United StatesDepartment ofAgriculture

Forest Service

Rocky MountainForest and RangeExperiment Station

Fort Collins,Colorado 80526

General TechnicalReport RM-217

Management Recommendationsfor the Northern Goshawk

in the Southwestern United States

Reynolds, Richard T.; Graham, Russell T.; Reiser, M. Hildegard; andothers. 1992. Management recommendations for the northern goshawk inthe southwestern United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-217, Ft. Collins, CO:U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forestand Range Experiment Station. 90 p.

Present forest conditions – loss of a herbaceous and shrubby understory,reductions in the amount of older forests, and increased areas of dense treeregeneration – reflect the extent of human influence on these forests. Thesechanges may also be affecting goshawk populations. Information ongoshawk nesting habitat and foraging behavior, and the food and habitats ofselected goshawk prey, was therefore synthesized to develop a set ofmanagement objectives, desired forest conditions, and managementrecommendations. Key objectives of the guidelines are to provide (1)nesting, post-fledging, and foraging areas for goshawks, and (2) habitat tosupport abundant populations of 14 primary goshawk prey. Thinning treesin the understory, creating small openings in the forest, and prescribed firesshould help produce and maintain the desired forest conditions. Otherhabitat elements critical for maintaining both goshawk and preypopulations include abundant snags and large downed logs, woody debris,interspersion of different tree sizes across the landscape, and the majority ofa goshawk’s home range in older-aged forests. These guidelines should alsobenefit forest health, soil productivity, and the habitats of other old-growth-dependent plants and animals.

Management Recommendationsfor the Northern Goshawk

in the Southwestern United States

Richard T. Reynolds1, Russell T. Graham,M. Hildegard Reiser, Richard L. Bassett, Patricia L. Kennedy,

Douglas A. Boyce, Jr., Greg Goodwin, Randall Smith, and E. Leon Fisher

Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station andSouthwestern Region Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture2

August, 1992USDA Forest ServiceGeneral Technical Report RM-217

1Author affiliations are listed in Appendix 6.

2The Rocky Mountain Station is headquartered in Fort Collins. Colorado, in cooperation with Colorado State University; the

Southwestern Region is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain Forest andRange Experiment Station

The Rocky Mountain Station is one of eight regional

experiment stations, plus the Forest Products

Laboratory and the Washington Office Staff, that make

up the Forest Service research organization.

RESEARCH FOCUS

Research programs at the Rocky Mountain Station are

coordinated with area universities and with other

institutions. Many studies are conducted on a

cooperative basis to accelerate solutions to problems

involving range, water, wildlife and fish habitat, human

and community development, timber, recreation,

protection, and multiresource evaluation.

RESEARCH LOCATIONS

Research Work Units of the Rocky Mountain Station

are operated in cooperation with universities in the

following cities:

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Flagstaff, Arizona

Fort Collins, Colorado

Laramie, Wyoming

Lincoln, Nebraska

Rapid City, South Dakota

Rocky

Mountains

Southwest

Great

Plains

*Station Headquarters: 240 W. Prospect Rd., Fort Collins,CO 80526