State Trust Lands HCP Northern Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy
DNR’s State Trust Lands Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) covers forestlands managed by DNR within the range of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) in Washington. This area includes 1.8 million acres of state trust lands west of the Cascade Mountains and on the eastern slopes of the Cascades. One of the primary conservation strategies in the HCP is protecting and enhancing the habitat used by northern spotted owls, and providing areas for them to live, eat, and reproduce.
Objectives of the Northern Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy
Provide habitat that makes a significant contribution to the following:
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Demographic support,
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Maintenance of species distribution, and
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Facilitation of dispersal.
Major factors thought to threaten northern spotted owl populations
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Competition from barred owls (Strix varia),
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Habitat loss and fragmentation from past timber harvest activities, and
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Ongoing habitat losses from large wildfires, particularly in the eastern Cascades.
Recent Northern spotted owl projects and research
Northern spotted owl conservation strategy
- Strategy for the Chelan, Yakima, Columbia, North Puget, South Puget, South Coast, and Straits Planning Units
- Strategy for the Olympic Experimental State Forest Planning Unit (HCP)
- Strategy for the Olympic Experimental State Forest Planning Unit (OESF Forest Land Plan)
- HCP Amendment No. 1: Administrative Amendment to the Northern Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy for the Klickitat HCP Planning Unit
