Interior Cites California Wildfire Progress to Avoid Protecting Owl

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to list the California spotted owl as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, according to a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication Nov. 8.

The California spotted owl is found throughout the Sierra Nevada and mountain ranges along the California coast.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department, said wildfires, drought, climate change, and the invasion of other owls into the California spotted owl’s range pose threats to the species.

Several environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, the Wild Nature Institute, and the ...