Introduction

Abstract

The California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) occurs across a large portion of California, including the portion of the southern Cascade Range south of the Pit River that abuts the Sierra Nevada and throughout the Sierra Nevada, the mountains of central coastal California, and the Peninsular and Transverse Ranges of southern California. The future of the California spotted owl is of concern because of population trends over the past few decades, the potential impacts of forest management, and the threat of high-severity fire on its primary habitat of closed-canopy forest. Data from demographic studies conducted in three locations in the Sierra Nevada show that populations have been declining over the past 20-plus years (e.g., Conner et al. 2013, Tempel et al. 2014). The majority of the current range of the owl occurs on public lands, primarily national forests.

Parent Publication

• The California spotted owl: current state of knowledge

Citation

Stine, Peter; Manley, Patricia N. 2017. Introduction. In: Gutiérrez, R.J.; Manley, Patricia N.; Stine, Peter A., tech. eds. The California spotted owl: current state of knowledge. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-254. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 1-10. Chapter 1.