The Spotted Owl Back In Forest Spotlight
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it would reduce by 23% the federal forest land designated as “critical habitat” (a requirement of the Endangered Species Act) for the spotted owl in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California; the reduction is equivalent to 1.6 million acres.
The population of spotted owls is dropping by 4% per year as the result of logging, wildfires, and an invasion of its habitat by the barred owl. Conservation groups claim that this reduction in critical habitat announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is contrary to the advice of leading scientists and is the result of Bush loyalty to the timber industry.
Computer modeling estimates that the proposed habitat reduction will cause a 38% drop in regional spotted owl numbers.
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