Northern Spotted Owl/U.S. Fish & Wildlife |
There's been only a little attention paid - in scattered articles here and there - so we thought we'd throw in another mention of the new U.S. Fish & Wildlife proposal on that ever-contentious bird, the Northern Spotted Owl.
The 2007 Draft Recovery Plan has potential to become as contentious as the bird, and certainly has attracted heat form the owl's defenders. And there's some pressure on. While a number of species have increased in numbers since designation as endangered, the spotted owl isn't one of them - it's numbers have gone down since its 1990 designation.
Under the latest review, the Roseburg News-Review reports, "U.S. Fish and Wildlife identifies barred owls as the spotted owl's greatest threat to habitat. Falling in line on the list of threats are timber harvests -- more markedly of the past -- and wildfire. But some aren't convinced the spotted owls' avian cousin is the real culprit."
And the American Bird Conservancy (in a widely distributed email) argues that "The new alternative, imposed by administration political appointees with no expertise in Spotted Owl management including Julie MacDonald requires no fixed habitat protection. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management would have discretion to determine if any habitat protection is necessary. This alternative would likely lead to the elimination of the old growth reserves created under the Northwest Forest Plan because they would no longer be deemed necessary for owl recovery."
May be time for another round of discussion; the comment period ends June 25. The report is available online.
An invitation