Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

The ApproachA committee of the Recovery Team was formed to address concerns for otherspecies and older forest ecosystems. The committee was composed of thefollowing Recovery Team members and staff:Robert Anthony (Chairman)-U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceJonathan Bart-U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceCharlie Bruce-Oregon Department of Fish and WildlifeWayne Elmore-U.S. Bureau of Land ManagementJohn Fay-U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceRichard Holthausen-U.S. Forest ServiceDonald Knowles-U.S. Department of InteriorEdward Starkey-National Park ServiceLater in the process, Kathryn Boula, Thomas Williams, Betty Rodrick, andRosemary Stussy were hired to help with various aspects of the informationgathering and writing of this section of the recovery plan. The group alsocontracted responsibilities for parts of the biota to outside scientists, includingthe Washington Department of Wildlife (marbled murrelets): Joseph Beatty,Oregon State University (salamanders); Andrew Blaustein, Oregon StateUniversity (toads and frogs); Terrence Frest, Deixis Consultants (molluscs):Jack Lattin, Oregon State University (invertebrates); Andrew Moldenke, OregonState University (invertebrates): Daniel Rosenburg, Redwood Sciences Lab(spotted owl prey): and Robert Storm, Oregon State University (salamanders).Developing the List of Other SpeciesThe committee's first decision was to consider all components of the biotaassociated with older forests and spotted owl habitat. However, the scope ofthis effort later was focused on species that were listed federally as threatenedor endangered, candidates for federal or state listing, state sensitive andspecies of special concern. We also included species that have been shown tobe associated with older coniferous forests within the range of the owl. Thegeneral approach consisted of the following:1) Delineate the area of focus (i.e., the range of the northern spotted owl).2) Compile a list of threatened and endangered, candidate, sensitive, andolder-forest associated species.3) Develop a short list of priority species by determining which species:a) occur within the range of the northern spotted owlb) are more abundant in older forestsc) are in most need of conservation measures4) Acquire definitions and maps of important habitat for the list of priorityspecies.5) Develop a geographic information system (GIS) mapping scheme tooverlay important areas of habitat for the priority species with potentialconservation areas for the spotted owl.6) Identify areas of high species richness.338