spotted owl controversy- ethics vs economics · ! 3!...
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Spotted Owl Controversy: Ethics VS Economics Elijah Gordon
Introduction
The northern spotted owl has always been an iconic image in the Pacific
Northwest, but just mentioning this creature’s name will bring shudders to loggers and
many locals nearby. Fear over its existence has caused riots, gathered the attention of
many government agencies, and cause people to tie themselves to trees.
These owls have lived in the Old Growth forests of the in the Pacific Northwest for
hundreds of years, feeding on the rich plant and invertebrate life created by the decaying
timber, unique to an old growth ecosystem. The towering cedars, firs, hemlocks, and
spruces, which have served as the owl's habitat, have also become a primary source of
timber for a multi-‐billion dollar logging industry.
The timber industry isn’t the only thing threatening the spotted owl. The
opportunistic barred owl has made its way to the West Coast. The barred owl and the
spotted owl are like siblings. They’re a closely related species, competing for resources.
They compete for the best trees to roost in, as well as their primary food source, juicy
flying squirrels. Barred owls are less picky, giving them a competitive advantage.
This paper examines the current and historic threats posed against the spotted owl
and the ecosystems that keep them alive. There have been many conservations and
proposed ideas to help solve the challenges this species has encountered. But the question
still stands; should we let nature take its course and learn from our mistakes, or should we
continue to fight for the survival of this species? Do we, as humans, have the ability to use
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our Earth’s resources to save them from extinction? Will we use those precious resources
to benefit them, or keep them for ourselves?
Biology
Understanding a species’ biology and
the role it plays in ecosystem functions is
crucial to successful species management.
The northern spotted owl is on the
endangered species list and is one of three
subspecies of spotted owls. It is dark to
chestnut brown in color with white, round
spots all around its neck, back, head, and
under parts. Their natural habitat is the old
growth forests stretching from northern
California, all the way to British Columbia,
Canada.
Since monitoring began in 1985, there has been a population decline of 77 percent in
Washington, 68 percent in Oregon, and 55 percent in northern California (ABC). There are
only around 2,000 northern spotted owls left in the wild, and the numbers continue to
drop. These owls don’t migrate or move from their territory unless their habitat is
disturbed. For example, if a logging company cuts down the forest for lumber, the owls are
ultimately forced to leave because those trees are not only home to the owls, but also
home to the owl’s food source. The spotted owl’s diet consists of small rodents such as
(Spotted Owl)
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northern flying squirrels, red tree voles and woodrats; which can only be found in old
growth forests.
Like most owls, spotted owls are nocturnal and are "Perch & Pounce" predators. They
sit on tree branches at night, using their keen vision to scan for prey in the dark. When a
potential meal is spotted, they silently swoop down and capture the prey with their talons.
Most birds do not have the ability to chew their food and owls are no exception. Small prey
items are swallowed whole, while larger prey is torn into smaller pieces before being
swallowed.
The meal will then pass though two special stomachs to help break down the usable
nutrients. Its stomach cannot digest the fur, bones, teeth, or feathers. These “extra” parts
are formed into a tight pellet inside the owl, which is later regurgitated. Owl pellets help
render a complete picture of their diet, by showing the variety of prey species living in the
area. Pellets are also helpful because they have the capacity to show what an owl eats
from place to place, and from season to season. Understanding any changes to a species
diet, is critical for conservation efforts. If the pellets can tell us what the owls are eating,
they can also tell us how other species are thriving in the same environment.
Northern spotted owls are monogamous and usually mate for life. Each pair of
spotted owls needs a large territory of its own for hunting and nesting. Nests are often
constructed in snags (dead standing trees) that have hollows large enough for the owls.
The northern spotted owl is an indicator species. Indicator species are plants and animals
that, by their presence, abundance, or lack of abundance illustrate a distinct aspect of the
state or quality of an environment. Forests that are able to sustain spotted owls, indicates
that there is a large diversity of biomass in the ecosystem. Declaring the spotted owl as an
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indicator species was a huge step in conservation efforts. This stride is not only vital for the
spotted owl and its habitat, but also for anything sharing that habitat.
