AP writer William McCall, in this article placed on the Portland Oregonian’s Web site Friday evening, notes that a federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act when it signed off on a 22,000-acre federal logging project on northern spotted owl habitat in southern Oregon.The case dates from 2001. And in its ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that would allow logging based on an “incidental take” statement estimating how many owls might be killed.
Plaintiffs include Oregon Wild, formerly the Oregon Natural Resources Council. Just how much more habitat must be compromised before the species dies out?
