Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2018 Court OKs killing barred owls for spotted owl protection By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI EO Media Group Killing barred owls to help threatened spotted owls isn’t prohibited by an international treaty aimed at protecting migratory birds, according to a federal appeals court. Since 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has shot barred owls as part of an ongoing study to see if their removal will mit- igate the decline of spot- ted owls, which are smaller and more sensitive to habitat disturbances. Friends of Animals and Predator Defense, two animal rights groups, filed a lawsuit accusing the government of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which imple- ments international agree- ments to prevent the extinc- tion of bird species. While that statute permits the killing of migratory birds for scientific purposes, the plaintiff argued that provision only applies to studying birds of the same species. Under the law, the Fish and Wild- life Service cannot kill barred owls to study the effects on spotted owls, since they’re AP Photo A barred owl is shown in a wilderness area near Index, Wash. different species, according to the plaintiffs. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected this theory, ruling that the Migra- tory Bird Treaty Act’s lan- guage and intent is broad enough to encompass the barred owl removal research. The plaintiffs’ interpreta- tion of the law would have a “bizarre result” in which the government could kill barred owls “to display them in museums but could not take them to prevent the extermi- nation of spotted owls, even though the effect on the barred owl population would be min- imal,” the court said. Spotted owls have long affected the West’s timber industry due to restrictions on logging in areas occupied by the bird, which is protected by the Endangered Species Act. The plaintiffs are disap- pointed by the ruling, which sets a troubling precedent not only for barred owls and spot- ted owls but for other inter- species conflicts as well, said Michael Harris, legal director for Friends of Animals. “We don’t really have a structure to deal with this, and it’s something we need to fig- ure out,” he said. Private timber compa- nies have already shown that removing barred owls will help spotted owls, so the Fish and Wildlife Service’s research is unnecessary, Har- ris said. “It’s about getting the pub- lic to stomach the shooting of the bird,” he said. Also, if the agency were to make killing barred owls an official policy — rather than calling it an experiment — it would have a harder time pass- ing muster under the Migra- tory Bird Treaty Act, he said. It’s not clear that spotted owls would be declining due to competition from barred owls if the West hadn’t lost so much old growth forest habi- tat due to logging, Harris said. The plaintiffs would pre- fer the government to concen- trate on preserving the threat- ened species’ habitat rather than making a scapegoat of the barred owl, he said. “You’ve got to let nature, at some point, work itself out.” Since the Fish and Wild- life Service’s study began, the agency has killed nearly 1,150 barred owls in Oregon’s Coast Range and Klamath Basin, as well as Washington’s Cle Elum area and California’s Hoopa Valley. Early analysis of the removals hasn’t yielded any statistically significant results, said Robin Bown, a biologist with the agency. However, the amount of data collected is still relatively small. “The more years you have, the more confident you get,” Bown said. Since the removals began, it does appear more spot- ted owls are “hanging on” in areas without barred owls than in control areas where they’re present, she said. However, this correlation is largely anecdotal at this point, she said. Studying the effect of barred owl removal is time-consuming because once adults are shot, their children can soon re-invade a site, so opening habitat to spotted owls takes time, Bown said. Establishing a longer trend line is necessary to isolate the impacts of weather and prey availability on spotted owl survival from the effects of barred owl removal, she said. The study aims to see if spotted owls not only survive but reproduce, Bown said. The agency is also study- ing the “recruitment” of new spotted owl generations to sites where barred owls have been removed, she said. “That’s the one that takes the longest.” If the research confirms that killing barred owls mean- ingfully helps spotted owls, the agency will move on to form a long-term strategy for managing the more aggressive species, Bown said. It’s not currently known how this management plan will look, but the current study will provide a scientific foun- dation for preserving spotted owls, she said. “If we don’t try, the species will go extinct,” Bown said. Oregon lawmakers, lobbyists get sexual harassment training ference of State Legislatures as an example of a strong one, along with those of Ala- bama, Hawaii, Colorado and Maryland. A legislative sub- committee in Alaska is look- ing at Oregon as a model as it considers how to rewrite that state’s guidelines. “Oregon has a lot of ele- ments that we consider a strong policy should have,” said Jonathan Grif- fin, a policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Oregon Legislature is considering making it even stronger. Oregon’s policy describes an