Want to Save the Spotted Owl? Stop Trying So Hard. New
research shows that the California Spotted Owl may actually benefit from the
forest fires the land managers have spent years avoiding.
California Spotted Owls thrive in the dense, multi-layered canopies and hushed
shade of century-old pine and Douglas-fir forests—at least the 1,200 or so owls
that are left today seem to. That’s why U.S. Forest Service and other land
managers have worked for decades to prevent forest fire in the stands where they
nest and roost: in hopes of preserving the elusive raptors.
Now recent research suggests that some of the very steps taken to protect the
iconic species may actually be contributing to its
well-documented decline. Suppressing fire, thinning green trees, and logging
after wildfires—management activities intended to reduce fire danger—may not
actually be helping the owls. In fact, according to studies published by
independent scientists last year and earlier, they may be harming them more than
no activity.
Their findings are so convincing that the California Spotted Owl is being
considered for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service announced in September. The research has also impacted a
long-simmering controversy, spurring the Forest Service to launch development of
a strategy designed to conserve the bird.
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