AP

Court halts timber activity in Southwest over threatened owl

Sep 19, 2019, 7:12 PM

FILE - In this a July 11, 2002, file photo, Dr. Kathleen Ramsay gets the attention of "Manchado," a...

FILE - In this a July 11, 2002, file photo, Dr. Kathleen Ramsay gets the attention of "Manchado," a Mexican Spotted Owl at the Wildlife Center near Espanola, N.M. A federal judge has halted tree-cutting activities on all five national forests in New Mexico and one in Arizona until federal agencies can get a better handle on how to monitor the population of the threatened owl. The order issued earlier Sept. 2019, out of the U.S. District Court in Tucson covers 18,750 square miles. (AP Photo/Neil Jacobs, File)

(AP Photo/Neil Jacobs, File)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A U.S. judge has halted tree-cutting activities across thousands of square miles of the Southwest until federal agencies can get a better handle on how to monitor the population of a threatened owl.

The order issued by the U.S. District Court in Tucson, Arizona, covers 18,750 square miles (48,600 sq. kilometers) in all five New Mexico national forests and one in Arizona.

It’s unclear exactly what activities will be sidelined. Forests across the Southwest are using a mix of logging, mechanical thinning and prescribed burns to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires that threaten the Mexican spotted owl and its habitat.

U.S. District Judge Raner Collins said the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have shirked their responsibility to count the Mexican spotted owl as part of a recovery plan and no longer can use budget concerns as an excuse.

“Defendants have had over 20 years to find a workable way to monitor MSO occupancy to measure progress towards delisting” as a threatened species, Collins wrote.

Kent Reid, director of the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University, said he wants to see the injunction lifted or more narrowly tailored to exclude projects such as forest thinning.

Even then, he said companies that cut trees on national forests through logging or restoration contracts could see a business decline to the point of closing if the injunction stays in place long.

The Santa Fe, New Mexico-based WildEarth Guardians alleged in a 2013 lawsuit that U.S. wildlife managers failed to consider the impacts on the owls from widespread thinning and logging and had not done their jobs in tracking the bird’s numbers.

The dark-eyed Mexican spotted owl is one of the largest owl species in North America. It nests and forages in steep canyons and in old-growth forests with thick, multi-layered canopies.

It was listed as a threatened species in the U.S. in 1993 and is found in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, parts of West Texas and Mexico but not uniformly.

A 2012 Fish and Wildlife recovery plan estimated the number of owl sites, known as protected activity centers, at more than 1,300 and said the total has increased over the years. Collins said that doesn’t mean the owl population has grown.

“Whether or not the population is stable or drastically declining or increasing in one place and declining in another is totally speculative at this point,” said John Horning, executive director of WildEarth Guardians.

The Forest Service’s Southwestern Region said it is complying with the order and “is committed to our continued efforts at recovering the Mexican spotted owl.” The Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment on the court order, citing ongoing litigation.

The order issued Sept. 11 doesn’t define timber management activities, other than to say they cause irreparable harm and include timber harvesting.

Horning said forest restoration projects in the Gila National Forest on the Arizona-New Mexico border, and on the Lincoln National Forest near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, could be halted. Permits for Christmas trees and firewood likely wouldn’t be impacted.

The court said Fish and Wildlife and the Forest Service must consult formally about what projects affect the owls and their habitat. The Fish and Wildlife Service’s website said that could take up to three months, then it would have 45 days to issue a new biological opinion.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday it’s working with the Forest Service on a pilot project to evaluate trends in the owl population-based on occupancy monitoring, but it doesn’t have a strategy or funding to do the work across the owl’s entire range.

WildEarth Guardians had asked for an injunction on all 11 national forests in Arizona and New Mexico, but the court earlier this year ruled the request moot for a handful of Arizona forests that had updated biological opinions since 2012.

