Alternative Views of a Restoration Framework for Federal Forests in the Pacific Northwest

DellaSala, Dominick A.; Anthony, Robert G.; Bond, Monica L.; Fernandez, Erik S.; Frissell, Chris A.; Hanson, Chad T.; Spivak, Randi

doi:10.5849/jof.13-040

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Using state transition models that accounted for recruitment of owl habitat over time vs. presumed habitat losses from severe fires, Odion et al [55] concluded that thinning of suitable owl habitat at intensities (22% to 45% of dry forest provinces) recommended by USFWS [40] would reduce LSOG three to seven times more than loss attributed to high-severity fires. Projected thinning losses were consistent with empirically based studies of habitat loss from thinning that reduced overstory canopy below minimum thresholds for owl prey species [56]. The tradeoff between fire risk reduction and owl persistence in thinned forests has seldom if ever been systematically evaluated by the federal agencies.…”

Section: Northern Spotted Owl Decline Slowed But Not Reversedsupporting

confidence: 58%

Building on Two Decades of Ecosystem Management and Biodiversity Conservation under the Northwest Forest Plan, USA

DellaSala

Baker

Heiken³

et al. 2015

Forests

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Abstract:The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) shifted federal lands management from a focus on timber production to ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation. The plan established a network of conservation reserves and an ecosystem management strategy on ~10 million hectares from northern California to Washington State, USA, within the range of the federally threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Several subsequent assessments-and 20 years of data from monitoring OPEN ACCESSForests 2015, 6 3327 programs established under the plan-have demonstrated the effectiveness of this reserve network and ecosystem management approach in making progress toward attaining many of the plan's conservation and ecosystem management goals. This paper (1) showcases the fundamental conservation biology and ecosystem management principles underpinning the NWFP as a case study for managers interested in large-landscape conservation; and (2) recommends improvements to the plan's strategy in response to unprecedented climate change and land-use threats. Twenty years into plan implementation, however, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, under pressure for increased timber harvest, are retreating from conservation measures. We believe that federal agencies should instead build on the NWFP to ensure continuing success in the Pacific Northwest. We urge federal land managers to (1) protect all remaining late-successional/old-growth forests; (2) identify climate refugia for at-risk species; (3) maintain or increase stream buffers and landscape connectivity; (4) decommission and repair failing roads to improve water quality; (5) reduce fire risk in fire-prone tree plantations; and (6) prevent logging after fires in areas of high conservation value. In many respects, the NWFP is instructive for managers considering similar large-scale conservation efforts.

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Section: Northern Spotted Owl Decline Slowed But Not Reversedsupporting

confidence: 58%

Building on Two Decades of Ecosystem Management and Biodiversity Conservation under the Northwest Forest Plan, USA

DellaSala

Baker

Heiken³

et al. 2015

Forests

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“…These edges create a particular challenge for management (Blumm and Wigington ), with consequences for the connectivity of wildlife habitat (DellaSala et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other areas, such as BLM-administered lands interspersed with private lands in a checkerboard pattern, resulting forest age patterns will be highly fragmented (Chen et al 1993, Mills 1995. These edges create a particular challenge for management (Blumm and Wigington 2013), with consequences for the connectivity of wildlife habitat (DellaSala et al 2013).…”

Section: Cumulative Impacts Of Management Across the Coast Range Landmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest management scenarios in a changing climate: trade‐offs between carbon, timber, and old forest

Creutzburg

Scheller

Lucash

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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Balancing economic, ecological, and social values has long been a challenge in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, where conflict over timber harvest and old-growth habitat on public lands has been contentious for the past several decades. The Northwest Forest Plan, adopted two decades ago to guide management on federal lands, is currently being revised as the region searches for a balance between sustainable timber yields and habitat for sensitive species. In addition, climate change imposes a high degree of uncertainty on future forest productivity, sustainability of timber harvest, wildfire risk, and species habitat. We evaluated the long-term, landscape-scale trade-offs among carbon (C) storage, timber yield, and old forest habitat given projected climate change and shifts in forest management policy across 2.1 million hectares of forests in the Oregon Coast Range. Projections highlight the divergence between private and public lands under business-as-usual forest management, where private industrial forests are heavily harvested and many public (especially federal) lands increase C and old forest over time but provide little timber. Three alternative management scenarios altering the amount and type of timber harvest show widely varying levels of ecosystem C and old-forest habitat. On federal lands, ecological forestry practices also allowed a simultaneous increase in old forest and natural early-seral habitat. The ecosystem C implications of shifts away from current practices were large, with current practices retaining up to 105 Tg more C than the alternative scenarios by the end of the century. Our results suggest climate change is likely to increase forest productivity by 30-41% and total ecosystem C storage by 11-15% over the next century as warmer winter temperatures allow greater forest productivity in cooler months. These gains in C storage are unlikely to be offset by wildfire under climate change, due to the legacy of management and effective fire suppression. Our scenarios of future conditions can inform policy makers, land managers, and the public about the potential effects of land management alternatives, climate change, and the trade-offs that are inherent to management and policy in the region.

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“…Existing studies indicate that fuels reduction treatments may degrade habitat quality for spotted owls, however (Meiman et al 2003;Seamans and Gutiérrez 2007;Stephens et al 2014a;Tempel et al 2014Tempel et al , 2015. Consequently, a conflicting viewpoint has emerged, suggesting that fuels-reduction treatments are unnecessary and misguided because they degrade owl habitat, do not reduce the extent of high-severity fire, and may result in greater loss of spotted owl habitat than wildfire alone would cause (Hanson et al 2009a, b;DellaSala et al 2013;Odion et al 2014;Baker 2015b;Hanson and Odion 2016; but see Spies et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conflicting Perspectives on Spotted Owls, Wildfire, and Forest Restoration

et al. 2017

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Alternative Views of a Restoration Framework for Federal Forests in the Pacific Northwest

Cited by 19 publications

References 92 publications

Building on Two Decades of Ecosystem Management and Biodiversity Conservation under the Northwest Forest Plan, USA

Building on Two Decades of Ecosystem Management and Biodiversity Conservation under the Northwest Forest Plan, USA

Forest management scenarios in a changing climate: trade‐offs between carbon, timber, and old forest

Conflicting Perspectives on Spotted Owls, Wildfire, and Forest Restoration

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