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A northern spotted owl perches on a snow covered branch.
B.C.
In progress

Fighting to protect the last remaining wild Spotted Owls

April 8, 2021

Before industrial logging in British Columbia, there were an estimated 500 pairs of spotted owls living in the old growth forests in southwest B.C. Today, there are only four owls left in the wild, three of which were only recently released from captivity.

This dramatic decline led Ecojustice to send a letter to the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change in October 2020, demanding he recommend emergency order protections under the Species at Risk Act.

On behalf of Wilderness Committee, Ecojustice argued that decades of provincial mismanagement had left spotted owls without legal protection and decimated the old-growth forests where they once lived.

In February 2021, thanks to the leadership of the Spo’zem First Nation and with support from Ecojustice and Wilderness Committee, the provincial government announced a one-year halt to all logging within the forests of Spô’zêm First Nation territory, specifically the Spuzzum and Utzlius watersheds. The protection of these watersheds was extended to February 2023. These watersheds are home to the last known wild spotted owls in Canada.

Despite the short-term win, there still is not a permanent solution to protect spotted owls and their habitat.

That’s why in October 2022, Ecojustice, on behalf of Wilderness Committee, once again called on the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change to fulfil his legal responsibility to protect this species and their habitat by recommending an emergency order to protect the habitat necessary for spotted owl to survive and recover.

In February 2023 the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven, Guilbeault, recommended an emergency order to protect the at-risk species from imminent threats to its survival and recovery. The Federal Cabinet now needs to accept the minister’s recommendation for the emergency order to come into effect, after it consults affected First Nations.

Before the B.C. government’s release of three spotted owls from the captive breeding program, there was only one known spotted owl left in the wild in all of Canada.

Spotted owls need old growth forest to survive and recover. Despite this, the B.C. government continues to allow logging in spotted owl habitat through the province’s own logging agency, BC Timber Sales. Additionally, B.C. is one of the few provinces that lacks a standalone law to protect endangered species – even though it is home to more than 2,000 species at risk.

Without federal intervention to protect the species, Ecojustice and Wilderness Committee argue, spotted owls — and their old-growth forest habitat — are at serious risk of disappearing from the wild.

Thankfully, in February 2023 the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, recommended an emergency order to protect the at-risk species from imminent threats to its survival and recovery. The Federal Cabinet now needs to accept the minister’s recommendation for the emergency order to come into effect, after it consults affected First Nations. We hope this order comes into effect soon to be able to stop the Spotted Owls from becoming extinct in B.C.

Feb 2023
A spotted owl turns to face the camera as it sits on a treebranch
press release

Minister Guilbeault recommends emergency order to protect the critically at-risk Spotted Owl

VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mes and Sel̓íl̓witulh TERRITORIES — After decades of work to protect spotted owl habitat, on 23rd February, Wilderness Committee, Ecojustice and Spô’zêm Nation learned that federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault is recommending an emergency order to protect the at-risk species from imminent threats to its survival and recovery.
Oct 2022
A northern spotted owl perches on a snow covered branch.
press release

Environmental groups petition feds to protect critical habitat of last spotted owls

Recovery of species in Canada hinges on successful reintroduction of captive spotted owls to protected habitats VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh AND səlilwətaɬ TERRITORIES — Ecojustice, on behalf of the Wilderness Committee, is demanding the federal government live up to their legal responsibility to protect endangered spotted owls and their habitat in British Columbia.
Feb 2021
Spotted owl by Jared Hobbs
press release

Spô’zêm First Nation and environmental groups celebrate halt to logging in forests where last three spotted owls live

Groups say this gives the nearly extirpated species a shot at survival VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mes and Sel̓íl̓witulh TERRITORIES — Today the B.
Oct 2020
Spotted owl by Jared Hobbs
press release

Ecojustice, Wilderness Committee demand federal emergency protections for dwindling northern spotted owls

VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mes and Sel̓íl̓witulh TERRITORIES – Canada is down to the last pair of spotted owls in the wild — and B.