By Trend News Line 2024-07-12 00:13:38.
Twenty-one years after the spotted owl was listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, the federal government has released a proposed recovery strategy that aims to identify critical habitat for the old-growth forest-dependent owl. The strategy, unveiled on Thursday, reinstates approximately 200,000 hectares of the owl’s critical habitat in southwest B.C. that was previously removed from maps in a draft recovery strategy last year after consultations with the B.C. government.
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According to federal scientists, this critical habitat is vital for the owl’s recovery and long-term survival. The updated recovery strategy now includes an additional 200,000 hectares of spotted owl critical habitat that was not removed from maps, bringing the total critical habitat area to 416,258 hectares on both federal and non-federal lands.
Environmental law charity Ecojustice, non-profit conservation group the Wilderness Committee, and Spô’zêm First Nation have welcomed the updated recovery strategy as a significant win for conservation efforts related to the spotted owl. Spô’zêm First Nation Chief James Hobart expressed his satisfaction with the new strategy, stating that it provides the owls with a chance at survival, which is crucial for their cultural significance.
The spotted owl, which relies on B.C.’s old-growth forests for its survival, has become a symbol of the province’s failure to protect endangered wildlife and its ongoing destruction of important habitats. Once numbering around 1,000 adult individuals in southwest B.C.’s temperate rainforests, the last wild-born spotted owl in Canada vanished last year and is presumed dead.
At present, about 30 spotted owls are housed in a B.C. government-funded breeding centre in Langley, where efforts are being made to breed and release captive-born owls into the wild to boost the population. However, the province has faced criticism for continuing to approve industrial logging in the owl’s old-growth forest habitat, such as in the Teapot Valley near the Fraser Canyon.
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Efforts to protect the spotted owl and its habitat have been ongoing for years, with individuals like Chief Hobart dedicating themselves to conservation work. The proposed recovery strategy aims to restore a stable population of at least 250 mature spotted owls within a connected network of suitable habitats.
The reinstatement of spotted owl critical habitat, equivalent to an area more than 1,000 times the size of Stanley Park, follows pressure from conservation groups such as Ecojustice and the Wilderness Committee. These groups have been advocating for scientifically sound mapping and conservation strategies to ensure the survival of the species.
As the proposed recovery strategy undergoes a 60-day consultation period, stakeholders are hopeful that it will lead to tangible actions to protect the spotted owl and its habitat. While challenges remain, such as the need for increased protection on provincial lands, the renewed focus on conservation efforts is seen as a positive step towards the recovery of this imperilled species..
Feds propose protect critical spotted owl habitat size Stanley Parks
Protect critical spotted owl habitat size Stanley Parks.
