Conservation status and threats to species associated with old-growth forests within the range of the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Decline of the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) has drawn attention to the management of oldgrowth and late-successional forest habitat in the Canadian Pacific Northwest. Here we expand this focus to include 138 additional species of vertebrates and vascular plants that are found with Spotted Owls in old-growth forests in the southwestern mainland of British Columbia, Canada. We amassed up-to-date conservation status designations and enumerated known threats to survival for these species using online databases (NatureServe, COSEWIC, and SARA Public Registry) in order to assess the taxonomic and trophic breadth of species at risk in this community. Not unexpectedly, we found species at risk in all major taxonomic groups and that regulatory designations at provincial and federal levels are inconsistent for many species. 16% of species are classified as endangered, threatened or of special concern by the B.C. government, yet just 6% are being managed by B.C. Only 50% of species designated at risk by B.C. have been federally assessed by COSEWIC and only 36% currently have protection under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA), which mandates protection of critical habitat. The threats to these species are varied, but timber harvesting and its indirect effects (e.g. road building, forest fragmentation) make up the majority. Although recovery planning for Spotted Owls has the potential to impact many other species at risk, we argue that the Spotted Owl is not a good Indicator, Keystone or Umbrella species, and that even as a Flagship species it may be insufficient. So we outline a new flagship fleet concept, nominate its members and summarize how it relates to conservation reserve planning.