Assessing the compatability of fuel treatments, wildfire risk, and conservation of Northern spotted owl habitats and populations in the eastern Cascades: A multi-scale analysis

National Forests in the dry forest provinces on the east-side of the Oregon and Washington Cascades have been managed under the guidelines of local Forest Plans and the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), both of which specify large areas of late-successional reserves (LSRs). In contrast, the recently-released USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Revised Recovery Plan (RRP) for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) calls for development of dynamic and shifting mosaics in the dry forests, and retention of LSRs in moist forests of eastern Cascades of Oregon and Washington, to address NSO habitat and wildfire concerns. Our objectives in this study were to develop and evaluate several key management approaches intended to reduce fire risk and conserve NSO habitat and to assess the relative merit of alternative management strategies in fire-prone stands and landscapes.