Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan Inflicted
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released the long-promised “final” recovery plan for the northern spotted owl. The entire plan is [here] (4,100 KB)
The recovery plan and other information, including a press release, may also be found on the USFWS NSO website [here].
The northern spotted owl was listed as endangered species in 1990. Finally, 18 years later, a recovery plan has been promulgated. The recovery plan was was proposed over a year ago, but withdrawn after wide criticisms. From the USFWS press release:
A draft recovery plan for the northern spotted owl was completed in 1992 but not finalized due to the development of the Northwest Forest Plan, which amended 26 land and resource management plans (LRMPs) of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. These LRMPs serve as the basis of conservation for a wide variety of species, including the northern spotted owl. The draft recovery plan released today builds on the Forest Plan and solely addresses the recovery needs of the northern spotted owl.
The Northwest Forest Plan has been a catastrophic failure. Spotted owl populations have declined 60 percent or more, old-growth habitat has been incinerated in megafires, and the economy of the region, especially the rural economy, has been decimated. Absolutely no good has come from the Northwest Forest Plan. The 18 years of suffering and tragedy associated have been a monumental waste. For 18 years!
Now bird biologists and the overweening Federal Government (motto: “We’re here to screw you over royally”) have a new plan. We will evaluate in depth it in future posts, but some general conclusions may be drawn at this time.
The northern spotted owl recovery plan (NSORP) has apparently dropped all the whoofoo language. Whoofoos (wildland use fires) are let-it-burn fires. The draft plan withdrawn a year ago was riddled with whoofoo. The drafters of that bizarre arsonist manifesto wished to incinerate spotted owl stands in catastrophic holocausts. Now the language has been toned down somewhat. There is still some verbiage about “managed wildland fire” but whoofoo has been nixed.
Barred owl blasting with shotguns from the back of pickup trucks by (drunk or stoned) employees of the USFWS is not mentioned explicitly but is implied. Although there is little or no scientific evidence that barred owls displace spotted owls, the NSORP calls for “large-scale barred owl control experiments.” Lock and load! USFWS bird biologists refer to barred owl blasting as “a redneck sport” [here]. HeeHaw!
Although barred owl blasting (BOB) is attractive to eco-wackos, the lack of wholesale megafire forest incineration is not, and no doubt the nutwads will be suing the USFWS for failure to burn down the Pacific Northwest in short order. So there is some question as to whether the NSORP will be a viable thing or a litigious punching bag.
We will do a more thorough review very soon, and pick the NSORP apart. The re-authors did make an effort to do a better job than they did with the draft plan, which was atrocious. The new language is less odious, by and large.
We invite you to read it. There is no “comment period.” This is it. The NSORP will soon be published in the Federal Register and become the Law Of The Land.
You probably thought you lived in a democracy, and had a vote about the laws that impact your life, destroy your landscape, and cripple your economy. Hahahahahaha. Get real!
