Wild Nature Institute
  • Science
    • Giraffe
    • TUNGO
    • Spotted Owl
  • Education
    • Environmental Education
    • Snag Forest
    • Forest Fire Truths
  • Advocacy
    • Save The Giraffe
    • Corridor Campaign
    • Snag Forest
    • Forests For Everyone
  • Donate
    • Ways To Give
    • Adopt A Baby Giraffe
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Monica
    • Derek
    • James
    • Our International Team
    • Our Tanzanian Partners

Updates From the Field and News From Wild Nature

New Research by Wild Nature Institute Shows Wildfire Has More Benefits than Costs to Spotted Owl Populations

7/24/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Wildfire Management Designed to Protect Spotted Owls May Be Outdated
24 July 2018

Forest fires are not a serious threat to populations of Spotted Owls, contrary to current perceptions and forest management strategies. According to a new study, mixed-severity fires actually are good for Spotted Owl populations, producing more benefits than costs to the species, which acts as an indicator of biological health to the old-growth forests where they live. The study, which analyzed all 21 published scientific studies about the effects of wildfires on Spotted Owls, appears July 24 in the journal Ecosphere and suggests that management strategies for this species are outdated.
“Current management strategies targeted at protecting Spotted Owls are prioritizing what is called fuel-reduction logging, which removes trees and other vegetation in a misguided and ineffectual attempt to reduce the severity of future fires,” said Derek E. Lee, associate research professor of biology at Penn State and author of the paper. “But this tactic removes canopy cover and large trees that are important for Spotted Owls and does not generally reduce fire severity of big, hot fires. The idea behind these logging projects is that the risks from wildfire outweigh the harm caused by additional logging, but here we show that forest fires are not a serious threat to owl populations and in most instances are even beneficial. This reveals an urgent need to re-evaluate our forest management strategies.”
Spotted Owls are found in old-growth forests in the western United States and act as an indicator species, a measure of the biological health of an area, for public-land management. This species is particularly sensitive to logging, and when the northern subspecies of Spotted Owl was listed in 1990 as threatened -- likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future -- under the federal Endangered Species Act, about 90% of America’s old-growth forest had already been lost to unsustainable logging practices over the previous 50 years. The listing of the Northern and Mexican Spotted Owls as threatened drew national attention to the dramatic decline of old-growth forest ecosystems and forced policy changes in the management of national forests.
In spite of these protections, populations of Spotted Owls have continued to decline outside of national forests over the last 38 years. Although many believe that wildfire has significantly contributed to this decline, there is little scientific basis for this assumption.
“Much of what we knew about the Spotted Owl’s habitat preferences was derived from studies in areas that had not recently experienced fire,” said Lee. “I analyzed all available published studies investigating the effects of forest fires on Spotted Owls. I also considered the influence of fire severity. Forest fires in the western United States typically burn as mixed-severity fires that include substantial patches of low-, moderate-, and high-severity fire.”
The new study shows that mixed-severity fires do not have any significantly negative effects on the owls’ choice of foraging habitat, survival, occupancy, reproduction, or recruitment.
Although mixed-severity fires may lead to reduced occupancy -- the probability that certain sites are occupied by owls -- in burned areas, this reduction is less than is typically seen due to normal movement of the owls in unburned habitat, and is much less than what is observed in response to logging. Additionally, the risk of fire occurring in spotted owl breeding sites is very small: only 1 percent of breeding sites are affected by mixed-severity fires each year.
Mixed-severity fires have a positive impact on the owls’ choice of foraging habitat, on the number of owls that are recruited to the area immediately after a fire, and on reproduction. High-severity fires, including those that burn 100 percent of an area, are also positively associated with reproduction. This indicates that even the most intense fires can have positive outcomes for Spotted Owls.
“These positive effects indicate that the mixed-severity fires of recent decades, including so-called megafires that have been receiving lots of media attention lately, are within the natural range of variability for these forests,” said Lee. “The fact that Spotted Owls are adapted to these types of fires tells us that they have seen this before and learned to take advantage of it.”
Together, these results suggest that, contrary to current perceptions, forest fires do not appear to be a serious threat to owl populations, and may impart more benefits than costs for Spotted Owls. Therefore, fuel-reduction logging treatments intended to mitigate fire severity in Spotted Owl habitat may in fact do more harm than good.
“Spotted Owls were once a symbol of the biodiversity found in old-growth forests,” said Lee. “We need to reevaluate our management strategies to better protect these birds and the extraordinary biodiversity found in severely burned forests.”

Contacts:
Derek E. Lee: DerekLee@psu.edu, (415) 763-0348
Gail McCormick: gailmccormick@psu.edu, (814) 863-0901
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Science News and Updates From the Field from Wild Nature Institute.

    Follow @WildNatureInst

    RSS Feed


    If You Love Us,
    Make A Donation!

    All Photos on This Blog are Available as Frame-worthy Prints to Thank Our Generous Donors.
    Email Us for Details of this Offer.

    Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    January 2011

Home
About Us
Monica Bond
Derek Lee
James Madeli
Our Tanzanian Partners

Juma The Giraffe
Celebrating Africa's Giants

Science
   Giraffe
   TUNGO
   Spotted Owl
Education
   Environmental Education
   Snag Forest
   Forest Fire Truths

   Sinema Leo Video Children's Books
Advocacy
   Save The Giraffe
   Corridor Campaign
   Snag Forests
   Forests For Everyone

Donate
   Ways To Give
   Adopt A Baby Giraffe


Wild Nature Institute Logo
Mailing Address:
Wild Nature Institute
PO Box 44
Weaverville, NC 28787

Phone: USA +1 415 763 0348 /  TZ +255 686 037 481 (WhatsApp)
Email: info@wildnatureinstitute.org

The Wild Nature Institute is a New Hampshire non-profit corporation and a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
© Copyright 2010-2019. All Rights Reserved.
View Wild Nature Institute's Privacy Policy
  • Science
    • Giraffe
    • TUNGO
    • Spotted Owl
  • Education
    • Environmental Education
    • Snag Forest
    • Forest Fire Truths
  • Advocacy
    • Save The Giraffe
    • Corridor Campaign
    • Snag Forest
    • Forests For Everyone
  • Donate
    • Ways To Give
    • Adopt A Baby Giraffe
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Monica
    • Derek
    • James
    • Our International Team
    • Our Tanzanian Partners