Owl protection is sought

Article Date: 2005-06-15   Source: http://www.redding.com   Comments: 0

By Alex Breitler

Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. - For the second time in three years, the federal government will consider whether the California spotted owl needs protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The owl, whose range stretches from the Pit River area of Shasta County to the mountains of Southern California, recently lost habitat in severe wildfires and is under siege by the more aggressive barred owl, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.

But conservation groups that have filed two petitions and one lawsuit seeking protection for the owl say the decision, announced Tuesday, was more likely based on increased logging in the forests of the Sierra Nevada.

"This isn't about the owl," said Craig Thomas of the Sacramento-based Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign. "It's about the loss of old-growth forests over the last 100 years and what that means to a variety of critters that depend on this forest type."

Timber industry representatives say the owl can be protected well enough without federal listing.

"I think their conclusion is going to be exactly what it was the first time around," said David Bischel, president of the California Forestry Association. "We'll spend another year doing another massive analysis."

Conservation groups filed their first petition in 2000, asking the wildlife service to list the California spotted owl. The owl's closest cousins, the northern and Mexican spotted owls, are already listed as threatened.

The wildlife service investigated the petition but threw it out, citing the protections of the Sierra Nevada Framework. That U.S. Forest Service conservation plan has since been revised to allow more logging.

"That's a huge change," Thomas said.

The conservation groups sued last year and turned in a new petition, which the wildlife service agreed Tuesday to review.

Fish and Wildlife cites the spread of the barred owl as a new threat to the California spotted owl. Barred owls have expanded their range 200 miles to the south in the past two years, taking over spotted owl habitat and perhaps preying on the smaller birds.

The invaders have also threatened northern spotted owls, to the extent that Fish and Wildlife authorized the killing of up to 20 barred owls that recently displaced their rivals on the Klamath National Forest.

Barred owls also mate with spotted owls, creating hybrids that threaten the species' stability.

Wildfire also imperils the California owls. Twenty-eight owl territories in Southern California have been affected by blazes the past two years, biologists said.

There are 1,865 known owl sites in the Sierra Nevada and 440 owl territories in the South. Population models show a significant decline through most of the owl's range, the wildlife service said.

That's in contrast to two years ago, when the service said there was no statistical evidence to show the owl declining.

Bischel said managing forests to reduce fire danger would ultimately benefit the owl, which he said has a "robust, diverse and well-distributed" presence in the state.

Listing it, however, could lead to new burdens for loggers, he said.

"It has the potential to have a very similar effect that the listing of the northern spotted owl did," he said.

Related Articles:
2006-05-23 - Listing of California spotted owl found not warranted - Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A.
2005-06-15 - New study on spotted owl set by Amy Lindblom - Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A.

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