Protocol Level Surveys
A Qualified Biologist will conduct protocol-level surveys. In areas where barred owls are believed to be absent, use the Forest Service Protocol for Surveying Spotted Owls (Forest Service 1993). In areas where barred owls are known to occur or could be present, use the 2012 Northern Spotted Owl Survey Protocol (USFWS 2012). If surveys are not conducted or do not follow USFWS-approved methods, assume California spotted owls are present in suitable nesting/roosting and foraging habitat.
If surveys are not planned, assume occupancy by nesting owls based on the presence of suitable NRF habitat; adhere to the guidance and seasonal restrictions described below for operating in an “unsurveyed landscape.”
a. As an alternative to the full six-visit protocol surveys described in the 2012 Northern Spotted Owl Survey Protocol (USFWS 2012) and the 1993 Forest Service Protocol for Surveying Spotted Owls (Forest Service 1993), three surveys can be conducted in the construction year if there have been two consecutive years of protocol surveys in the immediately previous years. If no California spotted owls are detected within 0.25 mile of the proposed activities, activities may proceed that year without seasonal restrictions (see ASP-5, Airborne Noise Reduction).