Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

their distance from other sites. Areas within clusters that do not have owlsshould be evaluated for their potential habitat suitability. If these areas cansupport owl habitat, measures (i.e., prescriptions for certain habitat qualityand quantity, time schedule for growth, stand management requirements, andpotential management options) should be drafted to guide creation of owlhabitat. Dispersal habitat should be maintained throughout the province.Management of these clusters will be a mixture of practices because of the mixof ownerships. All sites on state and private lands need to be managed in aconservative manner to provide support for DCAs and individual owl pairsoccurring outside the DCAs. Tools for implementation include regulations thatprovide for the quality and quantity of owl habitat to be maintained.This option provides limited flexibility to private landowners, but it does allowfor some conservative management of existing suitable habitat. Extensive owlsurveys will be necessary. Attempts to combine individual sites to form mutuallysupporting clusters will enhance recovery. This option provides littleincentive for landowners to participate in landscape management or go beyondconformity with existing rules governing take.Coordinatton. Forestland ownership in this province is dominated by nationalforests and large, private, industrial landowners. Only small amounts of otherownerships would be involved in maintaining local owl populations.This option requires strong coordination among federal land managementagencies and private landowners, and the state through its forest practicesregulation mechanism. This process is ongoing and is being strengthened bythe drafting of a habitat conservation plan (HCP) by the state. This planshould assure that both suitable owl habitat and owls occur in the samegeneral area on both sides of the boundary between the two spotted owlsubspecies.198