Wildlife Groups Concerned About Proposed Logging in Owl Habitat

[Chris Merkord]

The Wildlife Society -- In a letter sent to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on April 2, TWS along with the Society for Conservation Biology and The American Ornithologists’ Union voiced concern over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed revision to the critical habitat designation for the Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) released on March 8. While the plan would almost double the critical habitat acreage under the George W. Bush plan, the revision would allow active forest harvests within the critical habitat. Environmental groups are unsure about this shift and attest that a plan like this must first undergo a peer-reviewed scientific analysis before being applied on-the-ground.

 

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