Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

There are 950 historic owl activity centers in the California Klamath province,88 percent of which are on federal lands. During the 1986-90 period, pairs ofowls were identified at 455 of these sites. Eighty-eight percent of these pairactivity centers occur on federal lands.The major threats to the northern spotted owl population in this province arisefrom reduction in suitable habitat and resulting loss of owls caused by timberharvesting during the last 40 years. Catastrophic fires occur within theprovince and have the potential to destroy forested areas large enough tosupport a 20-pair cluster.Spotted owls in this province are important to maintain genetic contact betweenthe northern spotted owl and California spotted owl subspecies. Geneticcontact is thought to be important because of the low numbers and scattereddistribution of owls in the California Cascades province, and recommendedDCAs reflect that concern.Biological goals and implementation on federal landsFourteen category 1 and 19 category 2 DCAs are recommended in the province(Tables 3.21 and 3.22). All category 1 DCAs occur in the western and northernpart of the province, providing the demographic stability for owl populations inthe province. The category 1 DCAs include little state or private land; thesenonfederal lands support few owls and are not essential for demographicstability. Large DCAs in the northern and western portions of the provincehave better natural site conditions and higher known owl populations than dothe eastern and southern portions of the province. The presence of thesesDCAs reduces the need for contributions from state and private land in thewestern portion of the province.Category 2 DCAs are common along the eastern edge and the southern end ofthe province. Twelve reserved pair areas will be needed in the southern end ofthe province where category 2 DCAs are deficient in suitable habitat, and alongthe eastern edge of the province where spacing requirements among DCAscannot be met.The DCAs contain 52 percent of the owl pairs and 41 percent of the nesting,roosting, and foraging habitat on federal land in the province (Figures 3.25 and3.26).Outside of the DCAs, federal lands should be managed under matrix prescriptionA.Biological goals and implementation options onnonfederal landsScientific goals for nonfederal lands in the province are to provide for localdemographic support and maintain distribution across the province andbetween this province and the California Cascades province. Given the dominanceof federal land ownership in the province, there is no need for localpopulation clusters on state and private lands in the western zone. Recoverywill be enhanced by supporting existing DCAs in the eastern and southernzones with additional pairs from private lands, and by managing for a newcluster on state, private, and BLM lands in eastern Trinity County.Achieving the recovery goals for nonfederal lands in this province wouldcontribute substantial support to the demographic stability of owl populationswithin the province, and increase the likelihood of more rapid recovery. Dispersalsinks, which negatively affect overall population stability, could result if187