Editorial: Habitat proposal not wise

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 | 7:09 a.m.

T here is a reason that scientists work hard to prevent the extinction of any animal: The disappearance of one species can affect the lives of others.

For example, the northern spotted owl in the old-growth forests of the Northwest eats many insects and rodents. If this owl were to become extinct, its prey would increase, altering the health of the forest.

It would only be a matter of time before forest users - from individual hikers to big logging companies - would be negatively affected by this change in balance.

A fundamental goal of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was to identify dwindling species and protect at least the minimum amount of habitat in national forests that they need to regain healthy numbers.

In 1992, after years of conflicts between scientists who wanted preservation and logging companies that wanted unrestrained access to old-growth forests - the owl's prime habitat - a recovery plan was adopted by federal agencies.

Nearly 6.9 million acres of critical spotted owl habitat in California, Oregon and Washington were protected from logging. The habitat was further protected two years later by the Northwest Forest Plan, which recognized the absolute protection of the 6.9 million acres while combining managed logging and conservation measures on about 20 million outlying forest acres in the three states.

Now, the Bush administration, through its Fish and Wildlife Service, is proposing to reduce the critical habitat of the spotted owl by about 1.6 million acres. So instead of 6.9 million acres, which many scientists say is not nearly enough for the owl's full recovery, the fully protected habitat would be reduced to 5.3 million acres.

In coming up with this proposal, administration officials from the Agriculture and Interior Departments - none of them owl experts - overruled an updated plan drafted by a science-based recovery team appointed by the Fish and Wildlife Service . The administration ordered a proposal more in the interests of the logging industry.

We understand that the overall Northwest Forest Plan needs updating periodically. But even if the spotted owl recovers fully, its critical habitat should never be reduced.