Chapter 36 



Status of Forest Habitat of the Marbled Murrelet 



David A. Perry 1 



Abstract: Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) have 

 been shown to be dependant upon old-growth forests for nesting 

 habitat. These forests have declined over the last century as they 

 are cut for human use. This paper reviews the current status of 

 old-growth forests along the west coast, in both the United States 

 and Canada. 



Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) are 

 dependant upon forests for nesting habitat, particularly old- 

 growth forests, as seen in several studies of murrelets along 

 the west coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California 

 (Grenier and Nelson, this volume; Hamer, this volume; 

 Raphael and others, this volume; Miller and Ralph, this 

 volume). Over the last century, the acreage of old-growth 

 forests has declined as they are cut for human use. The 

 impact of the loss of this habitat is discussed elsewhere in 

 this volume (Divoky and Morton, this volume). In this paper, 

 I gathered together the most current information on the 

 acreage of old-growth forests remaining along the west coast 

 of North America from various sources to indicate the current 

 status of the nesting grounds of the Marbled Murrelet. 



Washington, Oregon, California 



Presently, the best information on area and distribution 

 of forests that might provide suitable murrelet habitat in 

 these states is provided by two sources: the Final Supplemental 

 Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS, USDA and USDI 

 1994) that updates the report of the Forest Ecosystem 

 Assessment Management Team (FEMAT) (Thomas and 

 Raphael 1993), which covers Federal lands in the three 

 states; and unpublished data of Fox (pers. comm.), which 

 covers the coastal redwood zone in California. Both studies 

 used remote imagery to classify forests. 



FEMAT, as updated in the FSEIS, documented the 

 following amounts of murrelet nesting habitat on Federal 

 lands, within the range of the species: 



Physiographic Province Hectares 



Washington 



Olympic Peninsula: 246,260 



Western lowlands: 



Western Cascades: 146,945 



Eastern Cascades: 2,670 



Washington total: 395,875 



1 Professor of Ecosystem Studies, Forest Sciences Department, Oregon 

 State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 



Of the Washington total, 97 percent is in Late Successional 

 Reserves, Adaptive Management Areas (AMA's), and 

 Riparian Reserves. 



Physiographic Province 

 Oregon 



Coast Range: 

 Klamath: 



Western Cascades: 

 Willamette Valley: 



Oregon total: 



Hectares 



16,600 



211,530 



450 



240 



228,820 



Of the Oregon total, 88 percent is in Late Successional 

 Reserves, AMA's, and Riparian Reserves. 



Physiographic Province 

 California 



Hectares 



FEMAT amounts 



Klamath: 238,800 



Cascades: C 



Coast Range: (included in Fox's estimates below) 



California Coast Range (Fox, pers. comm.) 

 Redwood National Park: 7,930 



State Parks (within the boundaries 



of Redwood NP): 10,100 



Other Ownerships: 74,940 



Total: 



92,970 



California total: 



331,770 



Of the habitat in the Klamath province, 89 percent is in 

 Late Successional Reserves, AMA's, and Riparian Reserves. 

 Fox's unpublished data (pers. comm.) include both public 

 and private lands. He classified old-growth as areas with at 

 least 10 percent cover of trees greater than 24 in. (60 cm) 

 d.b.h. This comprised 10.6 percent of total forest cover within 

 Fox's study area. Of the area recorded by Fox, 18,030 ha are 

 located in Redwood NP and State Parks (Hofstra, pers. comm.). 



Three State Total 



Federal Lands: 1,036,625 



State Parks in California Coast Range: 10,120 



Private Lands in California Coast Range: 74,920 



If Alternative 9 is implemented as described in the Final 

 Supplemental EIS (USDA and others 1994), about 89 percent 

 of current murrelet habitat on federal lands will be protected 

 within Late Successional Reserves, Riparian Reserves, and 

 Congressionally Reserved Areas. Of the remaining habitat 



USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-152. 1995. 



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