New report in press: Mapping forest conditions for the California spotted owl

Kelly, M. In Press. Mapping Forest Conditions Past, Present, and Future. Chapter 6 in Gutiérrez, R.J.; Manley, Patricia N.; Stine, Peter A., tech. eds. [In press]. The California spotted owl: current state of knowledge. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station.

Mapping and mapped data have always been critical to public land managers and researchers to identify and characterize wildlife habitat across scales, to monitor species and habitat change, and to predict and plan for future scenarios. Maps and mapping protocols are often incorporated into wildlife and habitat management plans, as is the case with the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis), a subspecies of management concern. In this chapter I have focused on the use of mapping technology that can be used to aid in the analysis of owl use of forested habitat. I reviewed and summarized 18 peer-reviewed papers published from 1992 through 2013 that described the use of remote sensing, aerial imagery or other mapped products to assess forest structure used by California spotted owls across scales and that also were specific about mapping protocols. Because many of the newer papers used new remote sensing technologies such as light detection and ranging (LiDAR), I have presented a retrospective of mapping methods before the detailed summary of the literature on California spotted owl.

Report link: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtrCASPO_0716draft/index.shtml