At 09:59 AM 8/6/99 -0700, Bill Smith wrote:

>Notice "couldn't"; she made it clear that she had been
>instructed to conceal the presence of Spotted Owls, at
>least, if she knew of them, and wasn't permitted to try to
>distinguish between bona fide ecotourists and avicidal
>loggers.

Also, NSO are federally listed, and birder activities
such as taping, etc might be construed as illegal
harassment (though on an individual basis, NSO seem
remarkably tolerant of people, it's habitat destruction
that's their problem!)

Great grays aren't officially listed, and haven't been a source
of ire among the timber industry folks. After all, the
Spring Creek area's been logged. And the researcher
involved there has been eager to share her knowledge with
the birding community, that's just the kind of woman she
is. I've met her myself - sitting under a great gray
owl check with an upset mom nearby (one she'd been working
with for years).

Did y'all pick up on the fact that they started providing
platforms (and dynamited trees, early on!) because all
of the goshawk nests were rotting and falling apart?

They didn't bother to suggest reasons for the goshawks
that built those nests having disappeared...



- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, Pacific Northwest
Rare Bird Alert Service and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net.