LEGISLATURE
INFORMATION
To Find and Reach Your Legislator
"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"
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.
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 Representatives Name
Washington State House Of Representatives
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
|
Your Senators Name
Washington State Senate
Olympia, WA 98504
|
Or E-mail to:
The
first eight letters of legislators last name, underscore,
first 2 letters of first name, followed by @leg.wa.gov
For example: Senator Phil Rockefellers email address would
be: ("rockefel_ph@leg.wa.gov") rockefel_ph@leg.wa.gov
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.
|