habitat in this area has beenreduced and fragmented due to timber harvesting, which reduces thelikelihood of successful owl dispersal. In addition, most of these DCAsconsist of checkerboard ownership, and federal land in these DCAs isgenerally not adequate to fully accomplish the DCA objectives.-Area south of OD-19. Several concerns exist: habitat among DCAs OD-19,OD-40, and the California provinces has been reduced and fragmented bytimber harvest; there is a compounding risk of habitat loss from fire(Appendix F). Also, checkerboard ownership in DCAs reduces capabilityto achieve DCA objectives solely on federal lands.Biological goals and implementation onfederal landsUsing the design criteria for the DCA network and future habitat capabilityestimates, 17 category 1 DCAs and five category 2 DCAs are recommended forthis province (Tables 3.13 and 3.14). These areas currently contain 413documented owl activity centers (357 pairs and 56 territorial singles). Thepairs included on federal lands in DCAs represent approximately 41 percent ofpairs (Figure 3.17) located on federal lands in this province in the last 5 years.The DCAs contain about 42 percent of the nesting, roosting, and foraginghabitat identified on federal lands in the province (Figure 3.18). The majorityof these DCAs are in national forests; eight occur on BLM lands.Generally, federal matrix management will follow prescription A, with thefederal landscape meeting the 50-11-40 rule and residual habitat areas establishedaround activity centers outside of DCAs, up to a density of eight areasper township. The exception to this general matrix management is the need forone reserved pair area, west of OD-19 to supplement the known pairs in thisDCA.Biological goals and implementation on nonfederal landsAs with other provinces, the recommendations for nonfederal lands focus onthe areas of special management emphasis. These areas and concerns aboutthem are:Area between the /regon Coast Range and Oregon Klamath provinces andthe western Oregon Cascades province (this includes OD-i 1, OD-1 2, OD-17, OD-39, OD-56, OD-57, OD-58). Within DCAs in checkerboard ownershipin the areas of special management emphasis, provide habitatsuitable for nesting, roosting, foraging, and dispersal. This will includeDCAs OD-12, OD-17, OD-39, OD-40, OD-56, OD-57, and OD-58. Theobjective of providing habitat within the DCAs is to fully meet, in conjunctionwith habitat on federal land, the objectives for the DCAs.In addition to providing nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat as needed,nonfederal lands should provide dispersal habitat among the DCAs inthese areas of special management emphasis. In the portion of thewestern Oregon Cascades that connects to the southern Oregon Coast,dispersal habitat should generally be provided within an area that encompassesOD-1 1, OD-12, OD-58, OD-57, OD-56, and OD-39.168