Forest restoration treatments can reduce future fire severity and benefit populations of California spotted owls, even with temporary disruptions within owl habitats in the Sierra Nevada, California.

This finding is showcased in “Forest restoration limits megafires and supports species conservation under climate change,” a new research publication released this week in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Lead author Gavin Jones, Ph.D., a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service (USFS) Rocky Mountain Research Station, said the research shows that forest restoration and the preservation of the spotted owl are not mutually exclusive, as had previously been feared.

“We’ve shown that restoration provides co-benefits to owls by reducing their exposure to stand-replacing wildfire, which leads to loss of nesting habitat,” Jones said.

Contine reading at USDA Forest Service

Image via USDA Forest Service

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