For Immediate Release – Sunday, September 16 2007

Wilderness Committee calls for immediate end to all logging related activity at owl site
Endangered Spotted Owl Exhibiting Signs of Stress in Response to Logging Activity at its S&M Creek Home

Vancouver, British Columbia – The Wilderness Committees staff scientist and owl expert Andy Miller reports that an endangered spotted owl hes been studying is demonstrating bizarre behaviour typical of animals suffering extreme stress. After spending the better part of a week at the Wilderness Committees Spotted Owl Research Camp at S&M Creek, located 25 kilometres southeast of Pemberton, BC, Miller noted, “I spent many years as a representative of the United States government observing spotted owls as their habitat was felled through government sanctioned logging. The spotted owl at S&M Creek is exhibiting the type of fear behaviour they go through in situations like this.”

Although Miller has kept his distance from the owl, he has observed the altered behaviour of the owl from its calls and movement patterns. “I have gotten to know this owl quite well over the past year”, said Miller. “She has had a lot of exposure to scientists and is generally wary, but quite calm. She is used to quiet, being located at the end of a rarely traveled road in the middle of an old-growth forest. But now she is flying all over her vast territory, calling erratically, and giving contact calls as she seeks to connect with another owl. She seems to be acting quite stressed as her territory is being clearcut logged.”

Never before has the BC government knowingly and purposefully approved clearcuts so close to a currently occupied spotted owl site. They have approved 14 clearcuts within her supposedly protected home. One of the planned clearcuts is directly adjacent to where the owl sleeps. So far, major road repair and road building have been undertaken, and one of the clearcuts has been felled. Thursday, a large rock drill machine was moved into the area, indicating new road building for more logging.

Why this particular spotted owl site was chosen for logging is a mystery. “There are so few spotted owls and so many other places the BC government could have decided to log, we cant figure out why they targeted this site”, said Joe Foy, the Wilderness Committees Campaign Director. “The selection of this site for logging could not have been random. If you threw 25 darts at a map of southwestern BC you would be lucky to land one on an active spotted owl site, like this. Amazingly, the clearcutters have started logging despite the clear objection of the BC governments own Spotted Owl Recovery Team which in 2003 recommended an end to all logging in active spotted owl sites. It seems like a deliberate attack on the owl.”

“The Wilderness Committee also feels that it is obscene that the Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Pat Bell is having government workers attempt to catch the owl and place it in a captive breeding program at the same time as hes advocating the logging of this spotted owl habitat,” added Miller. “You would think that places like S&M Creek would be preserved as one of the few remaining sites for the release of baby captive bred owls since the first choice for release would be former owl sites.” The Wilderness Committee supports captive breeding if it is accompanied by protection of all the owls remaining habitat. But if Minister Bell has his way, the S&M Creek owl site will be reduced to a sea of clearcuts. We fear that Minister Bell is not serious about the captive breeding program or the spotted owl but instead is using it as a cynical attempt to curry favour with the public.

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For more information contact Staff Scientist, Andy Miller @ 604-683-8220 or 604-992-3099 or National Campaign Director, Joe Foy @ 604-880-2580