California burrowing owl doesn't need protection, state says
Wednesday October 29, 2003
By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO (AP) A small ground-nesting owl doesn't need protection under California's threatened or endangered species law despite its declining population in developing areas, a state agency concluded in a decision made public Wednesday.

Though the western burrowing owl is being driven out of urbanizing areas, its population is stable in rural areas, the Department of Fish and Game says in a recommendation to the Fish and Game Commission. The commission is expected to discuss the finding at its Dec. 4 meeting.

Environmental groups will try to persuade the commission to ignore the recommendation and order a complete yearlong study, said Jeff Miller, of the Center for Biological Diversity. They'll consider a lawsuit if commissioners don't act.

``We think it's an unsupportable decision,'' Miller said. ``There's a few bright spots they can point to, but overall it's a pretty gloomy picture.''

The center, along with Defenders of Wildlife, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, California State Park Rangers Association and Tri-County Conservation League asked the commission to protect the owl.

A threatened or endangered listing could mean new restrictions on developers who want to build on owl habitat.

The department reviewed studies by the environmental groups that indicated over the last 20 years there has been significant population decline in 25 of the 52 counties where the owl exists.

But the department concluded the species is not threatened or endangered because its population is stable or even growing in other, more remote areas, notably along the Colorado River valley.

"It appears there has been a shift in population density,'' the recommendation says, with the Imperial Valley and Palo Verde Valley now supporting populations greater than existed there historically. The owls "have shown a high tolerance for human encroachment,'' as evidenced by their survival in coastal areas that have seen heavy development.

The owl lives underground, usually by taking over burrows dug by ground squirrels. It hunts insects and small rodents above ground.

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