A LAND MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY

Governance and Conservation of Rare Species, Spring 2015

Professor John MarzluffSchool of Environmental and Forest Sciences

Professor Marc MillerSchool of Marine and Environmental Affairs

Presentation by Jennifer Ginn (jennginn@live.com)Claudia Munoz (claudiak@uw.edu)Kylie Turner (kylienicolet95@gmail.com) Phina Yan (phinayan@uw.edu)Daniel Dawson (dawsod@uw.edu)

Managing western hemlock plantations for marbled murrelet

http://www.thingstodo.com/states/WA/nationalparks/mtrainier2.htm

TABLE OF CONTENTS•Client

•Project Background

•Location

•Ecological role of the land

•Impact and importance of management for marbled murrelet

•Management strategies

•Implementation of management and possible management conflicts

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CLIENTThomas DeLuca [Professor and Director]School of Environmental and Forest Sciences

•Institutional Authority

•Interested in management possibilities for hemlock forests within:•Washington State Department of Natural Resource (DNR)•United States Forest Service (USFS)

http://www.cfr.washington.edu/SFRPublic/People/FacultyProfile.aspx?PID=405

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PROJECT BACKGROUND•State vs Federal forest lands•Money is always an issue•Community organizations

•Marbled murrelet•Old-growth nesting seabirds •4-7% annual decline in Washington (Pearson et al. 2011, Lance et al. 2012)

http://www.kxro.com/marbled-murrelet-leading-to-reimbursements-locally/

http://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/marbled-murrelet.htm

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LOCATION

Map by Kirk Davis, WA State DNR 2015

(Raphael et. al. 2008)JG

LOCATION RATIONALE•DNR land designated as the Queets marbled murrelet Landscape Planning Unit (LPU)• Plantation promotion on DNR land, creation of contiguous habitat in LPU

•USFS land • Thinning is the dominant management strategy, habitat creation planned for OESF area

•High density of suitable marbled murrelet nesting habitat on federal land in the OESF planning area and proportional density of suitable nesting habitat to available habitat in the DNR managed portion (Raphael et. al. 2008)

•Confirmed and probable nesting sites

•Representative of other low-elevation stands

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ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF LAND• Overview of old-growth vs current stand conditions

https://ncfp.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/elk-in-clearcut.jpg

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ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF LANDCurrent Conditions•Planting of monocultures after logging has simplified the robust composition

•Restricting diversity for nesting habitat

•A forest with little diversity is less prone to adapting to climate change and resisting infestation

•Fragmentation in landscapes due to logging creates edge inherent in the land increasing the risk of wind throw

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FRAGMENTED FOREST

•Predation effects on marbled murrelet, Steller’s jay abundance increases as landscape is harvested

•Predation increases nest failure and reduces population growth

•Creates edge effects exposing habitat and increasing disturbances

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ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF LAND

•Old stands are the ideal habitat – important because of the vulnerability of existing habitat fragmented by logging

•Critical in determining the scale of predation risk as it provides safety from predators

•Only 5-20% of original old-growth forests remain in Washington, Oregon, and California

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IMPACT AND IMPORTANCE FOR MARBLED MURRELET

•Limiting factors and conservation needs

http://animal-kid.com/marbled-murrelet-nest.html

http://blackhills-audubon.org/marbled_murrelets.htmhttp://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/maps/wa/birds/WA_marbled_murrelet.html

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IMPACT AND IMPORTANCE FOR MARBLED MURRELET •Restoring Old Growth conditions has the ability to: •Create more nesting habitat•Protect against stochastic events like hazardous weather•Broad platforms for the marbled murrelet to land and take of easily•Decrease predation at the nest

“Changes in the amount or distribution of suitable nesting habitat should result in detectable changes in murrelet numbers” (Raphael et. Al, 2002)

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MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES•Old-growth Promotion•Crop tree thinning•“Release” of fast growing species

•Variable density thinning•Less discriminate, easier to implement•Creating “gaps” to promote stand heterogeneity and undergrowth• Increased variability of tree density and tree growth (Harrington et. al. 2005)

http://www.teagasc.ie/forestry/advice/thinning_ready_reckoner.asp

http://www.maineforestmanagement.com/news/

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IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES•The federal NWFP allows for management proposal of thinning out younger trees to promote old stand growth•“Wildlife habitat enhancement activities on up to 500 acres…removal of small trees (<18" dbh)…expand existing openings or create new openings densely stocked stands” http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=44764

•Implementation complicated on state lands•Sustainable harvest calculation•Fiduciary responsibilities• Implementation of this plan would bring DNR closer to fulfilling original interim HCP

•Interagency relationships

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POSSIBLE LAND MANAGEMENT CONFLICTS•Locating nest sites•Secretive nesting behavior •Time•The next 50 years will be the most critical period for murrelet conservation•Promotion of nesting conditions can occur in 30 – 40 years, creation of complex system can occur in 260 year rotation (Busing and Garman 2002) Habitat for early-seral adapted species

•Cost of land management

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CONCLUSION

•Action required quickly

•Habitat creation is essential for slowing decline

•DNR and USFS can coordinate in proposed management area to create contiguous habitat

http://blackhills-audubon.org/images/chick-full.jpg

http://www.junglewalk.com/animal-pictures/656/Marbled-murrelet-12363.jpg

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