Northern spotted owl still faces extinction
The northern spotted owl continues to die out despite curtailment of old-growth logging on federal lands throughout the Pacific Northwest, according to a draft report on population trends between 1985 and 2003.
Evidence of the owl population decline is worst in Washington. Owl numbers in some parts of the state have declined by half, an average of 7.5 percent annually, with the steepest drops during the survey's final 10 years, the report shows.
No one knows exactly how many owls live in the region. Scientists base their conclusions in part on counts of banded owls, whose colored tags are visible from a distance.
The owl population has dropped even in the vicinity of Mount Rainier National Park, where little timber is harvested.
Besides Mount Rainier, scientists have tracked the owl population in forested areas near Cle Elum and Wenatchee and on the Olympic Peninsula.
The rest of the study took place in Oregon and Northern California. The overall survey is based on samples collected from about 12 percent of the reclusive owl's range.
Throughout the owl's range, populations dropped 4.1 percent annually between 1990 and 2003, the report states. In Oregon, the drop was 2.8 percent annually; in California, 2.2 percent.
"It's not real good news. We need to figure out why," said Rex Holloway, a Portland-based U.S. Forest Service spokesman.
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Northern spotted owl still faces extinction