For years the U.S. Forest Service has been working to develop a science-based Conservation Strategy for the California spotted owl – a species that is most prominent in controversial debates over how to manage national forest lands in the Sierra Nevada. In February the latest draft proposal was released.
Our CSERC staff collectively reviewed the lengthy strategy and then provided feedback. Our first concern was that all of the new strategies spelled out in the new plan are simply “guidelines” that do not need to be strictly enforced. That would allow project officials to pick and choose which measures to follow and which to simply ignore.
The most disturbing aspect of the Forest Service’s proposed strategy is a change that would allow the logging of much larger trees. Up to this time, policies have protected large, old trees (which often have high value for both the owl and other at-risk species) by limiting logging to trees less than 30” in diameter.
The new strategy would allow the logging of trees up to 40” in diameter whenever they were judged to be shading oaks or competing with sugar pines or even if a project official simply wanted to shift a forest area from white firs and cedars to pines. CSERC emphasized that large conifers have died in great numbers over recent years due to drought and insect mortality. In most forest areas, they are generally rare. Large, old trees need protection, not new policy loopholes that allow them to be targeted for logging.
One additional concern was the agency’s proposal to allow the application of insecticides to large high-value trees to help reduce possible attacks by bark beetles. CSERC opposed that strategy, pointing out that toxic exposure from the insecticide could be dangerous not only for the CA spotted owl, but for woodpeckers and many other wildlife species.
Overall, CSERC’s comments noted that the Forest Service already struggles to hold the trust of the public as it attempts to ramp up thinning logging, burning, and other desired forest health treatments.
We pointed out that allowing the logging of big, old trees -- in a plan for a species that strongly depends upon big, old trees -- will make the public even less trusting of the agency.
