1. Michigan-California Timber Company
DIRK EMBREE
(530)

2. MCTC BACKGROUND MCTC is an affiliate of Timber Products
TP has eight mills in four states
TP is headquartered in Springfield, OR
Employ approximately 960
MCTC manages the timberlands
MCTC is headquartered in Yreka, CA

3. NSO Range and MCTC Ownership

4. MCTC Vicinity Map

5. MCTC OVERVIEW Approximately 114,000 acres Acquired in 1994
Checkerboard pattern
Located on the edge of the NSO’s range
Elevations range from around 2000’ to over 8,000’ above sea level
Timbered stands are mostly Klamath mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, and true fir

6. HISTORY Railroad land grants Multiple owners
Logging began in the 1930’s
Heavy logging in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s
Several large wildfires

7. CURRENT MANAGEMENT Sustainably managed under Option A (CCR 933.11)
Utilize both even and unevenaged management
Retain bioforestry patches in evenaged units
Retain key habitat elements
Manage for a variety of wildlife, fish and plant species
Ownership supports a wealth of natural resources

8. NSO REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Spotted Owl Management Plan (939.9(e))
Updated and Reauthorized March 29, 2013
Valid for five years

9. HABITAT CONSERVATION Modified version of the FWS habitat standard
Implement 0.5 mile core areas around AC’s
Retain designated NSO habitat in abiotically favorable locations within core areas and watershed
Implement standard seasonal restrictions and disturbance buffers for nesting birds

10. NSO SURVEYS Annual surveys completed since early 90’s
Annually complete over 1200 station visits
Completed 1,344 station visits in 2013

11. SURVEY PROTOCOL Adhere to the 2012 Survey Protocol
Conduct six-visits out to 1.3 miles
Conduct walk-ins to known Activity Centers
Conduct follow-ups to determine location of nest or roost sites, and breeding status
Determine reproductive output of our monitoring birds

12. SURVEY EFFORT Surveys are completed by in-house staff
Two biologists and one technician
All with relevant four-year degrees
Over 25 years combined experience

13. OWL NUMBERS 55 known AC’s located within 0.5 miles of the ownership

14. NSO ACTIVITY CENTERS WITHIN 1.3 MILES OF MCTC

15. OWL NUMBERS - Cont.
In 2012, we reviewed all available NSO data for the 55 AC’s dating back to 2000
Included review of all NSO data forms, the State database, our in-house GIS database, and data provided by adjacent landowners
Compiled data into a matrix, showing the status of each AC by year, if it was surveyed

16. OWL NUMBERS – Cont.
Excluded data for an AC for a given year under the following circumstances:
Single nighttime only detections
Sites where barred owls were detected
Sites where data was not provided
Sites that were not surveyed

17. OWL NUMBERS – Cont.
Occupancy data of the 55 owl sites located within 0.5 miles of the MCTC ownership between 2000 and 2013.
 YEAR
 00
 01
 02
 03
 04
 05
 06
 07
 08
 09
10 
 11
 12 13
Mean
# of Sites Surveyed 31 35 34 33 28 30 29 25 26 32 24
29.85
# of confirmed adult owls 21 36 27 15 23 22 18
Mean #owls/site surveyed
0.68
1.17
1.16
0.79
0.77
0.88
0.89
0.83
0.60
0.72
0.92
.72
0.86
# of sites occupied by ≥1 owls 11 20 17 16 14 8 12
% of sites surveyed occupied by ≥1 owls 
35%
67%
65%
50%
43%
48%
46%
47%
32%
52%

18. MONITORING BIRDS
Six original monitoring birds specified in the 2007 SOMP
Nine monitoring birds in the 2013 SOMP
All but one are located on MCTC
Survey and obtain reproductive status on at least 5 each year

19. MCTC MONITORING SITES
CAID
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
*SK012 NS 2
SK051 NT
SK152
NCASI 1
unk
SK391
SK493
SK541
SK542
SK549 BO
SK553
# of NSO's 8 11 14 12 13 16 10
2= pair, 1 = single, 0 = no owls detected, NT = nighttime detection only, BO = barred owl
NS = not surveyed, NCASI = NCASI telemetry study, UNK = unknown strix
*SK012 is not located on the MCTC Ownership

20. SUMMARY
Based on review of available data associated with the 55 known activity centers located within 0.5 miles of the MCTC ownership, we have concluded that our owl population is dynamic, yet stable.
Specific site occupancy is variable for some sites, while others show high levels of consistency
Barred owls have displaced one of our monitoring sites, forcing the NSOs to relocate further up the drainage.