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El Plan Forestal del Noroeste: Oigenes, Componentes, Experiencia de Implementación y Sugerencias de Cambio
Author(s) -
THOMAS JACK WARD,
FRANKLIN JERRY F.,
GORDON JOHN,
JOHNSON K. NORMAN
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00385.x
Subject(s) - plan (archaeology) , endangered species , riparian zone , environmental resource management , forest management , geography , set aside , biodiversity , environmental planning , agroforestry , business , forestry , ecology , environmental science , habitat , archaeology , biology
In the 1990s the federal forests in the Pacific Northwest underwent the largest shift in management focus since their creation, from providing a sustained yield of timber to conserving biodiversity, with an emphasis on endangered species. Triggered by a legal challenge to the federal protection strategy for the Northern Spotted Owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ), this shift was facilitated by a sequence of science assessments that culminated in the development of the Northwest Forest Plan. The plan, adopted in 1994, called for an extensive system of late‐successional and riparian reserves along with some timber harvest on the intervening lands under a set of controls and safeguards. It has proven more successful in stopping actions harmful to conservation of old‐growth forests and aquatic systems than in achieving restoration goals and economic and social goals. We make three suggestions that will allow the plan to achieve its goals: (1) recognize that the Northwest Forest Plan has evolved into an integrative conservation strategy, (2) conserve old‐growth trees and forests wherever they occur, and (3) manage federal forests as dynamic ecosystems.