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Ethics and the Spotted Owl Controversy By Claire Andre and
Manuel Velasquez For hundreds of years, a handsome, dark-brown
owl with white spots has made its home in the lush, "old-growth"
forests of the Pacific Northwest. Under the multilayered
canopies of these 200-year-old forests, the owl, known as the
northern spotted owl, has fed off the rich plant and
invertebrate life created by decaying timber and has nested in
the cavities of old trunks. But the towering cedars, firs,
hemlocks, and spruces which have served as the owl's habitat,
also have become a primary source of timber for a multi-billion
dollar logging industry. Over the last 150 years, as a result of
heavy logging, these ancient forests have dwindled. Only about
10% of the forests remain, most on federally owned lands. And as
the forests have dwindled, so too has the number of spotted
owls. Biologists estimate that only 2,000 pairs survive today.
In 1986, a worried environmentalist group