Interior To Revisit Spotted Owl Decision
The U.S. Interior Department is delaying the Trump administration’s last-minute roll-back of federal protections for the northern spotted owl. On February 22nd, federal officials said the changes will be reviewed, delaying their effective date from March 16th to April 15th.
Days before leaving office, the Trump administration published a final rule revising protections for the northern spotted owl. The rule lifted habitat protections for the bird from 3.4 million acres in Washington, Oregon and California.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s had proposed a more modest revision, seeking to remove critical habitat status from a little over 200,000 acres in 15 counties in Oregon.
Back in February, western Democrats led by Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley requested an immediate federal review into the decision.
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