What is the significance of the barred owl relative to the California spotted owl?
A. As stated in the petition, barred owls are larger and more aggressive than spotted owls. They have been known to compete with spotted owls and also take over spotted owl territories. However, no barred owls have been documented in southern California forests, and the numbers in the Sierra Nevada are very small. Q. Given its 90-day finding, why did the Service reject the listing petition in this 12-month finding? A. The Service has concluded that impacts from fire, fuels treatments, timber harvest, and other activities are not at a scale, magnitude, or intensity that warrant listing, and the overall magnitude of threats to the California spotted owl does not rise to the level that requires the protections of the Act. Factors in this finding include the following: • Over the past 10 to 15 years, annual timber harvesting in the Sierra Nevada has been reduced on private lands by 37 percent and in national forests by 81 percent. • Stand-replacing catastrophic wildfire is a threat to the
