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Spotted owl recovery plan released

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The Associated Press reports that the Bush administration has released a final recovery plan for the northern spotted owl that officials say could lead to recovery of the threatened bird in 30 years.

The plan outlines a series of 34 steps to halt the owl’s decline, reduce threats and return a stable owl population in Washington, Oregon and California. The recovery plan identifies the primary threats as habitat loss due to logging and catastrophic wildfires. Competition from the barred owl, a related species, is also a factor. Critics said the report was an improvement over a draft plan last year. But they say it doesn’t do enough to restrict logging old-growth forests where the bird lives. The northern spotted owl is protected as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

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