| Owls, Reason off Endangered List
August 4, 2003 Tyler Morning Telegraph 410 W. Erwin St. Tyler, Texas 75702 903-597-8111 Fax: 903-595-0335 To submit a Letter to the Editor: opinion@tylerpaper.com Rationality has been a missing ingredient in the administration of the Endangered Species Act, but a recent ruling has raised some hopes for a turn in direction. The ruling by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service said California's spotted owl should not be listed on the endangered list. The bird is now well-distributed in sufficient numbers to support its own survival, the ruling said. A U.S. Forest Service draft report, "California Spotted Owl Meta-Analysis Report Synopsis," concluded that there is no statistical basis to conclude that the owl's population is in decline. According to data from the California Department of Fish and Game, there are 2,306 spotted owl sites containing 3,500 to 5,000 owls in the state of California. The owls are spread among more than three million acres of publicly and privately held forests, indicating they exhibit a high degree of adaptability. This is great news not only for people but also for the owl, observed R.J. Smith, an adjunct scholar with the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Private landowners now will be willing to share their forests with the owl, erect nest boxes for it, and help it increase its population, Smith explained. "If the owl had been listed, landowners could have been fined or imprisoned for any action that might harass the owl, thus making them unwilling to help it," Smith said. In addition, the Forest Service now will be able to manage and thin the unhealthy, fuel-loaded Sierra forests, he pointed out. In Arizona -- where the Mexican spotted owl was listed -- the Forest Service was unable to thin the forests because it might disturb the owl. Fires that resulted in 2002 totally burned to ashes the territories of most of the owls in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Smith said. "Hopefully, this will be the start of a turn toward rationality within the Endangered Species Act administration and away from the perverse incentives that have characterized the past quarter century," Smith declared. Emphasizing a regulatory approach that will provide incentives for private landowners to be partners in efforts to save endangered species, rather than targets of highly restrictive dictatorial mandates, holds promise of improved results. Copyright 2003 the Tyler Morning Telegraph 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9950229&BRD=1994&PAG=461&dept_id=374751&rfi=6 |