The order covers Lincoln, Santa Fe, Cibola, Carson and Gila national forests in New Mexico, and Tonto National Forest in central Arizona.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Send it to the KSL NewsRadio team here.

AP

Former US President and current GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump...

MICHAEL R. SISAK, Associated Press

Trump’s lawyers say it is impossible for him to post bond covering $454 million civil fraud judgment

Trump's lawyers said “obtaining an appeal bond in the full amount” of the judgment “is not possible under the circumstances presented."

9 hours ago

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 16, 2024, in Vandalia, Ohi...

MEG KINNARD and JILL COLVIN Associated Press

Trump ramps up dark rhetoric in Ohio stump speech for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno

Former President Donald Trump claimed that he — not President Joe Biden — will protect Social Security and warned of a "bloodbath" if he loses in November as he campaigned for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Ohio.

14 hours ago

Local resident Yevhen, 34, looks at his home in an apartment house damaged in 2022 heavy battles wi...

Associated Press

With the election behind him, Putin says Russian forces aim to set up a buffer zone inside Ukraine

Tune in to Dave & Dujnovic!  Russian President Vladimir Putin said after extending his rule in an election that stifled opposition that Moscow will not relent in its invasion of Ukraine and plans to create a buffer zone along the border to help protect against long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids. The Kremlin’s forces have […]

16 hours ago

An array of hats decorated for St. Patrick's Day is displayed at a park in New Orleans during an Ir...

KEVIN McGILL Associated Press

When it’s St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans, get ready to catch a cabbage

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The grandly colonnaded old city hall was designed by an Irish architect. A neighborhood near the wharves is still known as the Irish Channel. Landmark towers and spires of Catholic churches built for Irish immigrants dot the skyline. New Orleans is well known for a culture that evolved from early French […]

2 days ago

McDonald's global system outage...

COURTNEY BONNELL, AP

McDonald’s apologizes for global system outage that shut down some stores for hours

McDonald's apologized Friday for a global technology outage that shuttered some restaurants for hours.

3 days ago

Law enforcement should have seized a man's guns and put him in protective custody weeks before he c...

PATRICK WHITTLE, STEVE LeBLANC and NICK PERRY, AP

Law enforcement should have seized man’s guns weeks before he killed 18 in Maine, report finds

Police should have seized a man's guns weeks before he committed Maine's deadliest mass shooting, a report found Friday.

3 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Mother and cute toddler child in a little fancy wooden cottage, reading a book, drinking tea and en...

Visit Bear Lake

How to find the best winter lodging in Bear Lake, Utah

Winter lodging in Bear Lake can be more limited than in the summer, but with some careful planning you can easily book your next winter trip.

Happy family in winter clothing at the ski resort, winter time, watching at mountains in front of t...

Visit Bear Lake

Ski more for less: Affordable ski resorts near Bear Lake, Utah

Plan your perfect ski getaway in Bear Lake this winter, with pristine slopes, affordable tickets, and breathtaking scenery.

front of the Butch Cassidy museum with a man in a cowboy hat standing in the doorway...

Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau

Looking Back: The History of Bear Lake

The history of Bear Lake is full of fascinating stories. At over 250,000 years old, the lake has seen generations of people visit its shores.

silhouette of a family looking over a lake with a bird in the top corner flying...

Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau

8 Fun Activities To Do in Bear Lake Without Getting in the Water

Bear Lake offers plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy without having to get in the water. Catch 8 of our favorite activities.

Wellsville Mountains in the spring with a pond in the foreground...

Wasatch Property Management

Advantages of Renting Over Owning a Home

Renting allows you to enjoy luxury amenities and low maintenance without the long-term commitment and responsibilities of owning a home.

Clouds over a red rock vista in Hurricane, Utah...

Wasatch Property Management

Why Southern Utah is a Retirement Paradise

Retirement in southern Utah offers plenty of cultural and recreational opportunities. Find out all that this region has to offer.

Court halts timber activity in Southwest over threatened owl