informal reporting pro- cess, and a formal one. Retal- iation for making complaints is prohibited. “An appointing author- ity or supervisor shall take appropriate action to prevent, promptly correct and report harassment about which the appointing authority or supervisor knew or, with the exercise of reasonable care, should have known,” the pol- icy says. An independent third party will review the policies and may suggest changes, said Aaron Fiedler, communi- cations director for the House Majority Office. That review is awaiting the outcome of By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — The intense national focus on sexual mis- conduct came to Oregon’s capital this week, when law- makers were given a training session on harassment and how to report it. For the first time, the train- ing was also offered to exec- utive branch employees, lob- byists and others who work in the Capitol, said state Senate President Peter Courtney, a Democrat. Previously, it was required for legislators and legislative employees. To accommodate the larger crowd, the training was con- ducted on Tuesday inside the main ballroom of the Salem Convention Center. The train- ing was provided by lawyers for the Legislature and its director of human resources. Sen. Arnie Roblan, a Dem- ocrat from Coos Bay, said through a spokeswoman that “these trainings are critical, especially for new members and/or staff.” Oregon is one of at least 27 states in the U.S. that requires lawmakers from both chambers in legislatures to undergo sexual harassment training. Oregon’s policy on sexual harassment is high- lighted by the National Con- ‘As I said in my opening remarks … practice and repetition help athletes perform at a higher level on game day.’ Peter Courtney state Senate president an investigation of Sen. Jeff Kruse, a Republican from the logging town of Roseburg, who has been accused by two female senators of hugging too closely, and of other inap- propriate touching. “We anticipate we will learn a lot from what happens with that process,” Fiedler said. Kruse, the only Oregon lawmaker to be accused, has denied inappropriate conduct. Courtney removed the sen- ator from the committees he sits on due to the accusations. Courtney said it’s import- ant for the training to be held regularly. In Oregon, it is annual. “As I said in my opening remarks … practice and rep- etition help athletes perform at a higher level on game day. The best teams don’t take days off,” Courtney said in an email. “In the same way, we provide this training every year. It helps members of the 90 A dynamic mix of vitality, camaraderie, comedy & genius - Cattle Dog traits to the nth degree. See more on Petfinder.com CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS 1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm www.dogsncats.org THIS SPACE SPONSORED BY BAY BREEZE BOARDING och Ruth K Lo ve, Connie EMERALD HEIGHTS APARTMENTS Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 4.5 % APR* GAME MEAT PROCESSING Debbie D’s will be at Cash & Carry in Warrenton at 10:00 a.m. every Saturday to pick up and deliver meat for processing. 503-325-8221 2 & 3 BEDROOM APARTMENTS EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY 20 lb. min • Each batch individual All Rents Electricity · Garbage · Water Include: Fibre Family Member Kelly Short, Hammond, OR ASK ABOUT NEWLY REMODELED APARTMENTS 2210 Main Avenue N. • Tillamook, OR • 503-842-2622 ◊ Adopt a Pet! ISAAC One year old Australian th Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA DEBBIE D’S Jerky & Sausage Factory Please believe the sessions are too repetitive. “I’ve talked to others who complained that we get the same thing year after year and they never change the Power- Point slides. So I wasn’t alone in that assessment,” said Rep. Jeff Barker, a Democrat from Aloha, a community near Portland. The PowerPoint presen- tation addresses identifying workplace harassment and discrimination, how to report incidents, and the illegality of retaliating against someone who complains. Courtney said he wants feedback so the training ses- sions can be improved. Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler Blend WANTED Please call or leave message by Friday so we know to expect you! Capitol community treat each other and the public with respect.” Rep. Julie Parrish, a Republican representing a district near Portland, said the session this year had a big- ger focus on how to report harassment. “I think most of what they provide is common sense,” Parrish said. Tuesday’s session also dis- cussed how to avoid harass- ment situations and pro- vided several examples of types of behavior that should be avoided, said Sen. Ginny Burdick, a Democrat from Portland. Some lawmakers, though, What’s Fresh ◊ Oysters (Willapa Bay) Steamer Clams (Willapa Bay) Razor Clams (Seaside - Local) Sale on the almost ENTIRE STORE! Salmon (Washington) Petrale Sole Sale (Oregon Coast - Local) $ continues through Jan. 31st 6 DAILY SOUP & LUNCH SPECIALS MONDAY - FRIDAY • OPEN DAILY AT 11AM www.tlcfcu.org • 866.901.3521 85 W. Marine Dr. Astoria • 2315 N. Roosevelt Dr. Seaside *Annual Percentage Rate effective 1/1/18 and subject to change. Ten year old vehicle or newer, 120 month term at this rate. 1 BLOCK OFF BROADWAY • 1 BLOCK FROM BEACH 20 N. COLUMBIA, SEASIDE • 503-738-4331 NormasSeaside.com A DIVISION OF CREDIT UNION (503)325-5720 • 1-800-851-FINN • 1116 Commercial • Astoria