Commentary
U.S. Forest Service should save spotted owls
Within the next few weeks,
the U.S. Forest Service will
begin to determine the fate of
one of the most beautiful and
rare birds in the Pacific Nor
thwest, the northern spotted
owl. Twelve management pro
posals. ranging from nothing to
total protection, are under con
sideration. and the Forest Ser
vice is presently soliciting
public comment on its alter
natives. This may be the last
chance for individuals to make
their voices heard in this
decision-making process,
which will shape the direction
of land use in the forests of the
Northwest for many years.
By Steve Albert
The northern spotted owl
(strix occidontalis caurina) is a
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nocturnal bird of prey (raptor)
that inhabits mostly moun
tainous old-growth forests of
the Pacific Northwest. It has
been classified as a threatened
species in Oregon and
Washington, and a "species of
special concern” in California
by the respective state depart
ments of fish and wildlife. The
total population of owls has
been estimated at about 4,000
by Eric Forsman. wildlife
biologist and authority on the
northern spotted owl. There are
just more than 1,200 mating
pairs in this state.
According to official Forest
Service data, the Willamette Na
tional Forest has more spotted
owls than any other region in
the world.
All recent biological data con
clude that the spotted owl's
population has been declining
and will continue to decline as
the old-growth forests on which
it depends are cut. Old growth
dominates 98 percent of the
sites where the owls are found
in Oregon, according to
Foreman.
The Forest Service reports
that 40.000 acres of spotted owl
habitat are destroyed annually.
(Old growth is typically defined
as trees aged 200-1.000 plus
years.) Kighty percent of the old
growth that was here only 25
years ago is gone, and perhaps
only 2 percent remains of what
was here when the first settlers
arrived.
As the old growth falls, so
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(Graphic by 1-orriiiiH* Rath
does the spotted owl popula
tion, and over 200 other wildlife
species that depend on these
forests for food and cover.
How ironic and auspicious
that the northern spotted owl is
an officially designated Forest
Service “indicator species"
chosen to represent the health
and abundance of the old
growth ecosystem as a whole.
The National Forest Manage
ment Act requires by law that
the Forest Service "maintain
viable populations of existing
native vertebrate species" and
"insure continued existence is
well distributed." Yet the
Forest Service is not an agency
of conservationists. They are
largely in the business of tree
farming, and to a frightening
degree, seemingly at the behest
of the timber interests.
Some Forest Service pro
posals advocate setting aside
only 300 acres per mating pair
of owls (less than one-thirtieth
of their potential required home
range). Fven the F'orest Ser
vice's "preferred alternative"
would, by their own estimates,
spell probable extinction for the
owl within 100 years.
The time has come to stop
thinking of our natural
resources as discrete elements
from which we can choose what
we want to exploit, allowing the
remainder to wither away. Con
servationist and author, Aldo
Leopold, wrote more than 40
years ago, “You cannot love
game and hate predators. You
cannot conserve the waters and
waste the ranges. The land is
one organism. Its parts, like our
parts, compete and cooperate
with each other."
This is much more of an issue
than a few owls versus a few
timber jobs. A weaning away
from a heavy dependence on
lumber would diversify the
state's ailing economy as well
as keep it the beautiful place we
all love to live in.
These national forests are
your land, not the Forest Ser
vice's. Tell them what you
want.
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