Endangered Species Act

Red Hill Grove provides critical habitat for a wide variety of rare, threatened and endangered species, including the northern spotted owl. Photo by Tom Kogut/USFS, Flickr Creative Commons

Celebrating 50 years of the Endangered Species Act

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Oil prices were skyrocketing. Gerald Ford was stepping into Spiro Agnew’s tarnished VP shoes. The Exorcist was nominated for Best Picture. Such was the national landscape on December 28, 1973, when President Richard Nixon signed one of the country’s most …

A brown and white owl perches on a branch.

How to bar barred owls

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Barred owls and northern spotted owls have a lot in common: Both are brown-and-white owls; both are denizens of mature forests. The spotted owl hoots a four-note call, while the slightly larger barred owl hoots, “Who cooks for you?!” But …

A pair of marbled murrelets, small birds with black and white feathers, float together on the ocean.

A seabird that lives in the redwoods?

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Of all the plants and animals that occupy the coast redwood ecosystem, among the more fascinating is the marbled murrelet, a brown and white seabird that’s a little bigger than a robin. This otherwise nondescript bird – called “fog larks” …

Marbled murrelet is listed as "Endangered." Photo by Tim Lenz, Flickr Creative Commons

The Endangered Species Act

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The Endangered Species Act was signed into law in 1973, and is a bedrock statute in land protection and conservation. The intention of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is to prevent wildlife species extinction, help imperiled species recover, and support …

Marbled murrelet is listed as "Endangered." Photo by Tim Lenz, Flickr Creative Commons

The Endangered Species Act is Endangered

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The Department of the Interior is working to revise regulatory language in the ESA. The alarming proposal would allow for the analysis of economic impacts when considering listing species or considering protections — a reversal of the current statute.

A marbled murrlet tends to its treetop nest. Photo by Tom Hamer.

Victory for Marbled Murrelets and Ancient Redwoods

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Legal protection of the threatened marbled murrelet seabird was upheld this week by a federal appeals court. Despite a 15-year legal battle led by the timber industry to end the Endangered Species Act listing, marbled murrelets retain their threatened status …

Big Win in Court for a Small Endangered Bird

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Marbled murrelets haven’t had an easy century.  With their oceanic feeding grounds impacted by commercial fishing and the occasional oil spill, and their ancient forest nesting grounds mostly lost to the axe and the saw, these shy creatures have had …