GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Federal biologists are giving the public another month to say what they think about a new approach to saving the northern spotted owl from extinction.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Friday extended the deadline for comments on their draft spotted owl recovery plan to Dec. 15.
The owl’s need for old growth forests has long put it at the center of legal and political battles over logging in the Northwest.
The timber industry and members of Congress asked for even more time, citing the short time the draft was out — just two months — and the lack of a firm system of habitat reserves.
Paul Hansen of Fish and Wildlife says habitat reserves will be addressed in the next phase — designating critical habitat.
