Spotted owl numbers not only down but also at faster rate

Scientists report that after two decades of attempts to save the species, northern spotted owl numbers in the Northwest are still on the decline — and at a faster rate. The threatened bird nests in old trees and is at the heart of a decades-long struggle over the fate of the region's old-growth forests. Scientists at a conference Tuesday in Vancouver, Washington, reported that owl numbers are now dropping at an annual rate of 3.8 percent, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Glen Sachet. Five years ago, the rate was 2.8 percent. The scientists also said population declines are more widespread in the bird's range from Washington through Northern California. Besides losing habitat, spotted owls in recent years have been pushed out by barred owls, an aggressive invader from the East. Federal officials have begun a six-year experiment with shooting the barred owls to see whether spotted owls will move back into their old haunts. The longer they are established in an area, the harder barred owls are on the spotted owl, which is down as much as 77 percent in some areas, said a statement from Paul Henson, Oregon state supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...more