Teresa,

I generally agree with your premise that the main thing we should focus on to save the Spotted Owl is saving habitat. With only 10 per cent (or less) of old-growth forest left, it is imperative that we put a moratorium on logging of old-growth forests, not just to save the Spotted Owl but to save what is left of an endangered ecosystem. Though the Barred Owl could end up being the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, I believe we should focus on the main burden, that of habitat loss. Let's get our priorities straight!

Barry Ulman
Bellingham, WA.


On Feb 8, 2011, at 7:48 AM, Teresa Michelsen wrote:ss

> All and Wayne,
> I don't think that having an alternative point of view on this one puts you in the camp of the timber companies and other such (and it's probably best to avoid such personal generalizations). It really doesn't matter whether a given species is a specialist or a generalist, or was originally the resident or one who has moved in and expanded its range. What matters is whether anything can be realistically done about it and what we should be spending our scarce conservation dollars on. Focusing so much money on a few species that could not possibly survive without our help (and here I am not necessarily referring to the spotted owl) has always seemed to me to be a strange choice. While, as an environmental professional, I am aware of several ESA success stories, there are many more cases where heroic efforts are being made to propagate a species that has long since lost its habitat or the genetic diversity it needs to survive in the wild.
>
> IMO, we should focus on habitat as a guiding principle for interventions. If we can alter our own activities such that habitat will be created or preserved that will support the species in question, great. My preferred charity is the Nature Conservancy for that reason. This is a long-term sustainable approach that allows the species (and others that depend on that habitat) to survive without choosing to actively kill one species to benefit another. So, for example, changing logging practices or adopting roadless rules that would benefit the Spotted Owl makes sense.
>
> However, I do not see how killing another species when you are not changing or improving the underlying habitat problems will be a sustainable solution over the long-term, particularly if you are not eradicating that competitor. It will simply expand its numbers again because it is better adapted to the current environment. Attempts to completely eliminate introduced predators from island ecosystems are an entirely different matter and not a good comparison, because that strategy could be sustainable once carried out.
>
> Over the years, I have begun to wonder why we focus so much energy and money on a few individual species, rather than developing and carrying out a more sustainable habitat focus that would benefit large numbers of species and entire ecosystems (not just birds). My skepticism has increased dramatically with the advent of climate change. Let's face it - any population that is currently marginal is not likely to survive the rapid shifts that are coming. We'll be lucky to sustain currently healthy populations of species in the face of shifts in temperature, food resources, habitat availability - not to mention our own species and food resources. I'd like to see a rethinking by the resource agencies of what their priorities should be given the likelihood that we may not be able to count on habitat conservation or restoration to maintain the ecosystems that have historically existed. We may have to get used to the idea that substantial changes in species ranges and abundances are going to be a reality, and they will be very hard to predict in advance, much less control. It has never been clear to me why we should try to prevent change in biological systems (which is not to say that I support any form of habitat destruction by humans), and it is even less clear now. The earth will continue to adapt as it always has and always will, with or without us.
>
> Teresa Michelsen
> Olympia, WA
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20110208/49054f1c/attachment.htm