Spotted owl first test for Canada's new endangered species legislation

March 2, 2004 -

VICTORIA, B.C. -  Canada’s new Species at Risk Act (SARA) received its first test today when conservationists submitted a legal petition to federal Environment Minister David Anderson asking him to make an emergency intervention to prevent the northern spotted owl from going extinct in Canada.

The government of British Columbia’s spotted owl management strategy has not increased the number of  this endangered species, and in fact allows logging in the old-growth forests where the owl is found – the principle reason for its demise, says lawyer Devon Page of  Sierra Legal Defence Fund who is representing four conservation organizations.

"We are appealing to Minister Anderson to immediately ask his cabinet colleagues to issue an emergency order under SARA to protect the habitat of Canada’s spotted owl. Otherwise, this owl will definitely go extinct in Canada within this decade," said Mr. Page at the opening of a national Species at Risk conference.

"In 2003, government biologists counted only 14 adult spotted owls in old-growth forests in southeastern B.C.. The British Columbia government is doing nothing to protect them and that is why conservation groups are calling upon the federal government to act today," he added.

In the submission to Minister Anderson, the groups (David Suzuki Foundation, ForestEthics, Sierra Club of Canada and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee) note:

• The spotted owl is the most endangered bird in Canada, with only 14 adult owls recorded in British Columbia in 2003 – the only province where it is found;

• The spotted owl population declined by 67 per cent between 1992 and 2002;

• The British Columbia government ignored recommendations of government biologists who called for immediate protection of spotted owl habitat;

• British Columbia has no endangered species protection laws and new forestry laws introduced in January 2004 give priority to logging over species protection.

"If he is truly a champion for the environment Minister Anderson has no choice but to make this emergency request," said Jim Fulton, executive director of the David Suzuki Foundation. "The government of British Columbia has completely reneged on its responsibility for endangered species so the federal government must assume this responsibility or very soon we are going to lose this incredible species.

"Last month, David Suzuki and I met with Prime Minister Martin and he assured us that the environment is one of his top priorities," Mr. Fulton said.

The groups say the essential elements of a federal emergency order are:

1.      Permanent protection of all remaining high-quality spotted owl  
        habitat;

2.      A temporary logging moratorium on all lower-quality habitat and the
        surrounding forest until critical owl habitat is protected; and,

3.      Immediate funding to ensure recovery of the owl in Canada.

"For several years we've been documenting extensive logging of spotted owl habitat that is sanctioned by the provincial government. It is now crystal clear to us that the BC government is actively working to wipe the spotted owl out of the province. Therefore, the federal government must step in now," said Joe Foy, campaign director for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

The northern spotted owl is found exclusively in temperate coniferous forests of British Columbia, Washington state, Oregon, and northern California. It was once abundant in BC, but in 1986 the Committee on the Status of Endangered Species in Canada (COSEWIC) designated the spotted owl as endangered, which means it is threatened with imminent extirpation (extinction locally but not globally) throughout all or a significant portion of its range in Canada.

The spotted owl depends upon unfragmented old-growth forest to roost, nest and forage. Researchers who study this owl say it is almost extinct in Canada because of large-scale logging throughout its primary habitat.

"The British Columbia government has acknowledged logging of old-growth habitat as the principal cause of the spotted owl’s decline, yet approved logging in at least three, and as many as six, of the 10 areas in which the owl was detected in 2003," the environmental groups say in their letter to Minister Anderson.

The provincial government, while acknowledging logging as the principal problem, is the largest logger of spotted owl habitat under its BC Timber Sales program.

"The new federal endangered species act is now facing its first major test," said Elizabeth May, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada. "If it cannot work for a  high-profile endangered animal like the spotted owl then it is not worth the paper it is written on."

Currently, logging of remaining critical spotted owl habitat is occurring while the BC government considers a recovery strategy. Therefore, anything less than immediate action by the federal government will be of little value, Mr. Page explained.

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B-roll will be available at the news conference or in Vancouver from Jean Kavanagh, David Suzuki Foundation,604-732-4228,
604-721-9332 cell

For more information and interviews, please contact:

Devon Page, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, 604-328-1633

Joe Foy, Western Canada Wilderness Committee, 604-880-2580

Jim Fulton, David Suzuki Foundation, 604-317-5022

Elizabeth May, Sierra Club of Canada - Ottawa, 613-241-4611