habitat loss from
logging, low
population size
Threats
STATUS:
ESA -- THREATENED
(as subspecies caurina)
IUCN -- NEAR THREATENED
SIZE:
Length:
16-19 inches (41-48 cm)
Wingspan:
Around 42 inches (107 cm)
Weight:
1-1.6 pounds (0.5-0.7 kg)
Female is larger than the male
HABITAT:
Old-growth forest with Douglas fir, western
hemlock and redwood
POPULATION:
Undetermined, thought
to be between 3,000
and 5,000 pairs
CURRENT RANGE:
Parts of Pacific Coast
and western N. America
(ranges of three subspecies shown on map)
CONSERVATION:
recovery plan designating habitat protection areas; guidelines for forest management
Trees that have died are called snags. They would appear to be good candidates for lumber companies to simply pick up and take
to their mills. So the companies and the government agreed that snags in certain areas
of the forests could be hauled away -- because after all, who needs a dead tree? Owls do. Trees that die from a disease called "heart rot" develop cavities inside, and that's prime owl-nesting territory.
Lumbering in old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest is a federal issue, because 90 percent of old-growth forest is on federal land, managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. Lumber companies
that operate in these forests are licensed by the federal government.
A flagship species
is one that carries
the "flag" for its habitat. Protecting it guarantees protection to other species in
that same habitat.
The northern spotted owl is one of three subspecies of the spotted owl. Other populations of spotted
owl live in California,
Mexico, and the
U.S. Southwest.
Northern spotted owls do not nest exclusively in old-growth forests. Some have been reported nesting in less mature, managed forest areas as well. The question is whether the small populations of owls that do nest in younger forests is sufficient to ensure survival of the subspecies as a whole. Another question is whether these owls actually chose the younger forest sites, or whether they were forced into them because their old
nesting areas were destroyed.
How successfully the owls can adapt over time to these new surroundings remains to be seen.
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The Owl and
the Lumberjack
The forests of the Pacific Northwest are among the last remaining old-growth forests in North America. ("Old growth" refers to areas with trees more than 200 years old that are unmanaged -- they haven't been cut or pruned or otherwise altered by people.) They are also the primary remaining habitat of the northern spotted owl -- a medium-sized owl with a chocolate-brown body spotted with white and sporting prominent facial disks around its eyes. Like most owls, spotted owls are wonderfully adapted for hunting at night, with highly developed senses of sight and hearing and feathers specially modified so they can fly silently. They are agile predators, feeding principally on small mammals. They need to roost in old-growth forests because these habitats offer cool, damp conditions, with plenty of holes and cavities to roost in. These trees also harbor rodents, one of the owls' main prey items. Northern spotted owls don't build nests in the usual sense; they find naturally occurring sites like crevices and ledges of cliff faces or tree cavities. These cavities are often found in fallen old-growth trees. The fibrous, grainy structure of old growth is precisely the feature that makes this wood so valuable to lumber companies -- and this demand has put the northern spotted owl at the center of one of the most heated environmental debates in history.
More than 80 percent of old-growth forests from northern California to British Columbia have now been cut down -- a boon for lumber companies, but a drastic loss of habitat for the northern spotted owl. In 1990, the bird was officially listed as Threatened. The listing threatened to curtail logging in the remaining stands of old-growth forest. This resulted in a dilemma -- and a confrontation -- that has been popularly portrayed as "jobs versus owls."
But as a number of observers have noted, the issue isn't about owls. It's about how we resolve what many consider to be our most pressing concern: how to create a viable balance among our economic needs, our natural resources, and our natural environment.
Finding Solutions
One proposed solution to the "jobs versus owls"
controversy came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Weyerhaeuser Company, a lumber company that employs several hundred people in parts of Oregon affected by the spotted owl listing. In 1995, FWS and Weyerhaeuser agreed to a habitat conservation Plan. Under the plan, Weyerhaeuser will maintain "dispersal habitat" -- areas of forest large enough to sustain groups of spotted owls and close enough to one another to allow movement of the owls among the forested areas. In between these areas, Weyerhaeuser will have access to enough timber to maintain their required production levels. It's a promising first step toward finding that vital balance.
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