Interdisciplinary Minor in Global Sustainability

University of California, Irvine

Draft Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl

by Peter Bryant

Recovery plans delineate reasonable actions that are believed to be required to recover or protect listed species. The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) depends on forest habitat in the Pacific Northwest, and in 1990 the species was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing led to a series of court cases that halted logging in millions of acres of old-growth forests. The main reasons for the owl’s endangerment were the loss and adverse modification of the owl’s habitat and the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms to protect the owl.

Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a Draft Recovery Plan in which they report that the most important threat to the spotted owl is not habitat loss but competition from another species - the barred owl (Strix varia), which has been expanding its range into spotted owl territory.

The view of many biologists is that the threat from the barred owl makes it even more important to protect as much spotted owl habitat as possible, and to start efforts to remove barred owls. The timber industry sees no reason to protect spotted owl habitat that is no longer occupied, so they want permission to expand their logging activities into these areas.

In the Draft Recovery Plan the only actions to be given the highest priority are those addressing the barred owl threat.

Written comments on the draft recovery plan may be mailed to:

NSO Recovery Plan
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services
911 NE 11th Avenue
Portland, Oregon, 97232

You may also submit comments by email to NSOplan@fws.gov.

2008 update: Final Recovery Plan expected in April 2008: Spotted owl recovery plan

Introduction, review and request for Public Comment
Draft Recovery Plan
The Owl and the Forest - New York Times
So much for saving the spotted owl - OregonLive.com

Other issue guides

Your comments and suggestions on this document are welcome. Please send them to:
Dr. Peter J. Bryant (pjbryant@uci.edu)
School of Biological Sciences
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92717, USA
Phone (714) 824-4714 Fax (714) 824-3571