Western burrowing owl receives protection under California act
Alan Riquelmy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — The western burrowing owl secured temporary protection Thursday under California’s Endangered Species Act.
The state Fish and Game Commission voted to give the owls candidate status and receive protection, expected to last a year to 18 months while the species undergoes a status review. Once the review is complete, the commission will vote on granting protection as threatened or endangered under California law.
The western burrowing owl has been eliminated as a breeding species from most of the Golden State coast and faces localized extinction in the Bay Area. Only 25 breeding pairs exist in the Bay Area, with another 225 pairs in central-western and southwestern California. Under 1,500 breeding pairs are in the southern Central Valley area, according to the Center for Biological Diversity — one of the groups that in March petitioned the commission for the species’ protection.
“Hopefully, this is the start of some robust protections,” said Jeff Miller, senior conservation advocate at the center, in an interview with Courthouse News. “I think this is going to give the species the chance to still be here in the state.”
The western burrowing owl is the only species of owl that nests underground. It’s faced the loss of its habitat from sprawling development, the growth of agricultural land use, and the construction of wind and solar infrastructure. Additionally, the removal of ground squirrels and other animals that make the burrows, and warn owls of predators, has affected their numbers.
Also, rodenticides, along with the owls striking wind turbines and vehicles, have affected the population.
Miller said the greatest threat to the owls is the removal of their habitat. Now protected, the owls no longer can be removed because of development.
Before receiving candidate status, the state would prohibit development that infringed on the owls’ habitat during breeding season. However, development could proceed once that season ends, Miller said.
That resulted in the elimination of burrows the owls would return to the following year.
“They’re a species that’s really loyal to the site that they’ve chosen,” Miller said.
The western burrowing owl has been removed or almost eliminated from about a third of its former range in the state.
Strongholds for the owls include the Imperial Valley, with some 4,000 breeding pairs, as well as the southern Central Valley. The Altamont Pass in eastern Alameda and Contra Costa counties once hosted a large owl population, though it’s currently down to a few hundred pairs.
“After decades of effort to safeguard declining burrowing owl populations in California, the species has finally been afforded interim state protections where they’re most needed — at least for the time being,” said Pamela Flick, California program director with Defenders of Wildlife, in a statement. “With burrowing owls no longer found in one-third of their former territory statewide, these temporary protections aren’t coming a moment too soon.”
The commission’s Thursday decision stems from a March petition filed by the center and Defenders of Wildlife, Burrowing Owl Preservation Society, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, Urban Bird Foundation, Central Valley Bird Club and San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society. The groups sought to protect the western burrowing owl as threatened or endangered.
The Department of Fish and Game in its evaluation report stated that the western burrowing owl was once “ubiquitous” across California, calling it widespread and common. However, the population began its decline by the 1940s, with the most significant decline in coastal grasslands. Some two-thirds of California’s owl colonies were eliminated from the early 1980s to early 1990s.
“I think this is a good day for California wildlife and these owls,” Miller said.