Nov. 20, 2025
U.S. wildlife agency sued over delayed protections for spotted owl
Advocates say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is more than two years overdue in acting on a 2023 proposal to list the owl as endangered or threatened, leaving the species exposed to logging, wildfires and pressure from invasive barred owls.
The Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of unlawfully delaying Endangered Species Act protections for the California spotted owl, a species advocates say is now perilously close to extinction.
In February 2023, federal wildlife officials proposed listing the Southern California population of the owl as endangered and the Sierra Nevada population as threatened. Under the Endangered Speci...
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