The spotted owl has also been called an umbrella species. An umbrella species is a
species with a wide range, with requirements for living that are as high or higher than
other animals in its habitat. This means that if that species' requirements are met, then
many other species in the area will be met as well. In the spotted owls’ case, they require
old growth forests. If you protect the old growth forests for the spotted owls, you will
essentially be protecting everything else living within that habitat. This is a great shortcut
used in conservation management to grant protection for several species at once. Instead
of having to worry about several species in one area, you can focus efforts on one species
that will benefit the range and habitat of the others. This is economical for conservation
planning, as it takes less time, effort, and funding. Naming the spotted owl both an
indicator and an umbrella species has given this species the spotlight and attention it
needs for protection.
Deforestation
Western hemlock and douglas fir support Washington's timber industry. The state is
second in the nation for timber production, but the cutting of old growth forests has
caused a lot of friction between environmentalists and loggers. From an environmental
perspective, the benefits of preserving the northern spotted owl and its habitat far
outweigh any of the costs. Saving the spotted owl will save an entire ecosystem that will
ultimately benefit plants, animals, and even humans. Because the spotted owl is
considered an indicator species, it can be used to gauge the health of the ecosystem that
provides its habitat.
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These ancient, old, growth forests and the life they harbor have formed a complex
web of symbiotic relationships that play a very important role in preventing soil erosion,
floods, and landslides They also provide clean water for agriculture and cities, which
enhance the productivity of salmon fisheries, and enrich the soil with vital nutrients. No
amount of reforestation can replace the extensive life and biodiversity that these highly
developed ecosystems contain. Old growth forests have taken tens of thousands of years
to evolve and grow.
What kind of society would trade the greatness of these rich forests and the
abundance of life that inhabits them, for a stack of paper and some two-‐by-‐fours? To allow
such trade is equivalent to destroying a timeless piece of art that has taken centuries to
create. It’s difficult to put into perspective because nothing we do, as humans, will take
nearly as many centuries to accomplish. When President Richard Nixon signed the
Endangered Species Act into law in 1973, he stated, "Nothing is more priceless and more
(Redwood National Forest)
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worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been
blessed." (Nixon)
Society should preserve this species and the unique ecosystem it represents not
only for aesthetic value, but for scientific value, as well. The northern spotted owl and the
habitat it inhabits are of vast scientific value, giving us opportunities for insight and for
increasing our understanding of this unique ecosystem and its role in our lives and in those
of future generations. To date, little research has been done on these forests. Allowing
these virgin forests to fall is permanently destroying the possibility of exploration and the
benefits generated by new discoveries. Had the obscure organism known as penicillin
become extinct before its discovery, millions of human lives would have been lost. Who
knows what secrets these forests may hold?
The timber industry, on the other hand, maintains that the benefits of saving the
spotted owl and its habitat are tiny, compared to the harm that will be done. Reduced
logging in old-‐growth forests will be harmful to all Americans, and particularly devastating
to those communities in the Pacific Northwest. For most independent lumber mills, these
forests are the primary source of lumber. Many of these saw mills were dependent on old-‐
growth cuts because their equipment can only handle trees with large dimensions.
According to one report, if the volume of old growth declines, up to 28,000 jobs could be
lost, leading to "increased rates of domestic disputes, divorce, acts of violence,
delinquency, vandalism, suicide, alcoholism, and other problems." (González-‐Cabán)
Timber industry officials continue to state that cutting the old growth is essential if
present and future generations are to be provided with the wood and paper products they
need. Once these trees have reached their maturity, most of their energy is spent simply
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maintaining themselves, rather than in new growth. It is in society's best interest to replace
these inactive forests with healthy, young trees that will provide a sufficient supply of
timber.
In 1986, a worried environmentalist group petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to list the owl as an "endangered species," a move that would bar the timber
industry from clearing these lands. In June 1990, after years of heated negotiation and
litigation between the government, environmentalists, and the timber industry, the
northern spotted owl was declared a threatened species (González-‐Cabán). Under this
provision, timber companies are required to leave at least 40% of the old-‐growth forests
intact within a 1.3 mile radius of any spotted owl nest or activity site, a provision that is
strongly opposed by the timber industry (Adams). Industry representatives claim that the
measure will leave thousands of Northwest loggers and mill workers jobless. So they
ignored it, they continued to cut down
old growth stands in places that were
newly protected, illegal logging areas.
