Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

ITable 3.16. Summary comments on the designated conservation area (DCA)network in the eastern Oregon Cascades province. (Section III.C.2. and Appendix Iprovide further information on the criteria and process used to delineate theseareas.)DesignatedConservationAreaCommentsOD-2 This category 1 DCA, entirely on federal lands, supports more than 21owl pairs. It has a future capability of supporting 26 owl pairs.OD-41 through OD-45,OD51, andODA-59 through OD-65The scattered distribution of owls and owl habitaton the east side of the Cascades prevented delineating large DCAscapable of supporting 20 owl pairs either now, or in the future.tional forests and BLM lands compose the majority of the province. Unlike theCalifornia Klamath province, few spotted owl activity centers are known onprivate lands, though 34 percent of the province is in private ownership. Theseprivate lands are located at lower elevations intermixed with BLM lands in acheckerboard ownership pattern. A small amount of state forest land islocated in the province, including some state land within the perimeters ofrecommended DCAs. Despite the mixed ownership in the province, mostsuitable habitat currently exists on federal lands.Serious threats to the owl population in the Oregon Klamath province includeloss and fragmentation of habitat due to timber harvest and fires (Appendix F);a declining population as demonstrated in density study areas (Appendix C);and weak population connectivity within the province and with adjacentprovinces because of poor habitat conditions in areas of checkerboard ownerships.The area of checkerboard ownership in the north and east half of this provincehas been identified as a special emphasis area for recommendations on nonfederallands.Area of checkerboard ownership in the north and east half of the province:This area is of concern because: 1) nesting, roosting, and foraging habitathas been fragmented by timber harvest in checkerboard ownership areas;2) dispersal habitat has been reduced and fragmented by timber harvest;and 3) the risk of habitat loss to fire is high.Biological goals and implementation on federal landsUsing the design criteria for the DCA network, nine DCAs are recommendedwithin this province (Tables 3.17 and 3.18). Eight of the DCAs satisfy thecriteria for category 1 DCAs. Only OD-52 does not. Two of the category 1DCAs, OD-20 and OD-22, extend into California. Conversely, part of oneCalifornia Klamath province DCA (CD-5) extends slightly into Oregon. (Thedata for these DCAs that cross state boundaries are presented in the provincethat includes the majority of the land.)Currently there are 115 known pairs and 67 territorial singles on federal landswithin the nine DCAs. The DCAs contain about 32 percent of the known pair174