Spotted Owls Reviewed Again ‘Temporary’ Logging Ban Extended In California Forests

The Forest Service has opted for another study to figure out what to do about the politically pesky California spotted owl.

Going to the experts again means that the “temporary” owl protection measures curtailing Sierra Nevada logging since early 1993 will stay in place through at least early next year.

In the meantime, Clinton administration officials said Thursday, a new scientific team will review the volumes of material collected already and convene a series of public hearings this winter.

“We need to have a dialogue about what the best options are,” undersecretary of agriculture Jim Lyons said. “We need to get everybody together so we can agree on the facts.”

The new review team will include scientists who prepared a massive $7 million Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project report, scientists who worked on the Forest Service’s separate $2 million spotted owl studies, and other experts inside and outside government. Officials hope for a final protection plan by next spring.

“A lot of work has preceded to this point, and we need to get to a solution, that’s clear,” Lyons said.

Reaction to the new plans fell largely along the lines that have divided the spotted owl issue all along.

“It’s an absolute waste of time and money,” said Donn Zea, vice president of the California Forestry Association. “We’ve been waiting for four years.”

Environmentalists, worried about indications the spotted owl’s population may be declining, welcomed the new effort.

The Sequoia and Sierra national forests in the southern Sierra Nevada are home to 238 known spotted owl nesting sites, the Forest Service says. But the bird is not unique to the southern Sierra; there are 87 known nesting sites in the Stanislaus National Forests, and dozens more in other forests throughout the mountain range.

This is important for the forests, as the bird favors large, old-growth trees. The owl’s health is thus associated with the overall health of the forest.