Feds Reject Petition to List Spotted Owl

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2006/may/23/052309600.html

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday rejected a petition to list the California spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act, saying the population is stable and programs that prevent forest wildfires will allow it to thrive.

The decision rankled the environmental groups that had requested protection of the speckled, football-sized owl. This was their second effort to list the bird in three years.

The petition's denial was based in part on the recommendation of scientists commissioned to study the owl, said Steve Thompson, manager of the agency's California-Nevada operations office.

They found that fires that creep through excessive brush and eventually consume the old-growth forests the owls prefer are their main threat, Thompson said, adding that U.S. Forest Service tree thinning programs will prevent the spread of flames and ensure the owls remain off the endangered list.

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[Botany]

1. So by cutting down it's home we are protecting it?

BTW The fires are natural ..... logging is not.

You have to protect it's habitat to protect the owl. It needs old growth to thrive.

We can have timber, owls, clean water, salmon, hunting, fishing, and farming if we
are smart but this seems like a way for a few people to make a lot of money.

[XemaSab]

2. Well managed thinning programs can be beneficial

Forests in the Sierras are too dense... far denser than they would be if wildfires were still allowed to burn free, and thinning keeps the trees from getting overcrowded and allows low intensity fires to occur.