Columnist Susan Snyder: Owls at the mercy of the system

Friday, Dec. 26, 2003 | 8:43 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4082.

Mary Siero has been looking, but the burrowing owl from Reno obviously is shy.

Siero was among those who gathered on the valley's north side Dec. 12 to watch as an owl that had been rehabilitated in Reno was released into our warmer climate.

"I've been out there two or three times since looking, and I don't think I have seen it," Siero said Monday evening. "It is quite a bit smaller than the others. But in the cold weather they poof up their feathers."

Other burrowing owls already lived in the field just east of Gilcrease Orchard near Grand Teton Drive and Rainbow Boulevard. Chances are good the little transplant is near.

But residents who oppose construction of a high school just west of the orchard think it odd that an area just east of it is suitable for a protected owl. Burrowing owls lived on the school site too.

Clark County School District Planner Matt LaCroix said a private environmental firm "did find some owls" and "shooed them away."

It's hard to say whether they had to. Under the federal Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, a developer pays $550 per acre for disturbing the habitat of desert tortoises and 76 other endangered or semi-protected species.

The fee entitles developers to "move, maim, kill, take or otherwise remove" certain wildlife, said Sandy Helvey of the Clark County Desert Conservation Program, which administers the conservation money.

The money collected -- $31 million since it started as protection for only tortoises a decade ago -- pays for research and projects to protect wildlife and habitat in other areas of Clark County.

Right now the program lists 77 species. A future version will add another 130 species and plants, mostly in riparian areas, Helvey said.

Species are classified by one of three categories: Covered, evaluation or watch list.

"Covered" means there is detailed information about the species and a plan for its continued management. These animals and plants must be found and removed for protection.

"Evaluation" means officials have some information but need to collect more and develop a management plan so that the animal or plant can be protected as a "covered" species. Burrowing owls are listed here.

"Watch list" offers the least protection. Helvey's definition of these is pretty clear:

"It means we don't know squat about them," she said.

They are to be monitored for possible future inclusion.

But the burrowing owl is protected under a 1918 migratory bird act and is to be located and removed for its survival. It also is a federal "species of concern," which means its population and habitat is monitored, though not protected.

Residents don't trust claims that the owls on the school site were shooed off. And their trust will be hard to earn. They say the school zoning was illegally obtained and filed for an injunction to stop construction.

A county judge is to decide the zoning issue in January. But the injunction failed. Work on the school has started.

And just around the corner, neighbors are keeping a watchful eye for a little owl.

"We have a snowball's chance in hell," said Grizel Herhold, a resident who opposes the school. "But these little owls can't defend themselves."