Help Protect Habitat for Northern Spotted Owls

Northern spotted owls have become synonymous with the Pacific Northwest old-growth forests they need to survive. Although the Northwest Forest Plan protected much of what little remains of their virgin forest, much important habitat on state, private and to a lesser extent federal lands is still lost to logging.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed nearly 14 million acres for designation as critical habitat for the owls, including, for the first time, state and private lands.

But the proposal considers excluding almost 4 million acres of habitat based on the flawed argument that the land is otherwise protected. These areas are covered by habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements or other purely voluntary measures that provide only a veneer of protection. 

Please use the form below to write to the Service and ask that all of the owls' critical habitat receive the protection the animals need to recover.