spotted owl Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Timber Wars Continued: Conservationists Sue To Save Spotted Owl Logging Protections

By NWPB News March 24, 2021

In this May 8, 2003, a northern spotted owl sits on a tree branch in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore. CREDIT: Don Ryan/AP

Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to preserve protections for 3.4 million acres of northern spotted owl habitat from the US-Canada border to northern California, the latest salvo in a legal battle over logging in federal old-growth forests that are key nesting grounds for the imperiled species.Read More

Federal Government Will Reconsider Rollback Of Northern Spotted Owl Protections

By NWPB News February 22, 2021

A northern spotted owl. CREDIT: Todd Sonflieth/OPB

The U.S. Interior Department is delaying and reviewing the Trump administration’s last-minute roll-back of federal protections for the imperiled northern spotted owl, which called for slashing protections from millions of acres of Northwest forests.Read More

Western Members Of Congress Call For Investigation Into Slashed Spotted Owl Protections By Interior

By Monica Samayoa February 4, 2021

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer joined with colleagues from Washington, California and Arizona Tuesday in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior. In it, they requested an immediate federal review into the previous administration’s decision to remove 3.4 million acres of the Northern spotted owl’s critical habitat in Read More

Endangered Species Status Of Northern Spotted Owl Will Remain Unchanged

By NWPB News December 16, 2020

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service ruled against upgrading the iconic Northern spotted owl’s protection status Monday under the Endangered Species Act.Read More

Much More Than A Spotted Owl Fight: Northwest ‘Timber Wars’ Of 30 Years Ago Revisited In Podcast

By Scott Leadingham December 3, 2020

Here’s a quick game: When you hear, “spotted owl,” what do you think of? If you were in the Northwest in the 1980s and 1990s, you may think of logging and a fight over endangered species versus jobs and lumber towns surviving. But there’s much more background in that fight than you may remember. Read More