Wildfires fueled by strong east winds like the ones that struck Oregon in September 2020 can move very fast and inflict huge damage in a few hours; however, recovery can take years.
“Many people do not realize that the landscape after a wildfire is not a monolithic black, completely burned area,” said Mike Davis, Wildlife Biologist with the Oregon Dept. of Forestry’s (ODF) State Forests Division. “It’s more of a patchwork landscape depending on the severity of the fire in each area. There might be a completely burned area, then a small stand of healthy trees that survived, then trees that look alive but die in a few years.”
In the middle of that patchwork the biologists were excited to see the first northern spotted owl in the area since 2020. The spotted owl is a threatened species ODF monitors throughout all the state forests in western Oregon and Sun Pass State Forest in eastern Oregon.
“We were excited to see the owl make a return—even if only one. Our hope is it will find a mate and nest next year,” said Davis.
“We first saw the owl in 2023 and worked with our contract surveyors to capture and put leg bands on the female owl. It was found again this year but doesn’t appear to be nesting,” said Davis.
Nearly half of the Santiam was burned by the fires, including critical habitat areas for owls.
Under the future state forests habitat conservation plan (HCP) the department is in the process of applying for with federal agencies to ensure both continued timber harvest and protection of threatened and endangered species for the next 70 years, the Santiam will provide a unique research opportunity.
As part of the HCP, the department will develop and manage habitat conservation areas (HCAs) to maintain and improve habitats of key fish and wildlife species.
“We’ll be implementing landscape-level passive acoustic monitoring to document changes in northern spotted owl use throughout our habitat conservation areas on Santiam State Forest,” said Vanessa Petro, state forests Lead Wildlife Biologist.
This process uses remote recording devices to capture wildlife vocalizations to more accurately determine what species are in an area.
“Conducting this type of survey in the Santiam will allow us to document differences in spotted owl occupancy relative to the burn severity patterns within the Beachie Creek Fire perimeter. It will also help us better understand how wildlife species are responding to habitat treatments such as thinning that will accelerate the development of late-seral forest characteristics we desire in the HCAs such as large diameter snags and down wood, in addition to a multi-layered forest canopy.
Another species ODF will be studying is the Oregon slender salamander, which is a federal species of concern found only in the Cascade Range in Oregon. “We will also be conducting Oregon slender salamander surveys to better understand their distribution and occurrence on the Santiam,” said Petro “Our long-term monitoring will provide us a better understanding on how their occupancy and abundance is influenced by existing habitat conditions and our forest management activities.”
