Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

v.The northern spotted owl is associated with older coniferous forests in thePacific Northwest (Forsman et al. 1984, Thomas et al. 1990), and optimalhabitat for the species can be found in forests older than 200 years. Becauseof this association and the large home ranges of spotted owls, which vary from1,000 to 10,000 acres from California to Washington, the species often hasbeen used as a symbol of older forest ecosystems. In addressing the conservationof the owl, it became apparent that its range overlaps the ranges of manyother species, some of which are listed or are candidates for listing. Therefore,it is reasonable to consider the conservation needs of other species when thoseneeds can be accomplished at little or no additional cost to owl conservation.The outcome of such an effort is likely to be a more efficient and effectiveconservation strategy for older forest ecosystems in the region. It is alsoimportant for the recovery plan to avoid actions for owl conservation that mighthave adverse effects on other species. Therefore, the Recovery Team wascharged with considering other species and older forest ecosystems in developinga recovery plan for the northern spotted owl.The request to consider other species in the recovery plan for the owl camefrom Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan, who wrote "There are other forestecosystem species that may be candidates for listing under the EndangeredSpecies Act which may benefit from any recovery plan for the northern spottedowl. To the extent possible, the team should assess the relative benefits tothese species from the implementation of various recovery options." As aresult, the Other Species and Ecosystems Committee of the Recovery Teamwas formed to address this directive. A principle of the committee has beenthat the plan should take advantage of opportunities to benefit other specieswhere possible and not impact them negatively with a recovery strategy for theowl.This effort is important because conservation efforts for each species will be toocostly and time consuming, and a species-by-species approach is not likely tocapture all the structural parts and functional relationships of older coniferousforests.The List of Species ConsideredThe Other Species and Ecosystems Committee considered all plants andanimals that are associated with coniferous forests within the range of thenorthern spotted owl. However, the committee emphasized threatened orendangered species, candidates for federal listing, state sensitive species, andspecies associated with older forests. The committee developed a list of speciesby conducting a series of meetings; visiting with numerous scientists: acquiringlists of federal threatened and endangered species, state sensitive species,and old-growth associated species (Ruggiero et al. 1991); and reviewing reportsand published literature. The Other Species and Ecosystems Committeesponsored a 2-day workshop to discuss the ecology and management needs ofpriority species. The administrative record for the Recovery Team provides adetailed description of these activities (see Tables D. 1 through D.3 of therecord): and Appendix D provides a more detailed description of the approach,the list of species, and the ecology of riparian ecosystems and priority species.Brown (1985:37) listed 460 species of birds, mammals, and amphibians thatinhabit plant communities west of the crest of the Cascade Mountains inOregon and Washington. A large number of plant species occur in this region,221