{ "culture": "en-US", "name": "", "guid": "", "catalogPath": "", "snippet": "The dataset was designed to track spotted owl detections, surveys, and site histories in California. It was designed to be used for project review where site specific information and history could be evaluated to determine potential project impacts and mitigation. Also, the dataset tracks the known owl distribution and site occupancy. It is used legitimately by agencies, biologists, regulators, consultants, and land owners and managers for project evaluation and mitigation, for species and land management planning, and for research.", "description": "

This dataset is a new and improved version of the original Spotted Owl Territories [ds97] dataset. The original dataset represented spotted owl territories as activity center observation points with thousands of additional owl observations available in a separate table but not spatially enabled. In this new dataset, the additional owl observations (both positive and negative sightings) have been spatially enabled as points and are now displayed along with the activity center points. See <\/SPAN>the attribute \"TYPEOBS\" for a determination of whether an observation is positive (POS), negative (NEG) or an activity center (AC). Many of the observation locations were approximated by plotting them to a grid of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) based on PLSS references in their record descriptions.<\/SPAN><\/P>

<\/P>

This dataset combines information on the location and status of Northern Spotted Owls, California Spotted Owls in the Sierra Nevada, and California Spotted Owls in southern California. Almost all records have been gathered since the early 1970s. Some observations from early 20th century literature also are included. The vast majority of data were collected in the field by biologists and technicians mainly working for US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, consultants, National Park Service, industrial timber companies, universities conducting surveys and doing research, and the local birding community. Most observations were obtained using standard survey protocols (\"Protocol for surveying proposed management activities that may impact northern spotted owls.\" US Fish and Wildlife Service. 2011). The protocols are available at <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>https://<\/SPAN><\/SPAN>www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Survey-Protocols<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/A><\/P>

<\/P>

What is an activity center? \"Activity Center: Spotted owls have been characterized as central-place foragers, where individuals forage over a wide area and subsequently return to a nest or roost location that is often centrally-located within the home range (Rosenberg and McKelvey 1999). Activity centers are location or point within the core use area that represent this central location. Nest sites are typically used to identify activity centers, or in cases where nests have not been identified, breeding season roost sites or areas of concentrated nighttime detections may be used to identify activity centers.\" U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2011. Revised Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. xvi + 258 pp. A copy of the Revised Recovery Plan and other related materials can be found at: https:/<\/SPAN>/www.fws.gov/ore<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/A>g<\/SPAN><\/SPAN>onfwo/Species/Data/NorthernSpottedOwl/main.asp.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/A>The database only maps one activity center per site; however, multiple acitivity centers may exist on the landscape.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P>

<\/P>

An additional dataset (Spotted Owl Observations Spider Diagram [ds705]) is available that shows lines representing relationships between activity centers and observations in this dataset. The spider diagram dataset is meant to accompany this observations dataset to assist with site visualizations and dataset review efforts. <\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P>

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW:<\/SPAN><\/P>