The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to list two populations of the California spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act. After determining the owl is made up of two geographically and genetically distinct population segments (DPS), the agency now seeks comments on listing one population as threatened and the other as endangered.
USFWS proposes listing the Coastal-Southern California DPS as endangered and the Sierra Nevada DPS as threatened under the ESA. The agency would also include a 4(d) rule for the Sierra Nevada DPS, which would exempt prohibited take for forest fuels management activities that reduce the risk of large-scale wildfires.
“Our goal is to help the California spotted owl recover across its range,” said Michael Fris, field supervisor of the Service’s Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, in a statement. “Ongoing collaboration with a number of partners will result in positive conservation gains and put this species on the road to recovery.”
The California spotted owls are found across California and Nevada, and USFWS said the biggest threats to the owls’ survival includes habitat loss from wildfires, competition and hybridization with non-native barred owls, tree mortality from drought and beetle infestations, and temperature and precipitation changes.
“The Coastal-Southern California DPS does not have a strong ability to withstand normal variations in environmental conditions, persist through catastrophic events or adapt to new environmental conditions throughout its range, which led the Service to propose listing the DPS as endangered,” USFWS said.
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While the agency said the Sierra Nevada DPW has a reduced ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, the DPS can still withstand normal variations in environmental conditions, and some parts of the population remain in stable condition. This is why the agency proposed to list the population as threatened with a 4(d) rule.
Conservation groups applauded the listing proposals, but called the 4(d) rule a loophole that would “exempt many logging operations from having to comply with the Act’s rules.”
USFWS proposed the listing following a lawsuit from the Sierra Forest Legacy, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity, which pushed the agency to reconsider its 2019 decision to not list the owl.
“These much-needed protections for the California spotted owl are long overdue,” said Pam Flick, California program director with Defenders of Wildlife. “The best available science demonstrates that most California spotted owl populations have been declining for many years. These new protections under the Endangered Species Act will give this species a fighting chance at recovery.”
USFWS is seeking comments on its proposal to list the two owl populations through April 24. To submit a comment, visit www.regulations.gov and search for docket ID FWS-R8-ES-2022-0166. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