On May 1991, Federal District
Judge William Dwyer issued a
landmark decision finding that the
Forest Service had violated the
National Forest Management Act by
failing to implement an acceptable
management plan for the northern
(Old Growth Forest In Washington State)
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spotted owl. His decision stopped timber sales across the spotted owl region until the
Forest Service implemented an acceptable plan. A ban on blocking timber sales in Northern
Spotted Owl habitat affected 17 national forests in Washington, Oregon and Northern
California.
The consequences for the rural economy in many areas of the Pacific Northwest
were devastating. As many as 135 mills were closed, pushing unemployment up to 25
percent in some small communities (Adams). The mill closings affected cutters, loggers,
and truck drivers, including other businesses that provided services to them were also out
of work. Once booming logging towns soon became ghost towns within the next year.
Economic setbacks, due to saving complex ecosystems and endangered species is a small
price to pay. If we continue to focus on quantity over quality, we will exhaust the earth’s
precious gifts. We have already caused extensive damage to the environment, plants and
animals due to greed and capitalism. It is certainly time for us to pay for our mistakes.
The Barred Owl Threat
Due to the controversies surrounding The
Northern spotted owl, it has become one of the
most intensely studied species in the world. Ten
years of research and more than 1,000 published
studies detail the threats to its survival. (Botkin)
With the listing of the spotted owl, came a
recovery effort that radically reduced timber
harvests in the Pacific Northwest and protected (Barred Owl located At FHS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center)
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large portions of the owl's old-‐growth habitat. Yet owl numbers continue to drop, and
some of the threats are not all man-‐made. Now the spotted owl faces a new and even
more desperate battle, one that has it staring straight into the face of extinction. The new
threat comes not from people but from an invasion of its own cousin—the aggressive and
highly adaptable barred owl—into the spotted owl’s last territories. Researchers say that
the invasive barred owl has been playing a critical role in the continued decline of spotted
owls. Barred owls are native to eastern North America. It is believed they began expanding
west of the Mississippi River around the turn of the 20th century. This could have been a
natural range expansion, human-‐caused, or a combination of both. The most common
theory is that the barred owl’s westward movement was caused by changes to the
environment in the Great Plains as people increasingly settled there and dramatically
altered the landscape. There are several theories about why barred owls moved westward.
One theory holds that the treeless expanse of the Great Plains once formed a barrier that
the owls couldn't cross. As people settled the plains, planting trees in urban parks and
windbreaks, and suppressing fires that kept trees from growing, they created stepping-‐
stones for barred owls. The settlers' farms and grain silos also increased the rodent
population, providing food for the owls. Barred owls can grow more than two feet tall,
compared to a foot and a half for spotted owls. They're also more aggressive and more
adaptable. They disrupt the nesting of spotted owls, compete with them for food, and
chase them out of their territory. Every time that happens, you have one less pair of
spotted owls on the landscape.
A study of the interaction between the two species in western Oregon, led by
biologist David Wiens of the U.S. Geological Survey, showed that barred owls nested earlier
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and more often than spotted owls and produced an average of 4.4 times as many young
over a three-‐year period (ABC). Barred owls also require smaller territories because they'll
eat almost anything, from rodents to amphibians to crayfish, whereas spotted owls will eat
only a handful of species, such as flying squirrels and red tree voles.
So what’s the big deal anyway? Why does it matter that these barred owls are
coming into the spotted owls territory? Well, most owls in the same genus are split up by
geographic range, and of those with some degree of range overlap most use different
habitat types. In most cases, owls that coexist within the same habitat belong to different
genera, and coexistence is
supported by differences in
behavior, such as hunting
methods, and diet or prey
selection. The problem is, the
barred owl and spotted owl, aside
from being in the same genus,
share the same habitat
requirements. Due to the rapid expansion of the barred owl into the range of the spotted
owl, evolution has not had time to play out. The barred owl is the slightly larger and more
aggressive of the two species, plus it has some biological advantages over the spotted owl.
Barred owls get by with much less acreage per territory which means they can densely
pack the habitat occupied by spotted owls. A recent study in southwest Oregon found that
both species use patches of old (greater than 120 years old) conifer forest, and both select
riparian habitats for foraging, thus, there is competition for nest sites and food (Bart).
