Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

salamander, Del Norte salamander, Pacific giant salamander, Cope's giantsalamander, Olympic salamander (four species), tailed frog); a larger list ofriparian-associated species including fishes, amphibians, mammals, insects,and molluscs: and a list of five species preyed upon by the owl (flying squirrel,bushy-tailed woodrat, dusky-footed woodrat, red tree vole, and western redbackedvole). Of these species, the marbled murrelet and the numerous fishstocks were assigned the highest priority because of the proposal to list themarbled murrelet as a threatened species and because the numerous fishstocks are considered' at risk. The threatened or endangered species were notassigned as muchr importance because the committee assumed that theirmanagement is sufficiently addressed in recovery plans for each of the species.Benefits of the Plan to Other SpeciesThis section describes the benefits that other species will derive from therecovery plan for the northern spotted owl. Many of these benefits cannot bequantified adequately until surveys of the DCAs for other species have beenconducted. However, some reasonably accurate statements can made.Designated Conservation Areas (DCAs)The size, spacing, and management of DCAs will provide considerable benefitsfor other species throughout the owl's range, particularly species associatedwith older forests. As a result of DCA placement, benefits to other species willbe attained with little or no additional cost. For example, two category 2 DCAswere established in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to include sevenpairs of owls and a wild and scenic river corridor along the South Fork of theStillaguamish River. These DCAs also include marbled murrelet locations andimportant stream sections for native fishes. The additional area was offset byreductions in the size of the habitat conservation areas (HCAs) recommendedby the ISC report (Thomas et al. 1990). In Oregon, a DCA was established inthe Suislaw National Forest (Lincoln County) along the coastal area near Rock,Cummins, and Tenmile Creeks. This DCA includes eight owl pairs and eightsingle owls as well as 60 sites for marbled murrelets and three streams withfish stocks at risk. This addition also was offset by reductions in the size oftwo of the HCAs that were recommended by the ISC report.The benefit of DCAs to priority species can be quantified by totaling the numberof occurrences (occupied nest sites for birds, trap locations or observationsfor mammals) of these species within DCAs for each province (Table 5.2). TheDCA network incorporates a total of 486 known sites of priority species acrossthe range of the owl, including 227 occupied murrelet sites, 122 goshawk nestsites, 60 marten sites, 37 fisher sites, and 40 bald eagle nest sites. The DCAsalso include 2,047 miles of streams with stocks of fish that are considered atrisk. The greatest benefits to fish will be achieved in the Klamath physiographicprovince and the Oregon Coast Range where 696 and 267 miles ofstreams, respectively, were included in DCAs. The greatest benefits to otherspecies will be achieved for marbled murrelets in the Oregon Coast Rangewhere 146 occupied sites are included in DCAs. Forty-seven goshawk sites inthe western Washington Cascades and 32 murrelet sites on the OlympicPeninsula were included in DCAs. These are known sites and probably do notrepresent all sites for these species in DCAs. Inclusion of these sites in DCAs,along with the conservation of older forests for owl habitat, will provide significantbenefits to these species within the range of the spotted owl.Management guidelines for DCAs on federal lands are key elements of therecovery plan (see section III.C.2.). These guidelines focus on the maintenanceof suitable habitat for owls and development of suitable habitat in stands223