Queen Charlotte goshawk (Accipiter gentilis laingi)

WHA planning objectives

Maintain nesting and foraging habitat for known nest sites.

Wildlife habitat area

Establish a "three-tiered" WHA at breeding sites. The entire WHA should be approximately 2400 ha and include nest areas, post-fledging area (PFA), and foraging area. The PFA (240 ha) should include six 12 ha nest areas. One of the nest areas should include the active nest; the other five nest areas will provide alternate nesting sites. If alternate nest areas cannot be identified based on the presence of inactive nests, appropriate 12 ha areas should be selected. Include as much suitable habitat (i.e., large trees with an open understorey, a closed canopy (60% or greater), and low ground vegetation) as possible within the WHA.

Known breeding sites may be defined as any nest site that is active, or has been active within the past five years; repeated observations of territorial behaviour from March 15 through September 1 within 500 m of each other may be interpreted as evidence of breeding.

When drafting boundaries, every effort should be made to incorporate areas that are suitable for goshawks, but will also minimize reductions in timber supply and impacts on other industrial activities. Consider opportunities to incorporate protected areas, ecological reserves, riparian reserves, parks, ungulate winter ranges, economically inaccessible areas, other WHAs, and environmentally sensitive areas that have been netted out of the productive forest landbase. It is also important to consider potential disturbance due to road construction and logging activities and design boundaries to minimize the effects of disturbance or select WHAs that, to the extent possible, avoid essential access routes.

GWM management objectives

Maintain blocks of mature and old forest (see Biodiversity Guidebook for definition of mature and old forest) to provide nesting and foraging opportunities.

General wildlife measures

These measures must be applied within a WHA approved for the species. The breeding season is generally from March 15 through September 1. However, breeding times may vary yearly and by site. MELP should be consulted for site-specific breeding times. Activity restrictions may be removed after June 30 for inactive or unsuccessful nests. Nest Areas Access Do not construct roads within nest areas (12 ha) unless the district manager and regional fish and wildlife manager are satisfied there is no other practicable option and the variance is approved by the district manager and regional fish and wildlife manager. Silviculture Do not harvest or salvage within nest areas, except for treatments aimed at maintaining or improving stand structure for nesting (i.e., understorey thinning to maintain or promote desired stand structure: single storied, crown closure >60%, and uniform trees >60 cm dbh). If these practices are planned, avoid breeding period (March 15-September 1). Post-fledging area (PFA) Access No blasting should occur within 1 km of an active nest during courtship and nest establishment (i.e., March 15-June 30). Actual times may vary by site and year. Consult MELP for site-specific times or variances. No road construction or modification should occur within 200 m of an active nest from March 15 through September 1. Silviculture Plan the harvest sequence to create a mosaic of successional stages interspersed in patches, with at least 20% in closed-canopy old growth and 40% in mature forest (or old if mature is unavailable). The remaining 40% should be managed with no more than 20% in young forest. Restrict harvest to less important goshawk habitat (i.e., stands with an open canopy and multiple-storied stands). Moderately important stands are those with a closed canopy, but moderate amounts of intermediate canopy. The most important stands are those with dense canopy cover and an open understorey. No prolonged (i.e., >3 days) hauling on existing roads should occur within 200 m of an active nest between March 15 and September 1 unless variance is approved by the district manager and regional fish and wildlife manager. No logging or salvage should occur within the PFA or 500 m (whichever is the greater area) of an active nest from March 15 through September 1 unless variance is approved by the district manager and regional fish and wildlife manager. No silviculture treatments should be conducted from March 15 through June 30 within 500 m unless variance is approved by the district manager and regional fish and wildlife manager. Activity restrictions are removed after June 30 for inactive or unsuccessful nests. Foraging Area (FA) Silviculture Use a harvest system that will minimize road density. Plan the harvest sequence to create a mosaic of successional stages interspersed in patches, with at least 20% in closed-canopy old growth and 40% in mature forest (or old if mature is unavailable). The remaining 40% should be managed with no more than 20% in young forest. Maintain coarse woody debris. Leave stands with dense canopy cover and an open understorey. When harvesting within mature and old seral stages, leave snags and mature, old live trees in clumps. When harvesting within mature and old seral stages, use silviculture techniques (including harvesting methods) that will reduce the density of shrubs, saplings and small poles, while maintaining or enhancing the canopy of large trees.

Landscape unit planning considerations (not mandatory)

Conservation measures are centred on known nest sites because of this species' tendency to re-occupy active and alternate nests for many years. In the absence of detailed information on the number and location of breeding pairs, however, identification and conservation of habitat at the landscape level is critical to preventing the decline of populations and the isolation of individuals. When determining the 10% of each sub-regional planning area that will be assigned a higher biodiversity emphasis, consideration should be given to assigning some or all of this 10% to watersheds where goshawk management is a high priority. This will provide a sustainable mix of forest age classes, so that both established and dispersing goshawks will have the opportunity to find and settle into favourable habitats. This consideration has been provided for planning purposes but is not mandatory and should not be interpreted as chief forester direction. Furthermore it must be considered within the context of chief forester policy for establishing landscape unit biodiversity objectives.

Cross references

Marbled murrelet
Douglas-fir/Garry oak-oniongrass

Ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus)
Cassin's auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus)

WHA planning objectives

Protect breeding colonies.

Wildlife habitat area

Establish WHAs on islands where breeding colonies are not already protected with some other designation. For small islands, this should include the entire island.

GWM management objectives

Complete protection of breeding colonies.

Maintain intact forest structure and forest floor.

Prevent disturbance to breeding birds.

General wildlife measures

These measures must be applied within a WHA approved for the species. Management practice Access/Recreation/Silviculture No harvest, salvage or development of any form can occur in WHAs.