Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

10.07.2015 Views

Take -Uunder the Endangered Species Act, take means to harrass, harm,pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect an animal, or toattempt to engage in any such conduct.Taking (section 7) - implementing an action that results in take.Taxon - a category in a scientific classification system, such as class, family, orphylum.Territorial single - an unpaired owl that is defending a territory.Territory - the area that an animal defends, usually during breeding season,against intruders of its own species.Thermoregulation - the physiological and biological process whereby ananimal regulates its body temperature.Threatened species - those plant or animal species likely to become endangeredspecies throughout all or a significant portion of their range withinthe foreseeable future. A plant or animal species identified by the Secretaryof Interior as threatened, in accordance with the 1973 EndangeredSpecies Act. RGTimber classification - the following are definitions of timber classifications:1. Nonforest - land that has never supported forests and land formerlyforested where use for timber production is precluded by development orother uses.2. Forest - land at least 10 percent stocked (based on crown cover) by foresttrees of any size, or formerly having had such tree cover and not currentlydeveloped for nonforest use.3. Suitable - commercial forestland identified as appropriate for timberproduction.4. Unsuitable - forestland withdrawn from timber utilization by statue oradministrative regulation (for example, wilderness), or locally identified asnot appropriate for timber production.Timber harvest schedule - the quantity of timber planned for sale and harvest,by time period, from the area of land administered by a federalagency. The first period, usually a decade, of the selected harvest scheduleprovides the allowable sale quantity. RGTimber production - the purposeful growing, tending, harvesting, and regenerationof regulated crops of trees to be cut into logs, bolts, or other roundsections for industrial or consumer use other than for fuelwood. RGTimber stand - see stand.Timber stand improvement - measures such as thinning, pruning, releasecutting, prescribed fire, girdling, weeding, or poisoning of unwanted treesaimed at improving growing conditons for the remaining trees. RGTrophic level - the level in the food chain at which an organism sustains itself.Understory - the trees and other woody species growing under a more or lesscontinuous cover of branches and foliage formed collectively by the upperportions of adjacent trees and other woody growth. WPGUneven-aged management - the application of a combination of actionsneeded to simultaneously maintain continuous tall forest cover, recurring660

egeneration of desirable species, and the orderly growth and developmentof trees through a range of diameter or age classes. Cutting methodsthat develop and maintain uneven-aged stands are single-tree selectionand group selection. RGUnsuitable habitat - forested lands that currently do not meet the habitatneeds of spotted owls for nesting, roosting, or foraging, but are ecologicallycapable of doing so. This habitat is deficient in tree size, canopyclosure, and/or stand decadence. It results from timber harvest ornatural disturbance. Also referred to as 'potential habitat.'USDA - U.S. Department of Agriculture.USDI - U.S. Department of the Interior.Verified pair - a pair of spotted owls of specified breeding status identifiedaccording to a standard field survey procedure.Vertical diversity - the diversity in a stand that results from the complexity ofthe above ground structure of the vegetation; the more tiers of vegetationor the more diverse the species makeup (or both), the higher the degree ofvertical diversity. RG See also horizontal diversity.Viability - the ability of a population to maintain sufficient size so that itpersists over time in spite of normal fluctuations in numbers; usuallyexpressed as a probability of maintaining a specific population for aspecified period.Viable population - a population that contains an adequate number of individualsappropriately distributed to ensure the long-term existence of thespecies. RGVital rates - rates of key demographic functions within a population, such asthe birth rate and survival rate.Vole - any rodent of the genus Microtus and related genera, that resemblesrats or mice, but has a relatively short tail. NADWell distributed - a geographic distribution of habitats that maintains apopulation throughout a planning area and allows for interaction ofindividuals through periodic interbreeding and colonization of unoccupiedhabitats.West side forests - the 11 national forests within the range of the northernspotted owl in Washington, Oregon, and California that lie west of theCascade Mountain Range crest. They are the Gifford Pinchot, Mendocino,Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Mt. Hood, Olympic, Rogue River, Siskiyou,Siuslaw, Six Rivers, Umpqua, and Willamette National Forests. RGWetlands - areas that are inundated by surface water or groundwater with afrequency sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do orwould support, a prevalence of vegetative or aquatic life that requiresaturated or seasonally saturated soil conditions for growth and reproduction(Executive Order 11990). RGWild and scenic rivers - those rivers or sections of rivers designated as suchby congressional action under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, assupplemented and amended, or those sections of rivers designated as661

egeneration of desirable species, and <strong>the</strong> orderly growth and developmentof trees through a range of diameter or age classes. Cutting methodsthat develop and maintain uneven-aged stands are single-tree selectionand group selection. RGUnsuitable habitat - <strong>for</strong>ested lands that currently do not meet <strong>the</strong> habitatneeds of spotted owls <strong>for</strong> nesting, roosting, or <strong>for</strong>aging, but are ecologicallycapable of doing so. This habitat is deficient in tree size, canopyclosure, and/or stand decadence. It results from timber harvest ornatural disturbance. Also referred to as 'potential habitat.'USDA - U.S. Department of Agriculture.USDI - U.S. Department of <strong>the</strong> Interior.Verified pair - a pair of spotted owls of specified breeding status identifiedaccording to a standard field survey procedure.Vertical diversity - <strong>the</strong> diversity in a stand that results from <strong>the</strong> complexity of<strong>the</strong> above ground structure of <strong>the</strong> vegetation; <strong>the</strong> more tiers of vegetationor <strong>the</strong> more diverse <strong>the</strong> species makeup (or both), <strong>the</strong> higher <strong>the</strong> degree ofvertical diversity. RG See also horizontal diversity.Viability - <strong>the</strong> ability of a population to maintain sufficient size so that itpersists over time in spite of normal fluctuations in numbers; usuallyexpressed as a probability of maintaining a specific population <strong>for</strong> aspecified period.Viable population - a population that contains an adequate number of individualsappropriately distributed to ensure <strong>the</strong> long-term existence of <strong>the</strong>species. RGVital rates - rates of key demographic functions within a population, such as<strong>the</strong> birth rate and survival rate.Vole - any rodent of <strong>the</strong> genus Microtus and related genera, that resemblesrats or mice, but has a relatively short tail. NADWell distributed - a geographic distribution of habitats that maintains apopulation throughout a planning area and allows <strong>for</strong> interaction ofindividuals through periodic interbreeding and colonization of unoccupiedhabitats.West side <strong>for</strong>ests - <strong>the</strong> 11 national <strong>for</strong>ests within <strong>the</strong> range of <strong>the</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rnspotted owl in Washington, Oregon, and Cali<strong>for</strong>nia that lie west of <strong>the</strong>Cascade Mountain Range crest. They are <strong>the</strong> Gif<strong>for</strong>d Pinchot, Mendocino,Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Mt. Hood, Olympic, Rogue River, Siskiyou,Siuslaw, Six Rivers, Umpqua, and Willamette National Forests. RGWetlands - areas that are inundated by surface water or groundwater with afrequency sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do orwould support, a prevalence of vegetative or aquatic life that requiresaturated or seasonally saturated soil conditions <strong>for</strong> growth and reproduction(Executive Order 11990). RGWild and scenic rivers - those rivers or sections of rivers designated as suchby congressional action under <strong>the</strong> 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, assupplemented and amended, or those sections of rivers designated as661

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