The Spotted Owl, the Forest's Products Industry, and the Public Policy
I. Introduction
A. The Spotted Owl
B. Logging Industry
II. Conflicts of Interest
A. Economic needs
1.Unemployment
B. Preservation Needs
1.Endangered Species Act
2.Special Interest Groups
III. Resolutions
A. Possible Solutions
B. Eventual Outcome
1. Loss of Interest
a. Other Species Demand Attention
2. Migration
3. Repopulation
Abstract
The spotted owl was seen as a symbol of all things environmental during the late 1980's and early 1990's. The logging industry was well on its way to destroying most of the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. Environmentalists swarmed the area, sabotaging logging efforts and calling for strict limitations on logging in the region. The logging industry "successfully portrayed the animal as the reason for layoffs: "The connection with the spotted owl is jobs vs. environment.""(Brokaw, 1996).
The spotted owl is an eighteen-inch tall bird-of-prey that roams the thick forests of the Pacific Norwest. The adult spotted owl enjoys a life at the top of the food chain for the region. This bird has only one enemy, the logging companies that inadvertently threaten its natural habitat. Clear-cutting operations of old growth forests destroy breeding and hunting areas. Clear-cut logging is the timber industry's version of strip mining. Almost nothing remains that resembles the forest that once stood there except for thousands of tree stumps the size of Volkswagens.
Although the bird is not a key player in the forest ecosystem, many environmental groups have made it a mascot for environmental causes everywhere. If the Spotted Owl were to become extinct, life would go on without ...
... middle of paper ...
...=rc1_EAIM_0_A18852834&dyn=11!xrn_22_0_A18852834?sw_aep=uphoenixcustom
Stone, R. (1993, July 16). Spotted owl plan kindles debate on salvage logging. Science, 261, 287.
Hunt, F. (1989, June). A hoot for the future. American Forests, 95, 30.
Glick, D. (1995, September). Having owls and jobs too. National Wildlife, 33, 8.
McAdoo, M. (1992, April 17). An owl or a job. Scholastic Update, 124, 12.
Ross, Mickey (1999, Oct. 23) Report: Spotted Owl Didn't Cause Huge Job Losses. Columbian B2
Freudenburg, W.R. (1998) Forty Years of Spotted Owls? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Logging Industry Job Losses. Sociological Perspectives, vol. 41,
no. 1, p.1
Schlickeisen, Rodger (1998, Dec 29) Conservation; At 25, Endangered Species Act Among Our Most Effective Laws Dayton Daily News
Hoffman, Ian (1998, Feb 27) Support For Endangered Species Found. Albuquerque Journal
The Logging Industry vs. The Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Spotted Owl.
The Endangered Species Act Introduction: Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must be taken immediately!
Another significant problem caused by the over-population of white-tailed deer is the prevalence of auto accidents involving deer. Each November, deer become more active, especially around sunset, for the mating season. This coincides with suburban commuter hour and with shorter daylight hours that come with fall. Collisions with deer cost the insurance industry in excess of one billion dollars annually and kill approximately 200 people. Over one...
Listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, the Northern Spotted Owl has inadvertently landed in the in middle of the complicated debate over logging in the Pacific Northwest. Under the Act, logging of many old-growth forests has been suspended to protect the bird and its remaining habitat.
White, C. (2010). What's all the howling about? Managing wolves and elk in Idaho. Fair Chase
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
QDM: Are You Up To Its Challenges? Deer and Deer Hunting November 1999 Krause Publications Inc.
America’s federal forest management dates back to the mid 1870’s when Congress decided to create the U.S. Department of Agriculture to maintain the forestry. This environmental department represented the growth in America’s industry and the depletion of forests. Yet, as it was defeating the initial purpose, more natural resources were being lost from their area and the government had not acknowledged the damage. The conservationist Gifford Pinchot, created an impact on society by taking a stand to conserve the natural resources by leading the United States Forest service, embracing scientific forest, and contributed to Roosevelt’s decision to protect wildlife, thus paving the way for natural conservation in the future.
Barrett, Todd. "Oh, Deer!" National Wildlife (World Edition) 29.6 (1991): 16-22. Encore. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Mader,T.R. Wolf reintroduction in the Yellowstone National Park: a historical perspective. Common Man Institute. 1998. 26 pgs.
“The Lorax reflects the era in 1971 in which the book was written. During that time, the United States was entangled in environmental issues left over from the 1960s. The deforestation of the Pacific Northwest was chief among them; logging companies were cutting down trees at alarming rates. The logging industry were not happy about The Lorax and as a result the book was banned from many schools and libraries near thriving timber communities. Timber industry groups even sponsored a rebuttal book, called The Truax, which helped kids understand the necessity of harvesting timber (Ayers)”.
Ward, John. "Ward's Invasive Species Bill Advances." Brainerd, Minnesota. Brainerd Dispatch, 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Perry, D. A. (1998). The Scientific Basis of Forestry, Annual Review of Ecology and System Thematic 29:435-466, Retrieved July 9, 2005 from: http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/policy_and_events/index.cfm
John's position regarding the propriety of logging in old growth forests doesn't just affect owls, of course; it also affects loggers like Mary. Mary, like John, must come to grips with the issues raised by the destruction of old growth forests.
Two cases that can be seen through both viewpoints include the Spotted Owl Case and the Love Canal Case. In the case of the Spotted Owls, logging was destroying the habitats of the Spotted Owl on the West Coast. A struggle between environmentalists and the