Owl Play

Logging in the Sierra Nevadas could nearly triple if the U.S. Forest Service manages the forests there according to the new plan it released yesterday. That plan would reduce habitat for the California spotted owl in favor of aggressive forest thinning in the name of wildfire prevention. The Forest Service says the plan, which would radically revise the Clinton-era Sierra Nevada Framework, could save taxpayers $27 million annually because tax revenues from logging would offset the cost of removing brush from fire-prone forests. Enviros say any more habitat reduction for the spotted owl could place it on the endangered species list and land the USFS in court. The service claims that only about 6 percent of owl habitat would be affected, and that the long-term improvements in forest health would benefit the species and the ecosystem as a whole.