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CRANE MILLS and the Northern Spotted Owl

CRANE MILLS and the Northern Spotted Owl. Population Trends 1989 through 2013. Crane Mills Ownership. Total ownership of 92,000 acres Third generation family owned company

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CRANE MILLS and the Northern Spotted Owl

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  1. CRANE MILLSand theNorthern Spotted Owl Population Trends 1989 through 2013

  2. Crane Mills Ownership • Total ownership of 92,000 acres • Third generation family owned company • Ownership located in Tehama (68,100 ac), Shasta (16,100 ac), Trinity (6400 ac), Siskiyou (1000 ac), Butte (300 ac), and Plumas (100 ac) • 99% of the ownership is in the range of the Northern Spotted Owl • Company began in 1931 in Bly, Oregon and moved to Tehama County in 1945 with the purchase of the 36,000 acre Perrin Tract • Most recent large acquisition (20,000 acres) was the purchase of the North and Middle Commander Tracts in 2001 from Pioneer Resources (old LP land)

  3. North Block Main Block

  4. Crane Mills-physical context • Klamath Mixed Conifer Forest • Mixed conifer forest with standard 5 species (PP, SP, DF, WF, and IC)—WHR habitats KMC and MHC. Some red fir above 6000 feet • Hardwood species are black oak, live oak, big-leaf maple, and white alder. The latter two are primarily in riparian areas • Interior Coast Range Mountains draining into the Sacramento River basin • Species composition is strongly driven by aspect—S aspects have more pine, N aspects have more Douglas-fir • Western Tehama and Shasta Counties • Sheetiron Soil Series (shallow, schist parent material) • Average annual precipitation = 50”

  5. Silviculture • Historically we have had an uneven-aged management objective • First 30 years or so we practiced high-risk sanitation salvage style of harvest (single-tree selection) • First efforts in artificial regeneration began in 1979 after the Skinner Mill Fire of 1976 in western Tehama County • In the early 1980’s we utilized the Selection method in most of our Timber Harvest Plans • By the mid 1980s and early 1990’swe were moving towards Modified Selection/Alternative Prescriptions in recognition of the need to open up canopy to encourage survival and growth of our future stands • After 1994, we have used Alternative Prescriptions which are a mix of partial overstory removal and “thinning” of the understory with residual basal areas under the Selection standards (75 sq. ft.) • In the future, we will probably move toward a hybrid between even-aged and uneven-aged silviculture

  6. Crane Mills Main Block Upper Thomes Creek watershed with South YollaBolly Mountain (8092’) in the background

  7. AltRx—Modified Sani-Salv and Shelterwood RemovalLogged in 2006 @5100’, SE aspect

  8. 2013/14 – Main Block: • 91 Call Points • 4 active THPs • 1 THP pending approval • 1 THP in development • 2-6 years of surveying

  9. Main Block Survey History • Surveyed since 1989 • 1989 - early 1990’s: Surveyed by Crane Mills Foresters • 1990’s: Surveyed by Crane Mills Foresters & Louisiana Pacific/Pioneer biologists. Reports prepared by PCBs • 2000’s – Present: Surveyed by Crane Mills Foresters &/or contract survey crews for Crane Mills. Used 939.9(g) and (e) to obtain Technical Assistance (TA) letters from USFWS • Approximately 5 occupied activity centers were added to our total when we acquired 20,000 acres from Pioneer Resources in 2001 • Current • Survey coordination with USFS where feasible • Update habitat typing as needed to comply with current habitat definitions & USFWS TA • Annual TAs from USFWS utilizing 939.9(e)

  10. 2013 & 2014 – North Block • 19 Call Points • 1 active THP • 3 years of partial survey • 4 years of complete survey • 2013: Bye on survey, year 5 of 2011 protocol

  11. North Block Survey History • Surveyed since early 1990’s (Shasta County) • Where applicable, surveys coordinated with SPI • Surveyed by Crane Mills Foresters and PCB (Peter Lewendal) • Single activity center (in Shasta Co.) associated with a THP, AC was burned out in the 2008 Moon Complex Fire • No-Take Determinations, TADs, & TAs from DFG/USFWS • Current (Panther Rock THP) • No activity centers; single Barred owl response (2009), apparent transient • Only 1.3 mile buffer around unlogged portions surveyed • 2013: Bye on surveys as per discussions with USFWS, based on 2011 protocol: • “If spot checks have been completed in years 3 & 4, technical assistance with appropriate regulatory agency will be required to evaluate scope of remaining harvest & appropriate survey needs in year 5 for remaining harvest.” • 2014: Regular survey protocol

  12. 1990’s: 30-35 occupied ACs • Current: • 82 ACs in GIS • Including CM & DFG records • 37 occupied ACs • 41% public land • 27% CM • 32% combo • 1 barred owl • Past 5 years, same location

  13. 1 AC – Shasta Co (CM & DFG) • 16 AC – Trinity Co (DFG) • 1 barred owl – Shasta Co. (2009)

  14. Summary of NSO Population Trends • Anecdotal evidence from 25 years of surveys • 20-25 year cutting cycle • 10-20 year gaps in between detections/status determinations • Population remaining stable/slight increase • Every major drainage and/or tributary has an occupied AC • Reproductive activity typically encountered annually somewhere on the ownership • Habitat on ownership at/near full utilization • Large amounts of USFS unsurveyed due to lack of management (their surveys are project-driven) • Due to high number of unoccupied ACs (i.e. night detections from initial surveys treated as ACs), state database unreliable population metric

  15. Summary of NSO Population Trends • Shasta County North Block: Low utilization • Poor habitat (lower elevation, warmer temperatures, dense tanoak in understory, ownership is on forested fringe of NSO range where it transitions into foothill woodland and chaparral vegetation types) • 2008 Moon fire • Trinity County North Block: Higher utilization • No survey or population information because we have not harvested in that area except for sanitation/salvage in response to high-wind or fire events • Extensively surveyed by SPI

  16. PERSONNEL • Crane Mills foresters involved since 1989—Roy Henson (RPF #969), Frank Barron (RPF #2007), Mark Pritchard (RPF #2564), Jeff Caster (RPF #2658), David Haas (RPF #2950), Julian Howell, Kevin Berry • Private Consulting Biologist utilized in the 1990s—Peter Lewendal (Shasta Land Management) • DFG Biologists involved in the early 1990s—Tom Stone, John Hummel • USFWS biologists involved since 2000—Jan Johnson, Jennifer Jones, Tim Burnett • USFS biologists—Linda Angerer, Cherie Keckler • Louisiana Pacific/Pioneer Resources—Ben Rowe, +?

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