Northern spotted owl - Species at Risk - Lewis and Clark

Northern spotted owl
"[I]n several instances we have found them as much as 36 feet in the girth or 12 feet in diameter perfectly solid and entire. they frequently rise to the hight of 230 feet, and one hundred and twenty or 30 of that hight without a limb." -Meriwether Lewis on Sitka spruce
In the shadows of the enormous Sitka spruce and Douglas fir along the Pacific coast, Lewis spent the winter of 1806 describing plants and animals in his journal, touching on everything from squirrel-tail grass to the candlefish. Swooping above, but still under the trees' high canopy, a small, quiet bird went unrecorded. Two centuries later, the northern spotted owl would enter the spotlight, linked to the preservation of old-growth forests like the one surrounding Fort Clatsop.

In order to protect the northern spotted owl and its old-growth habitat, we need to:

Resist efforts to delist the northern spotted owl. The timber industry recently filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to review whether the owl should be stripped of its threatened status.

Retain current levels of protection. The timber industry and the Forest Service under the Bush administration are trying to roll back survey and management standards mandated by the Northwest Forest Plan.

Protect all remaining stands of mature and old-growth forests on federal land. This includes protecting roadless areas like the Dark Divide in Washington.

Establish habitat reserves in areas like the Tillamook State Forest in Oregon. The forest burned in the 1930s and is just reaching the point where spotted owls and other important old-growth species can find high-quality habitat.