LEGISLATURE INFORMATION

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"Who is the stranger..that can form an adequate conception of the
primeval woods..of the glory of those columnar trunks, that for centuries
have waived in the breeze?" J. J. Audubon"

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During the last 20 years the Barred Owl population has exploded in Washington State. The Barred Owl is now displacing Northern Spotted Owls throughout their range. Barred Owl predation may also be causing a decline in smaller owls Jamie Acker now reports 77 Barred Owls on Bainbridge Island, whereas
there were none just 15 years ago. Unfortunately, logging companies have begun using the Barred Owl and the likely extinction of the Northern Spotted Owl as an excuse to log old-growth areas with known Spotted Owl nesting sites.

The Washington State Audubon Conservation Council passed the following resolution on July 25, 2008.

Whereas: Audubon Washington and the 26 Washington State Audubon Chapters, have for many years been committed to the preservation of the Northern Spotted Owl, both as a species unto itself and as representative of the Pacific Northwest’s irreplaceable old-growth forest ecosystem, and

Whereas: notwithstanding recovery efforts to date, Northern Spotted Owls have been declining in Washington State at the rate of ~7% per year, and

Whereas: Audubon Washington and the 26 Washington State Audubon Chapters are committed to the use of best available science as the foundation for our policy positions, and

Whereas: best available science indicates that multiple causes exist for the decline of Northern Spotted Owls, including ongoing significant habitat alteration, and

Whereas: over the past three decades there has been an invasion of Barred Owls throughout the range of the Northern Spotted Owl, with information strongly suggesting that Barred Owls are a factor influencing declines, and

Whereas: a number of research –responses have been recently proposed to address the issue (Buchanan, et al., 2007), and

Whereas: considerable uncertainty continues to exist regarding the nature of interactions of Barred
Owls and Northern Spotted Owls, and research programs on interactions between the two species could provide useful information regarding some of the uncertainties, and

Whereas: regardless of the relative role of Barred Owls or other factors leading to the decline of the Northern Spotted Owl, adequate functional habitat continues to be a crucial condition for recovery of this species throughout its range,

Therefore be it Resolved: That Audubon Washington and the 26 Washington State Audubon Chapters believe that given all current information, the primary emphasis for Northern Spotted Owl recovery should continue to be on habitat management, preservation, and enhancement. In particular, we continue to
believe that there is a need to change industrial forest practices on both public and private lands to preserve and foster sustainable mixed species with multiple canopy layers, large trees, horizontal patchiness, and under stories of native shrubs and plants. These ‘new’ forest management practices should
be implemented as soon as possible and should ideally be monitored through an independent certification entity like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Such a comprehensive approach would promote structural and functional diversity, conferring ecological resilience. Such resilience provides benefits to multiple wildlife species and a robust flow of ecosystem services - both of which are important overall
conservation objectives beyond the preservation of the Northern Spotted Owl.

Be it further Resolved: That Audubon Washington and the 26 Washington State Audubon Chapters do not believe there is sufficient scientific evidence to support or justify lethal control, removal, or reproductive
controls of Barred Owls as management techniques to benefit Northern Spotted Owls. Audubon Washington and the 26 Washington State Audubon Chapters do support the implementation and continuation of statistically rigorous research studies on Barred Owl ecology and Barred Owl-Northern Spotted Owl interactions in order to inform future management decisions. A panel of diverse and independent scientists should be convened to design research activities to be implemented as soon as possible.

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Washington Legislative Hotline (1-800-562-6000) To contact your legislators, Call the Washington Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000.

Or write to:

Your Representative’s Name Washington State House Of Representatives P.O. Box 40600 Olympia, WA 98504-0600

Your Senator’s Name Washington State Senate Olympia, WA 98504

Or E-mail to:

The first eight letters of legislator’s last name, underscore, first 2 letters of first name, followed by @leg.wa.gov
For example: Senator Phil Rockefeller’s email address would be: ("rockefel_ph@leg.wa.gov") rockefel_ph@leg.wa.gov

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Legislative Web Site: http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature/
This site provides information on members as well as Bills before the Legislature. You can call the Hotline to get your message through. Remember, we need as many people as possible to call and support important legislation.