U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Service finds that most owl populations are stable or increasing in the Sierra Nevada
The U.S.F.W.S. has concluded that most owl populations in the Sierra Nevada are stable or increasing and is denying a petition to list the California spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
In responding to a 2nd petition to list the species in 3 years, the Service conducted a comprehensive study of the California spotted owl populations. It assessed the best scientific and commercial information available; reviewed comments and information received during 2 public-comment periods; and consulted with acknowledged spotted-owl experts and Federal and state resource agencies, including an interagency Science Team. The agency has concluded that the California spotted owl should not be listed as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA.
Among the Service's conclusions:
- The best accessible data indicate most California spotted owl populations in the Sierra Nevada are stable or increasing and adult survival rates show an increasing trend.
- The San Bernardino population in Southern California does show a statistically non-significant decline. But in light of the health of all California spotted owl populations, this decline does not warrant a listing of the California spotted owl.
- Forest fuels reduction activities, notably those provided for in the Sierra Nevada Forest Project Amendment of 2004, may have a short-term impact on owl populations. But fuels reduction will have a long-term benefit to California spotted owls by reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires that pose a major threat to California spotted owl habitat.
- Barred owls, which have had an adverse impact on northern spotted owls in Washington and Oregon, have not been detected in the mountains of Southern California and have moved into the Sierra Nevada at much slower rates than they did in other parts of western North America.
- The biggest private landowner in the Sierra Nevada, Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), has outlined strategies that provide certain owl protections on their land. SPI conducts surveys for spotted owls before timber harvests, buffers nest centers from disturbances, and protects forest units with nesting spotted owls from harvest altogether. According to documents the company submitted to California forestry officials, the company estimates that, as its forests mature, habitat with nest-site characteristics will in excess of double during the next 100 years.
?According to a team of scientists convened especially to review the status of the California spotted owl, catastrophic wildfire is the primary threat to spotted owls,? said Steve Thompson, manager of the U.S.F.W.S.'s California/Nevada Operations Office. ?While the current evidence does not support listing the owl at this time, the fuels-reduction efforts begun by the U.S. Forest Service in the Sierra Nevada and Southern California will be essential to keeping the California spotted owl off the endangered species list in the future.?
"We support fuel reduction efforts," said Ryan Broddrick, director for the California Department of Fish and Game. "Our desire is to monitor the habitat for all species and insure the overall health of our forests, avoiding the impacts on wildlife from catastrophic wildfires."
This is the Service's 2nd review of the species in recent years and both were triggered by petitions or lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign and other organizations.
In February 2003, the Service found that listing of the California spotted owl was not warranted because the overall magnitude of threats did not rise to the level requiring protection under the ESA. In May 2004, the petitioners filed a lawsuit challenging that finding. In September 2004, they submitted a new petition to list the California spotted owl.
The petition contended that several changes have taken place in recent years that may affect the status and distribution of the California spotted owl. They include further range expansion of the barred owl (which competes with the spotted owl and takes over its territory); recent fires in spotted owl habitat; revisions to the Sierra Nevada Forest Project Amendment; new state forestry regulations, and new information regarding the status of owl's population.
In June 2005, the Service completed an initial review, known as a 90-day finding under the ESA, that found that conditions have changed, which warranted a more extensive study. This announcement is the result of that study.
The U.S.F.W.S. is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses 544 National wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 Countrywide fish hatcheries, 63 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid plan that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
