On June 26, 1990, the Northern Spotted Owl was designated as threatened through the entire range. The Spotted owl lives in the forests of north America. They are becoming endangered because their habitat is being destroyed by logging. A decade long effort to protect the threatened owl may go for naught if the trend continues, said Erica Forsman, a spotted owl expert with the forest service. Forsman's research in the 1970's and the 1980's helped win the spotted owl listing 10 years ago as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, leading to a fiery dispute between environmentalists and loggers. In 1993, the administration of president President Bill Clinton scaled back logging under federal lands to less than one fourth of what was allowed during the 1980's. The decline in the spotted owl population has slowed considerably since, to an estimated 4% per year.
From the environmentalist prospective, the benefits of preserving the northern spotted owl and its habitat far outweigh any of the costs.
Spotted Eagle-owl (Bubo africanus)
Mexican spotted owls
Fledgling Northern Spotted OwlsFirst, saving the spotted owl will save an entire eco system on which plants, other animals and humans depend. The case of the northern spotted owl points out why we need forest management focused more on eco system values than we've had in the past. Studies in Oregon show that this owls population declined by a third between 1976 and 1987. The U.S. forest service estimates only 3000 to 6000 northern spotted owl pairs remain in North America.
So in conclusion saving the spotted owl would preserve the ecosystem on which plants, other animals, and humans depend.