sale would result in over 8,000 acres of logging activities using various prescriptions and methods, including in occupied “activity centers” utilized by northern spotted owls. Logging activities are projected to “take”—meaning “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill” 12 owls. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued an incidental take statement authorizing the Forest Service to complete the project through issuing a “no jeopardy” opinion.
Given the severe decline of the species and the importance of these owls to the larger population, the conservation groups allege that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the law by failing to find that the action may jeopardize the continued existence of the species.
The South Fork Sacramento Project is located near Lake Siskiyou, approximately three miles west of Mount Shasta City, California.
One Comment
Sighs, allow me to translate this in a way that highlights the real issue.
Subtext: “The Fish and Wildlife Service for years has serially approved logging projects in Northern California that harm northern spotted owls—despite this area being one of the last strongholds of the species. The agency is required to ensure that projects do not impair the survival and recovery of listed species—approving harm to two reproductively successful owl pairs flies in the face of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s legal duties.”
Predictive Text: “Let’s suppress as much information about the environmental effects of lodgepolls, edge effects, and land checkerboarding because we are all to blame for the ecological impact of systems and animals! But while we are destroying these ecosystems, let’s make some money from the timber/lodge companies!”
Video that explains more of this in depth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD1XTU7OsLM&t=52s