Bush/Cheney: Don't Play Politics With Our Wildlife!

As a supporter of Defenders of Wildlife and someone who cares about scientifically sound wildlife management, I urge you to withdraw the politicized draft recovery plan and reconvene the Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Team to draft a new plan based on scientific findings.

Spotted owl numbers are declining more rapidly than anticipated when the federal government added them to the endangered species list in 1990, and the loss of vital old-growth forest habitat remains one of the biggest threats to the northern spotted owl's recovery.

Dwindling by almost 4% per year, the spotted owl is at risk of declining to the point that the species would need to be "uplisted" from threatened to endangered. Some experts believe that there may be as few as 3,000 pairs left.

Given the continuing stresses and threats to this species, the northern spotted owl needs more old growth forest protection, not less.

I urge you to reconvene the Recovery Team of scientists and other experts from state and federal agencies and local stakeholder groups, to draft a new recovery plan for these beleaguered birds.

We simply can't afford to play politics when it comes to recovering rapidly declining species like the northern spotted owl.

Thank you for considering my views on this matter.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]