CAROL LINNITT/THE NARWHAL
focus on captive breeding as a pri-
mary plank in its recovery strategy
while continuing to allow logging in
spotted owl habitat.
“I’ve been watching ever since,” says
Hobbs. According to him, the original
captive breeding population was too
small and there were challenges with
breeding—for instance, the owls
couldn’t learn to forage on their prin-
cipal wild diet of flying squirrels and
pack rats. And a new set of hurdles will
have to be jumped if captive-bred owls
are released the wild, lacking training
from their parents, he says.
Despite these challenges, Hobbs
thinks population recovery is ultimatelypossible. But, he cautions, “Recovery
will require that we change the way we
manage spotted owl habitat.”the b.c. government claims more than
363,000 hectares of old-growth forest
are being managed for spotted owl
recovery. According to Hobbs, about
half of that habitat isn’t suitable for the
species. He also points out that just
over half of the habitat managed for
spotted owls was already conserved in
provincial parks and protected areas.
Also troubling, the B.C. government
allows timber harvesting in 75 per cent
of the 51,000 hectares it calls “man-
aged future habitat areas” for the owl,Oregon, a northern
spotted owl, in his aviary
at the breeding facility.rd.ca 89