Last March, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) set forth a proposal to extend the designated critical habitat of the northern spotted owl to private forestland for the first time. In her piece about the initial proposal, Forest2Market’s Suzanne Hearn urged the federal government to strike a balance among species conservation, healthy forestlands and support for rural economies when finalizing critical habitat designations. In some regards, it appears the USFWS did just that.
In consideration of multiple factors, the USFWS announced its decision to remove privately held lands from its list of those considered essential to the northern spotted owl’s ongoing survival. Before setting forth its final critical habitat designation, the USFWS reviewed information that included:
- Analysis of economic impacts
- Existing conservation efforts
- Public comments
- Scientific peer reviews
- Feedback from land management agencies
The initial proposal suggested increasing the amount of protected land from 5,312,327 to 13,962,449 acres across California, Oregon and Washington. The final plan reduced the proposed amount by 4.2 million acres. Critical habitat on federal land accounts for 9.29 million acres, and state-owned land makes up the remaining 291,570 acres.
In its report, the USFWS noted the designation of critical habitat on state lands will have minimal effect on either timber harvests or state management on those lands. This is particularly true for Oregon. State Supervisor of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, Paul Henson, stated, “Lands designated as critical habitat are not a reserve in the traditional sense. In many places, they should be actively managed to benefit spotted owls or meet other important conservation goals.”
The Washington Forest Protection Association issued a press release to share its satisfaction that the final designations did not include private lands. In Washington, the proposed federal guidelines were seen as redundant given state forest practice rules govern private lands in the active management of northern spotted owl conservation. Additionally, many landowners voluntarily adhere to federal conservation agreements that complement state forestry regulations. As such, the benefits to designating private lands as critical habitat were minimal.
The 2011 Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl lists three priorities for the recovery of the northern spotted owl:
- Habitat protection
- Active forest management to improve forest health
- Reduced competition from the barred owl species
We must hope the final critical habitat designations set forth by the USFWS will both protect the northern spotted owl and preserve old growth forests through active forest management that includes ecological timber harvests. This balance is key for not only the northern spotted owls but also the private landowners that depend on the land for survival. The official news release about the final critical habitat designations is available for review on the USFWS website.
Forest2Market: July 14, 2023
