Mexican spotted owl Strix occidentalis lucida
Mexican spotted owl Strix occidentalis lucida
by the late 1980s — at the height of logging operations in the national forests — biologists estimated that only 2,000 of the birds remained in the world. the owl was listed as threatened in 1993 — more than three years after the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for the species — logging interests have constantly sought to undermine its protection. The resulting legal battles halted all logging in the Southwest for 16 months before forcing the Forest Service to implement the federal recovery plan. Unfortunately, in late 2012, the Service released a final revised “recovery plan” for Mexican spotted owls that actually weakened protections for the bird laid out in its original 1995 recovery plan. Medium sized with dark eyes and no ear tufts. Brownish and heavily spotted with white or beige. 4,100-9,000 ft Generally nest in older forests of mixed conifer or ponderosa pine/gambel oak type, found on the San Francisco Peaks Critical habitat was finalized on August 31, 2004 (69 FR 53182) in Arizona