The Northern Spotted Owl Controversy
             "Save a Logger- "Save an Owl-
             Eat an Owl" VS. Ban Logging"
             -Timber Industry - Environmentalists
             On April 2, 1993, President Clinton fulfilled a campaign promise by convening a forest conference in Portland, OR, to address the gridlock over management of the Federal forestlands in the Pacific Northwest and the resulting effects on communities and the regional economy. Clinton and his advisors then went on to draft a plan which sharply restricted logging in a 2,000-acre radius around known spotted owl nests, required that at least 500 acres of the largest trees in that zone be left uncut and prohibits logging within 70 acres of a nest (www.facts.com/cd/z00001.htm). This action devastated a region that depended on logging as much as the Owl depends on its forests. Was it right to sacrifice the jobs and well being of thousands of citizens to save a rare species from extinction? On the other hand, would it have been responsible to wipe the entire population of a species off the planet because of our own greed? Hopefully I will be able to answer those questions and more, so read on.
             The Northern Spotted Owl can only live in an old growth environment, and is considered an "indicator species": The health of the Northern Spotted Owl population indicates the health of the old-growth forest ecosystem. The Northern Spotted Owl was listed as threatened in The Endangered Species Act, meaning that the logging industry has obviously taken its toll on the forest's ecosystem.
             Part of the reason the Spotted Owl is endangered is because it needs so much space to live. An individual Northern Spotted Owl needs more than 3,000 acres of old growth to survive, because of its scarce food supply. The Owl is found in the cool, moist woodlands on the Pacific Northwest, and its necessary habitat is very specific (.http://www.onrc.org/). First, it require...