The decision comes amid allegations that logging continues to eat into old-growth habitat meant to be set aside for the last remaining wild-born spotted owl in Canada.
Canada’s federal cabinet has turned down a request from its own environment minister calling for an emergency order to protect 2,500 hectares of critical habitat, home to the last wild-born northern spotted owl in Canada.
Spô'zêm First Nation Chief James Hobart, whose territory sits adjacent to the owl habitat and has played a leading role in recovery attempts, said the cabinet decision to turn down the emergency order was so upsetting he had to have someone read the letter to him a few passages at a time. Andhra Azevedo, a lawyer with the firm Ecojustice, which is representing the Wilderness Committee, said the cabinet decision means the case will no longer impact federal action to protect spotted owl habitat. But it could still set a precedent by forcing ministers to quickly follow through on plans to recommend an emergency order — whether that’s northern spotted owls, southern resident killer whales, or caribou, Azevedo said.
“Logging is nailing these areas under permit from the province of B.C.,” Foy said at the time. “It freaked us out. It goes against what the federal government has been telling us since February.” Historic range a fraction of what's left About 40 centimetres tall with dark plumage, dark eyes and no ear tufts, the northern spotted owl ranges from southern B.C. through Washington, Oregon and into northern California. A subspecies of the spotted owl, it was listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act in 2008.
The province says it has protected more than 280,000 hectares of spotted owl habitat, enough to support a future population of 125 breeding pairs.
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