The Northwest Forest Plan was implemented in 1994 to protect habitat for species associated with old‐growth forests, including Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentailis caurina) in Washington, Oregon, and northern California (U.S.A.). Nevertheless, 10‐year monitoring data indicate mixed success in meeting the ecological goals of the plan. We used the ecosystem management decision‐support model to evaluate terrestrial and aqua...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recent recovery plan for one of the most carefully watched threatened species worldwide, the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), recommended a major departure in conservation strategies in the northwestern United States. Due to concern about fire, the plan would switch from a reserve to a no‐reserve strategy in up to 52% of the owl's range. Fuel treatments (e.g., thinning) at...

The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) can enhance conservation of biodiversity in North America by increasing its engagement in public policy. Toward this end, the North America Section of SCB is establishing partnerships with other professional organizations in order to speak more powerfully to decision makers and taking other actions—such as increasing interaction with chapters—geared to engage members more substantivel...

Nearly 10 million ha of federal lands in the Pacific Northwest have been managed under the Northwest Forest Plan since 1994. The plan reduced logging levels by 80%; only recently, however, have inventories on status and condition of mature and old‐growth forests become available. Our objectives were to (1) determine the areal extent of old (>150 years) and mature (50–150 years) conifer forests based on 2000 Landsat 7 ETM+ imag...

Fire performs many beneficial ecosystem functions in dry forests and rangelands across much of North America. In the last century, however, the role of fire has been dramatically altered by numerous anthropogenic factors acting as root causes of the current fire crisis, including widespread logging, road building, fire suppression, habitat fragmentation, urban development, livestock grazing, and, more recently, climate change....

The Klamath‐Siskiyou region of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon supports globally outstanding temperate biodiversity. Fire has been important in the evolutionary history that shaped this diversity, but recent human influences have altered the fire environment. We tested for modern human impacts on the fire regime by analyzing temporal patterns in fire extent and spatial patterns of fire severity in relation to v...

Although many roadless areas on federal lands have been mapped in the United States since the 1970s, there has been little specific research on how and to what degree roadless areas contribute to biodiversity conservation. We examined the ecological attributes of mapped roadless areas for the Klamath‐Siskiyou ecoregion of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon (U.S.A.). Attributes examined include special elements (su...