(Barred Owl Located at for heavens sake wildlife rehabilitation)
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Barred owls also take a wider variety of prey species than spotted owls, including prey that
is active during the day. This gives barred owls a competitive advantage over spotted owls.
To top it off, barred owls nest more often, more successfully, and produce more young
than spotted owls.
In some areas, these barred owls have completely replaced the rare spotted owl.
Forests along Northern California's Redwood Creek were prime spotted owl territory in the
1990s, but then barred owls showed up and flourished, replacing the native species (Bart).
No northern spotted owls have nested in the area for years, and this pattern has repeated
itself again and again. But some evidence suggests that removing barred owls from spotted
owls' territory can help the endangered species recover. To find out if it's worth it over a
wide range, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are conducting a six-‐year, $3.5
million study in which 3,600 barred owls will be removed from areas of protected forest in
California, Oregon, and Washington (OFWO).
The birds will be removed from four different forests, two in northern California,
one in Oregon and one in Washington. Some birds will be captured but not killed. The Fish
and Wildlife Service can't ignore the invasion because it's legally required to help rare
species under the Endangered Species Act. Because shooting barred owls is illegal under
the migratory bird treaty act, selected wildlife agents have been chosen carry out this
experiment. The federal government says if spotted owls come back after barred owls are
removed, they may decide to kill barred owls over a broader area.
The idea of killing thousands and thousands of these beautiful barred owls is
unacceptable to many people. However, watching a species, like the spotted owl, go
extinct is also unacceptable. An advocacy group called Friends of Animals is suing to stop
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the experiment. The group doesn't believe the government can make a moral argument for
shooting an animal, even if it would benefit another animal. "To go in and say we're going
to kill thousands and thousands of barred owls, literally forever, I don't see that as being a
solution. At some point you have to allow these species to either figure out a way to
coexist or for nature to run its course,” said Michael Harris, legal director of Friends of
Animals.
In the end, humans are ultimately responsible for the demise of the northern
spotted owl. People cut down most of the forest that these owls called home, they made
changes to the Great Plains, which in turn helped move the barred owl west. We have
altered nature and caused damages that no amount of money will fix. We have an
obligation and a responsibility to save these endangered animals. If there is still a chance
to save them, I think we should use our recourses to the fullest to do so. Economic
setbacks due to saving complex ecosystems and endangered species is a small price to pay,
extinction is forever, and that is what we are facing.
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References
Lindenmayer, D., Margules, C., & Botkin, D. (Botkin) (2000). Indicators of Biodiversity for Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management. Conservation Biology, 14(4), 941-‐950. Bart, J. (Bart) (1995). Amount of Suitable Habitat and Viability of Northern Spotted Owls. Adams, D., & Brown, G. (Adams) (1994). The Marginal Cost of Species Preservation: The Northern Spotted Owl. Journal Of Environmental Economics And Management, 26(2), 111-‐128. González-‐Cabán, A. (González-‐Cabán) (1998). A willingness-‐to-‐pay function for protecting acres of spotted owl habitat from fire. Ecological Economics, 25(3), 315-‐322. Livezey, K. (Livezey) (2009). Range Expansion of Barred Owls, Part I: Chronology and Distribution. The American Midland Naturalist, 161(1), 49-‐56. Weathers, W., & Hodum, P. (Weathers) (2001). Thermal Ecology and Ecological Energetics of California Spotted Owls. The Condor, 103(4), 678-‐690. LaHaye, W. (LaHaye) (1999). Nest Sites and Nesting Habitat of the Northern Spotted Owl in Northwestern California. The Condor, 101(2), 324-‐330. "Spotted Owl Populations Are Dropping Rapidly, Study Says | American Bird Conservancy." (ABC) American Bird Conservancy. Winter 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. Livezey, K. (Livezey) (2010). Killing Barred Owls to Help Spotted Owls I: A Global Perspective. Northwest Naturalist, 91(2), 107-‐119. "Northern Spotted Owl." (OFWO) US Fish and Wildlife Services. Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. "Statement on Signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973.,(Nixon)" Richard Nixon: December 28, 1973. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
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