West Coast counties joined with forest product companies Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s designation of critical habitat for the threatened northern spotted owl.
Four rural counties in California, Oregon and Washington, along with the American Forest Resource Council and the Association of O&C Counties, contend in the suit that the Fish and Wildlife Service erred with its November 2021 critical habitat decision.
The federal agency’s 2021 decision added back more than 3 million acres that the first Trump administration had dropped from the owl’s critical habitat.
“Designating critical habitat for the spotted owl must be based in science and follow the law,” AFRC President Travis Joseph said in a statement, adding that “for the spotted owl to survive, we need a 21st Century forest and species conservation strategy to address modern challenges and stressors, not double down on the failed approaches of the last 30 years.”
