Document Actions
Bush Administration Targets Endangered Species Recovery Plan, Critical Habitat
Document Actions
Administration pushes politics over science.
Now the Administration is at it again. Bush
administration officials have distorted critical recommendations for
protecting the threatened northern spotted owl. Last year, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service assembled a recovery team to develop a plan
to bring the owl back from its dwindling numbers. A crucial component
of the
owl's recovery is the protection of old growth forests that the owl
needs
for its survival.
Draft "Recovery" Plan science hijacked
On April 26, the Bush administration
released "The Northern Spotted Owl Draft Recovery Plan." The
northern spotted owl was listed as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act in 1990, and critical habitat was designated in 1992.
Recovery of the owl is about more than this one species. Like a canary
in a coal mine the owl is an indicator species of the health of the
remaining old growth forests, clean water, salmon and habitat for many
other species. In 1994, the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) became the
cornerstone for conserving the northern spotted owl on 24.4 million
acres of federal land in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California.
In early 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assembled a Northern
Spotted Owl Recovery Team (Recovery Team) to assist in the development
of the recovery plan.
Two Recovery Team members have stepped
forward to daylight how the recovery planning process was derailed by
high-ranking Bush administration appointees collectively known as the
"Washington Oversight Committee." This committee includes former
timber lobbyist and now Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey and
Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary of the Interior. In short, the
Oversight Committee rejected the body of scientific knowledge
demonstrating that the survival of the owl depends on old growth
forests protected in reserves established by the NWFP. The end result:
hundreds of thousands of acres of magnificent, old growth forests of
the Northwest could be cut down.
The Bush administration's manipulation of
the science behind the spotted owl recovery plan is the precursor for
dismantling the Northwest Forest Plan and its current protections for
the Northwest's remaining old growth forests. It is critical that
this "recovery plan" not move forward. It is not based on the best
available science, and the entire process has been corrupted.
The recovery plan is the key domino in toppling what remains of the
protective elements of the NWFP. A weak owl recovery plan could
lift protections for hundreds of old growth associated species,
including owls and salmon that depend on intact older
forests.
Click here to download a critique of the draft recovery plan written by Dr. Dominick DellaSala, a member of the recovery plan team.
Critical Habitat for owls reduced
Based on the poor, politically-manipulated science of the draft Recovery Plan, the Fish and Wildlife Service is also proposing to reduce critical habitat for the Northern spotted owl by over 1 million acres. With less available habitat, and more pressures from disease and predators, the Fish and Wildlife Service should be increasing protection for the spotted owl, not removing protection for its habitat. The extent of critical habitat should be expanded and rules for protection and restoration within those areas should be stringent and enforceable.
Critical habitat takes a particularly hard hit in southwest Oregon's Applegate Valley. The proposed "critical habitat" revisions would eliminate critical habitat in the Applegate, fragmenting connectivity between the eastern Siskiyous (McDonald Peak/Mt Ashland) and the western Siskiyous (Illinois/Williams divide).
Click here to see a map of proposed critical habitat reductions in the Klamath-Siskiyou.
TAKE ACTION:
Comments on the proposed change in critical habitat are due August 13th, and comments on the draft recovery plan are due August 24th.
Click here for sample letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service addressing both of these proposals.
Thanks to American Lands Alliance and Oregon Wild for portions this alert.
Click here to download a critique of the draft recovery plan written by Dr. Dominick DellaSala, a member of the recovery plan team.
Critical Habitat for owls reduced
Based on the poor, politically-manipulated science of the draft Recovery Plan, the Fish and Wildlife Service is also proposing to reduce critical habitat for the Northern spotted owl by over 1 million acres. With less available habitat, and more pressures from disease and predators, the Fish and Wildlife Service should be increasing protection for the spotted owl, not removing protection for its habitat. The extent of critical habitat should be expanded and rules for protection and restoration within those areas should be stringent and enforceable.
Critical habitat takes a particularly hard hit in southwest Oregon's Applegate Valley. The proposed "critical habitat" revisions would eliminate critical habitat in the Applegate, fragmenting connectivity between the eastern Siskiyous (McDonald Peak/Mt Ashland) and the western Siskiyous (Illinois/Williams divide).
Click here to see a map of proposed critical habitat reductions in the Klamath-Siskiyou.
TAKE ACTION:
Comments on the proposed change in critical habitat are due August 13th, and comments on the draft recovery plan are due August 24th.
Click here for sample letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service addressing both of these proposals.
Thanks to American Lands Alliance and Oregon Wild for portions this alert.