Rendering №11

 

      The article published on the news website “YubaNet.com” on November 21, 2012 is headlined “9.6 Million Acres Protected as Critical Habitat for Northern Spotted Owls”. The article reports at length that conservation groups today hailed protection of 9.6 million acres of critical habitat for the threatened northern spotted owl across federal lands in Washington, Oregon and Northern California, but were deeply disappointed by the exclusion of all private and most state lands, resulting in a 4.2 million cut from the proposed designation. Speaking of this situation it is necessary to note that the owl has continued to decline since being protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1990, in part because of continued loss of habitat on private and state lands. In this connection it is worthwhile mentioning the fact that today's designation replaces a 2008 designation by the Bush administration that had ignored years of scientific evidence showing that spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest needed more, not less, old-growth forest habitat protection, and had slashed a 1992 designation of nearly 7 million acres by more than 1.5 million acres. It is also necessary to note that Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said that “In restoring extensive protections on federal lands, today's decision, protecting millions of acres of habitat for the spotted owl, marks the end of a dark chapter in the Endangered Species Act's implementation when politics were allowed to blot out science. It is, however, deeply disappointing that the Obama administration has elected to exclude all private and most state lands, which are absolutely essential to the recovery of the spotted owl and dozens of other wildlife species”.
     Giving appraisal of the situation it’s necessary to point out that while the final rule restores protections to essential federal lands, it fails to fully account for and implement the recovery goal of critical habitat because it proposes to exclude far too much habitat on non-federal lands. Many of these lands provide essential habitat for the owl; many private lands in the "Redwood Coast" region, for example, are absolutely essential because the owl can nest in younger trees with redwoods and the owl's productivity is consistently higher in the redwood zone as compared with the remainder of the range. In resolute terms the author of the article gives a warning that conservation groups also remain concerned about statements in the proposed critical habitat rule calling for "active management" of spotted owl critical habitat, including logging. The scientific basis for logging existing spotted owl habitat to benefit the species remains questionable, at best, with numerous studies demonstrating the owl is sensitive to logging of its mature and old-growth forest habitat. It’s an open secret that 20 percent of the Pacific Northwest's original old-growth forests remain. In addition to providing critical habitat for spotted owls, salmon, steelhead and other species, mature and old-growth forests are important sources of clean water and help reduce global warming.
     The article concludes by saying that "Independent scientific peer reviews have been crystal clear on owl recovery being tied to protection of old forest habitat especially as competition with the more aggressive barred owl increases and climate change further stresses spotted owl populations," according to Dominick DellaSala, chief scientist and former member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2006-2008 recovery team who initially raised concerns about lack of habitat protections under the Bush proposal. In addition, conservation groups, represented by Kristen Boyles, attorney with Earth Justice, successfully challenged the 2008 designation, resulting in today's designation.
     As for me, I think that nowadays we should care not only about money and ourselves but also about our nature and the environment. We need to protect our world and it’s up to us to defend nature, and ensure its continuing existence and future recovery. Humans can’t survive alone on this planet. We depend on every living thing for the lives we so selfishly lead, and it is our duty to protect it since we've decided it's our right to do whatever we want. The only thing I can say is SAVE THE SPOTTED OWL. SAVE THE ANIMALS. SAVE THE TREES. SAVE YOUR EARTH, YOUR HOME. We are nothing on our own.