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Terrestrial species viability assessments for national forests in northeastern Washington

Informally Refereed

Abstract

We developed a process to address terrestrial wildlife species for which management for ecosystem diversity may be inadequate for providing ecological conditions capable of sustaining viable populations. The process includes (1) identifying species of conservation concern, (2) describing source habitats, and other important ecological factors, (3) organizing species into groups, (4) selecting surrogate species for each group, (5) developing surrogate species assessment models; (6) applying surrogate species assessment models to evaluate current and historical conditions, (7) developing conservation considerations, and (8) designing monitoring and adaptive management. Following the application of our species screening criteria, we identified 209 of 700 species as species of concern on National Forest System lands east of the Cascade Range in Washington state. We aggregated the 209 species of conservation concern into 10 families and 28 groups based primarily on their habitat associations (these are not phylogenetic families). We selected 32 primary surrogate species (78 percent birds, 17 percent mammals, 5 percent amphibians) for application in northeastern Washington, based on risk factors and ecological characteristics. Our assessment documented reductions in habitat capability across the assessment area compared to historical conditions. We combined management considerations for individual species with other surrogate species to address multiple species. This information may be used to inform land management planning efforts currently underway on the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forests in northeastern Washington.

Keywords

Viability assessments, northeastern Washington, surrogate species, conservation considerations.

Citation

Gaines, William L.; Wales, Barbara C.; Suring, Lowell H.; Begley, James S.; Mellen-McLean, Kim; Mohoric, Shawne. 2017. Terrestrial species viability assessments for national forests in northeastern Washington. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-907. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 324 p.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/55255