A Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl was issued in 2008 by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and included several recommendations which, if accomplished, could lead to the recovery of the species and delisting as a threatened / endangered species.

So what is Recovery Action 32? The Recovery Plan defines it as such:

Recovery Action 32: Maintain substantially all of the older and more structurally complex multi-layered conifer forests on Federal lands outside of MOCAs in the Olympic Peninsula, Western Washington Cascades, Western Oregon Cascades, Oregon Coast Range, Oregon and California Klamath, and California Coast Provinces, allowing for other threats, such as fire and insects, to be addressed by restoration management actions. These forests are characterized as having large diameter trees, high amounts of canopy cover, and decadence components such as broken topped live trees, mistletoe, cavities, large snags, and fallen trees.

What constitutes structurally complex can be subject to interpretation so the Medford BLM District partnered with the Rogue River / Siskiyou National Forest to develop a consistent and repeatable methodology to identifying and delineating this high quality habitat.

The methodology that was developed is a two step process- the first step uses GIS as a rough screening tool to determine if any potential high quality habitat exists in an area of interest and the second step is a field visit to observe and record observations. This application can be used to assist with step one- the rough screening for potential high quality habitat.

Click on HOW TO USE THIS TOOL below to read the instructions on how to get started.

This tool is a multi-step workflow and cumulates with a generation of a findings report. Since the methodology was developed for use in southwest Oregon, this tool should only be used for sites located in Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson and Josephine Counties. Data for Lane County has also been included but caution is urged since it may be located too far north of the environment in which the methodology was developed. Click on each step in the process to access its dialog and any applicable options.

The first step is to define your area of interest. You can do this by simply drawing a polygon on the screen or by importing information from a Google Earth KML file. The area of interest is assumed to be a polygon such as a timber sale unit, etc.

The second step is the actual analysis. If you have multiple polygons, you can either run the analysis on a specific polygon or all polygons. To analyze a specific polygon, simply click on it to select it and then click the "Analyze This" button in the pop-up dialog that appears.