This handsome medium-sized owl, with its unusual dark-brown eyes, relies on old-growth forests to roost, nest and forage. In Canada, the endangered northern spotted owl is found only in the southwestern corner of mainland British Columbia.
Because of many decades of unsustainable destructive logging of old-growth forests, currently biologists have been able to locate only one spotted owl, an adult female residing in the unceded territory of the Nlaka'pamux community of Spô’zêm (Spuzzum) First Nation, located in the Fraser Canyon area near Hope BC. On February 25, 2021 the BC government announced a one year deferral of logging in Spô’zêm Nation territory - home to Canada's last surviving spotted owl still living in the wild. Since that time the logging deferral has been extended into 2025. The historic population of spotted owls is estimated to have been 500 pairs.
Because of dangerously low numbers of northern spotted owls in Canada, the Wilderness Committee is demanding:
- Permanent strong protection for the valleys that surround the last wild spotted owl.
- Protection of all remaining critical spotted owl forest habitat throughout their Canadian range in southwest BC.
- Enough protected forest habitat to accommodate a self sustaining population of 250 spotted owls
- Proper funding and staffing for BC's Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program
- BC to release every year into protected critical habitat captive-bred spotted owls with enough on-the-ground staff support to allow for owl survival.
- The recovery of spotted owls to 250 birds in a self sustaining population where captive release is no longer needed.
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A WHODUNIT STORY: THE FINAL CHAPTER In my work to conserve wild nature spanning more than 30 years, I’ve witnessed the population of endangered spotted owls in Canada dwindle to almost nothing in southwest mainland BC, the only place in the country they’re found. Before the start of industrial...