Feds Want Independent to Head Owl Recovery
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking an independent contractor to head development of a recovery plan for the threatened northern spotted owl, whose numbers are believed to be shrinking.
The recovery team will be made up of state representatives from Oregon, Washington and California, Fish and Wildlife, and federal land management agencies. It will replace the team that developed a draft owl recovery plan in 1992 and will rely on data from a 2004 review of owl status.
"Using a private contractor and outside advisory team will help expedite the process," said Dave Allen, Pacific regional director for Fish and Wildlife.
Agency spokesman David Patte said Wednesday the owl habitat covers a wide area and that seeking outside help will increase resources. He had no estimate on the cost, which will be subject to bids.
The northern spotted owl was listed as threatened in 1990, closing off vast tracts of federal forests to logging and plunging some timber-dependent regions into an economic slump. The designation led to an 80 percent cutback on logging in national forests and restrictions on private timberlands.
A draft recovery plan for the owl formed in 1992 was overtaken by the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, which became the cornerstone for protecting and rebuilding owl populations on 24.4 million federal acres from Marin County, Calif., to the Canadian border.
But the plan deals only with federal lands and does not establish criteria for measuring whether the species has in fact recovered.
The new plan will look at what is needed for owl recovery throughout its range on federal and nonfederal land and will set recovery criteria. Patte said there are no recommendations as to what should be done in various areas of owl habitat or what population thresholds should be in those areas.
He said a study looked at population trends in 2004 but that there is no reliable way of estimating how many owls are left.
A 1992 study published in 1995 came up with an estimated 8,000 owls. Patte said based on tracking trends, the population has dropped by about 2.4 percent a year between 1985 and 2003.
Some estimates put the number at 2,400 pairs in Washington, Oregon, Northern California and British Columbia.
The decline has been blamed on logging in old growth forests, fires and newly arrived natural enemies.
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking an independent contractor to head development of a recovery plan for the threatened northern spotted owl, whose numbers are believed to be shrinking.
The recovery team will be made up of state representatives from Oregon, Washington and California, Fish and Wildlife, and federal land management agencies. It will replace the team that developed a draft owl recovery plan in 1992 and will rely on data from a 2004 review of owl status.
"Using a private contractor and outside advisory team will help expedite the process," said Dave Allen, Pacific regional director for Fish and Wildlife.
Agency spokesman David Patte said Wednesday the owl habitat covers a wide area and that seeking outside help will increase resources. He had no estimate on the cost, which will be subject to bids.
The northern spotted owl was listed as threatened in 1990, closing off vast tracts of federal forests to logging and plunging some timber-dependent regions into an economic slump. The designation led to an 80 percent cutback on logging in national forests and restrictions on private timberlands.
A draft recovery plan for the owl formed in 1992 was overtaken by the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, which became the cornerstone for protecting and rebuilding owl populations on 24.4 million federal acres from Marin County, Calif., to the Canadian border.
But the plan deals only with federal lands and does not establish criteria for measuring whether the species has in fact recovered.
The new plan will look at what is needed for owl recovery throughout its range on federal and nonfederal land and will set recovery criteria. Patte said there are no recommendations as to what should be done in various areas of owl habitat or what population thresholds should be in those areas.
He said a study looked at population trends in 2004 but that there is no reliable way of estimating how many owls are left.
A 1992 study published in 1995 came up with an estimated 8,000 owls. Patte said based on tracking trends, the population has dropped by about 2.4 percent a year between 1985 and 2003.
Some estimates put the number at 2,400 pairs in Washington, Oregon, Northern California and British Columbia.
The decline has been blamed on logging in old growth forests, fires and newly arrived natural enemies.
