Michigan-California Timber Company

DIRK EMBREE(530) 842-2310

dembree@timberproducts.com

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

NSO Range and MCTC Ownership

MCTC Vicinity Map

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

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

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

NSO REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

• Spotted Owl Management Plan (939.9(e))• Updated and Reauthorized March 29, 2013• Valid for five years

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

NSO SURVEYS

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

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

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

OWL NUMBERS• 55 known AC’s located within 0.5 miles of the

ownership

• 84 known AC’s located within 1.3 miles of the ownership

NSO ACTIVITY CENTERS WITHIN 1.3 MILES OF MCTC

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

OWL NUMBERS – Cont.

Excluded data for an AC for a given year under the following circumstances:1. Single nighttime only detections 2. Sites where barred owls were detected3. Sites where data was not provided4. Sites that were not surveyed

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 31 34 35 33 28 30 29 25 26 32 24 25 29.85# of confirmed adult owls 21 35 36 27 27 29 25 25 24 15 23 23 22 18 25Mean #owls/site surveyed 0.68 1.17 1.16 0.79 0.77 0.88 0.89 0.83 0.83 0.60 0.88 0.72 0.92 .72 0.86# of sites occupied by ≥1 owls 11 20 20 17 15 16 13 14 14 8 12 15 12 13 14

% of sites surveyed occupied by ≥1 owls 35% 67% 65% 50% 43% 48% 46% 47% 48% 32% 46% 47% 50% 52% 48%

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

MCTC MONITORING SITESCAID 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

*SK012 NS 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

SK051 NT 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

SK152 0 0 0 NCASI 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 unk 1

SK391 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 2

SK493 2 2 2 NCASI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SK541 NCASI NCASI NCASI NCASI NT 0 0 0 NS 0 2 2 2 2

SK542 2 1 2 1 2 2 NT 1 2 1 2 0 2 1

SK549 2 NT 2 2 2 2 2 2 NT 2 2 2 BO BO

SK553 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 NS

# of NSO's 8 11 14 11 14 14 12 13 12 11 16 11 10 10

2= pair, 1 = single, 0 = no owls detected, NT = nighttime detection only, BO = barred owlNS = not surveyed, NCASI = NCASI telemetry study, UNK = unknown strix*SK012 is not located on the MCTC Ownership

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.