Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

crest of the Cascade Mountains. There were approximately 163 owl pairslocated in the province between 1986 and 1990, representing about 9 percentof the known state population. The province consists primarily of federal land,including parts of the Mt. Hood, Deschutes, and Winema National Forests,Crater Lake National Park, and the Lakeview District of the BLM. Nonfederalland includes private and state lands primarily south of the Winema NationalForest. This nonfederal-land includes one area of special management emphasis.The area between OD-19 and the Califomia border. The area from DCAOD- 19 to the California border has been identified as an area for specialmanagement emphasis, where BLM, private, and state lands are intermingled.Owl habitat has been reduced and fragmented in this area,resulting in poor population connectivity with the California Cascadesprovince. A further concern is the risk of habitat loss from fire.Serious threats to the spotted owl population in the province include poordistribution as a result of low owl density and fragmented habitat, and risk ofcatastrophic habitat destruction due to wildfire (section II.B. and Appendix F).The Warm Springs Indian Reservation occurs within this province. Recoverycontributions provided by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs aredescribed in section II.C.8.Biological goals and implementation on federal landsOne category 1 DCA and 12 category 2 DCAs are recommended in this province(Tables 3.15. and 3.16.). Approximately 62 pairs of owls have beenlocated on federal lands in these DCAs. This represents about 42 percent ofthe 146 pairs located on all federal lands in the province (Figure 3.19). Approximately26 percent of the nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat identifiedon federal lands in the province is located within the DCAs (Figure 3.20). Themajority of federal forest land outside the DCAs should be managed undermatrix prescription A (section III.C.2.). This includes establishing residualhabitat areas around activity centers in the matrix up to a maximum density ofsix areas per township. However, in the portion of the province in theDeschutes National Forest, it is recommended that reserved pair areas (matrixprescription B) be established around all currently known and future-discoveredactivity centers in the matrix.Biological goals and implementation on nonfederal landsThe recovery objective for nonfederal lands is to provide habitat to improvedispersal conditions in the area of special management emphasis.Area between OD-19 and the Califomia border. This area consists ofcheckerboard ownership, but is dominated by nonfederal lands. Nonfederalcontributions should work in conjunction with federal habitat in thisarea to provide for dispersal between the eastern Oregon Cascades andthe California Cascades. Where ecological potential exists, nestinghabitat also could be provided in this area to improve the likelihood ofdispersal among provinces. The prohibition on take is unlikely to makesubstantial contributions toward meeting these objectives because fewowl sites are known on nonfederal lands in this area.The recovery plan should be used to help guide compliance with Oregon'sEndangered Species Act programs on state lands and provide an incentive for172