Integration of Northern spotted owl habitat and fuels treatments in the eastern Cascades, Washington, USA

The restoration of natural fire regimes has emerged as a primary management objective within fire-prone forests in the interior western US. However, this objective becomes contentious when perceived to be in conflict with the conservation of rare wildlife species. For example, the integration of fire ecology in disturbance-prone forests of eastern Washington with the recovery of the Northern spotted owl has been described as a management dilemma. We intersected modeled spotted owl habitat with mapped priority fuels treatment areas in order to determine the magnitude of the potential conflict between fuels management and owl conservation. Our results show that there is considerable overlap within dry forests between high suitability spotted owl habitat and moderate-high priority fuels treatment areas (34% overlap). However, there is also considerable overlap of lower suitability spotted owl habitat with moderate-high priority fuels treatment areas (35% overlap) providing opportunities to accomplish multiple management objectives if one considers a landscape perspective. We propose that a conservation strategy for the Northern spotted owl in the eastern Cascades consider the following: emphasize landscape restoration of dry forests within which spotted owl habitat is embedded; landscapes considered for restoration need to be large enough to accomodate the effects of fire disturbances and still retain sufficient habitat to support spotted owl populations; and include adaptive management allowing for adequate monitoring and feedback for managers to make needed adjustments.

Research highlights▶ We intersected spotted owl habitat and fuels treatment areas in the eastern Cascades, Washington. ▶ The overlap between high suitability habitat and moderate-high priority fuels treatment areas was 34%. ▶ The overlap between lower suitability habitat and moderate-high fuels treatment areas was 35%. ▶ We propose an emphasis on landscape ecosystem restoration within which spotted owl habitat is embedded. ▶ Landscapes need to be large and restoration implemented in an adaptive management framework.