California Spotted Owl Study IWS is helping to support graduate
student and former employee, Stephanie Eyes, in collaboration
with Susan Roberts of the USGS Western Ecological Research
Center to conduct an important study examining the effects of
fire on California spotted owl foraging habitat. The California
spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) occurs in forested
habitats of the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, in the
coastal ranges from Monterey to Santa Barbara County, and in the
mountainous regions of southern California and Baja California.
Spotted owl populations are declining due to habitat loss and
fragmentation as well as competition from barred owls (Strix
varia). Because of range-wide population declines, federal and
state agencies listed it as a Species of Special Concern.
Throughout their range, California spotted owls are associated
with late-successional forests, where, for millennia, fire has
played a critical role in maintaining forest structure and
function. Given the essential