| Federal agency to oppose motion
filed by group
October 3, 2003 The Daily Press Silver City, New Mexico To submit a Letter to the Editor: editor@thedailypress.com A federal agency will oppose a motion filed by an environmental organization to stop logging projects that could affect the threatened Mexican spotted owl. The Center for Biological Diversity claimed that "fuel-reduction projects" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service jeopardize the bird's habitat. The service on Wednesday filed a declaration in a U.S. district court in Arizona opposing the center's motion. The environmental organization asked the court to either find the secretary of the interior in contempt of court, or stop the service from consulting with federal agencies on any projects that would affect the owl's habitat, according to the service. Personnel with the center were not available this morning for comment. "The service believes the (center's) motion -- if the court agrees -- could halt forest-health planning, fuels-reduction efforts to stave off catastrophic wildfires, and evaluation of firefighting effects on endangered species through the next two fire seasons," the agency said in a news release. The service in 1993 listed the owl as a threatened species. The Endangered Species Act calls for habitat critical to the survival of a listed species to be identified so agencies can evaluate the effects of logging and other activities in those areas. On a Web site, the center wrote: "The continuing decline of the Mexican spotted owl mirrors the declining health of southwestern old-growth forests and riparian areas. Logging of ancient forests, domestic livestock grazing and a century of fire suppression have reduced spotted owl populations to only 2,000 known owls." Nearly 90 percent of known owl territories are in New Mexico and Arizona, on land administered by the Forest Service, according to the center. The group reported that "independent research has documented owl populations in the Gila and Coconino national forests declining at least 10 percent per year between 1991 and 1997." It added: "Alarmingly, no owls successfully reproduced in the Gila study (in 2002)." If the center succeeds with its motion, it will not be the first time that the spotted owl has been used to shut down activities on the Gila. A court injunction in the 1990s stopped most logging in the forest, leading to the closing of a sawmill in Reserve and a loss of jobs in the area. |