State Trust Lands Habitat Conservation Plan
Northern Spotted Owl Surveys in Southwest Washington
What are the project's objectives?
- Collect recent data on northern spotted owl occupancy in Nesting Roosting and Foraging (NRF) Management Areas on:
- DNR-managed land in the Columbia Planning Unit; and
- all known Status 1-3 spotted owl sites on DNR-managed lands in the Western Washington lowlands.
- Delineate areas for long-term northern spotted owl validation monitoring.
Where is the survey area?
The survey area encompasses all forested stands older than 50 years in the Siouxon and Columbia NRF Management Areas and in the DNR-managed land within the 2.7-mile buffers around eight site centers in the Western Washington lowlands. The total number of previously known northern spotted owl sites in the survey area is 29 (WDFW, 2005). Map of survey area.
What are the project activities?
- Two-year project began in 2005.
- Fieldwork was contracted with the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) and follows standardized federal protocol (Lint et al., 1999).
- Fieldwork for the second year of surveys was completed in September 2006.
- Final report was completed in 2007.
What do the results to date show?
- 2005 results showed:
- Three occupied spotted owl sites (two in Siouxon, one in the Western Washington lowlands); all sites had spotted owl pairs; no signs of reproduction.
- A presence (one 3-note call) detected in one historic site in Siouxon NRF.
- Blue Mountain site on DNR-managed land confirmed to be separate from the adjacent Pioneer Creek site on Weyerhaeuser land.
- Barred owls were detected 157 times (these are cumulative numbers and do not represent individual birds).
- 2006 results showed:
- Conformation of the 2005 results on spotted owl occupancy and reproductive status.
- One female present in the Columbia NRF Management Area.
- One female present at the Seven Creek/Elk Creek site in the Western Washington lowlands.
- Barred owls were detected 376 times (these are cumulative numbers and do not represent individual birds).
Literature Cited
Lint, J., B. Noon, R. Anthony, E. Forsman, M. Raphael, M. Collopy, and E. Starkey. 1999. Northern Spotted Owl Effectiveness Monitoring Plan for the Northwest Forest Plan. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-440. Appendix A, p.32-38.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2005. Northern Spotted Owl Database.