Treesearch

Long-term monitoring programs and research related to Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP, or Plan) goals, strategies, and outcomes provide an unprecedented opportunity to examine how the scientific basis and socioecological context of the Plan may have changed during the 23 years since its implementation. We also have a prime opportunity to reassess how well the goals and strategies of the Plan are positioned to address new issues.

This chapter focuses mostly on terrestrial conditions of species and biodiversity associated with late-successional and old-growth forests in the area of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP). We do not address the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) or marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)—those species and their habitat needs are covered in chapters 4 and 5, respectively. Also, the NWFP’s Aquatic and Riparian Conservation Strategy and associated fish species are addressed in chapter 7, and early-successional vegetation and other conditions are covered more in chapters 3...

Given the need to conserve forest biodiversity and produce forest products, President Clinton’s vision for the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP, or Plan) was that it would provide “a balanced and comprehensive strategy for the conservation and management of forest ecosystems, while maximizing economic and social benefits from forests” (USDA and USDI 1994: E-1). The Plan was expected to support the production of a predictable, sustainable level of timber and nontimber resources from federal forests to contribute to the stability of local and regional economies over the long term (Charnley et al....

Climate change is expected to alter the composition, structure, and function of forested ecosystems in the United States (Vose et al. 2012). Increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide [CO2]) and temperature, as well as altered precipitation and disturbance regimes (e.g., fire, insects, pathogens, and windstorms), are expected to have profound effects on biodiversity, socioeconomics, and the delivery of ecosystem services within the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP, or Plan) area over the next century (Dale et al. 2001, Franklin et al. 1991). The ecological...

The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990 (USFWS 1990). Providing adequate amounts of suitable forest cover to sustain the subspecies was a major component of the first recovery plan for northern spotted owls (USFWS 1992) and a driver in the basic reserve design and old-forest restoration under the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP, or Plan) (USDA and USDI 1994). The reserve design included large contiguous blocks of late-successional forest, which was expected to be sufficient to provide habitat for many interacting...

In this chapter, we describe expectations of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP, or Plan) and review recent science on the ecology and status of the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), with an emphasis on the portion of the species’ range that falls within the Plan area. The conservation strategy embodied in the NWFP evolved from designation and protection of a large number of relatively small management areas to an approach based primarily on the designation of fewer large areas, each designed to conserve functioning late-successional and old-growth ecosystems. These were intended...

The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) was developed to resolve debates over old-growth forests, endangered species, and timber production on federal forests in the range of the northern spotted owl. This three-volume science synthesis, which consists of 12 chapters that address various ecological and social concerns, is intended to inform forest plan revision and forest management within the NWFP area. Land managers with the U.S. Forest Service provided questions that helped guide preparation of the synthesis, which builds on the 10-, 15-, and 20-year NWFP monitoring reports and synthesizes...