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Developing and managing sustainable forest ecosystems for spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Studies of the California spotted owl have revealed significant selection for habitats with large, old trees; relatively high basal areas of snags; and relatively high biomass in large, downed logs. Based on planning documents for national forests in the Sierra Nevada, we projected declining amounts of older-forest attributes. Region 5 has adopted measures to retain these attributes, generally distributed throughout the conifer zone, for an interim period. We believe that a long-term strategy for the owls, and for other species associated with older forests, must retain some level of these attributes that otherwise can take over a century to develop after regeneration harvests.

Citation

Verner, J.; McKelvey, K.S. 1994. Developing and managing sustainable forest ecosystems for spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada. Pages 82-97 in Foley, L.H., ed., Silviculture: From the Cradle of Forestry to Ecosystems Management. Proceedings of the national silviculture workshop; 1993 November 1-4; Hendersonville, NC. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station; Gen. Tech. Rep. GTR-SE-088
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/3693