Spotted Owl Controversy

Sen. Smith Comments on Spotted Owl Recovery Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 26, 2007 - Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) released the following statement today responding to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service release of two draft recovery plans for the Northern Spotted Owl:

“While setting aside 88 percent of federal forests for the owl, we’ve lost tens of thousands of jobs in rural Oregon counties and burned millions of acres of its habitat. The plan recognizes the threat to the owl is less logging than the invasive barred owl and catastrophic wildfire. This should be the first step toward allowing Oregon to responsibly manage its forests and support its counties.”