The Uncosted West · Episode 10 of 15 · 48 min
The Spotted Owl, the Timber Wars, and the Real Value of Old Growth
Logging turned thousand-year Pacific Northwest forests into a one-time payment while carbon, salmon, and biodiversity went uncounted. The spotted-owl listing, court injunctions, and the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan ended most federal old-growth harvest and hit timber towns hard. The owl keeps declining anyway, largely because the invasive barred owl is out-competing it.
Who's who
- William L. DwyerFederal judge whose 1991 rulings halted most timber sales in owl habitat
- Bill Clinton+5 more episodesPresident who convened the 1993 Forest Conference in Portland
- Al Gore+2 more episodesVice president who helped convene the 1993 Forest Conference
- Jack Ward ThomasForest Service biologist who led the science teams behind the plan; later Chief
Where it happens
- Pacific Northwest, United StatesHome of the old-growth forests and the northern spotted owl
- Portland, Oregon, United StatesSite of the April 1993 Forest Conference
- Western District of Washington, United StatesFederal court where Judge Dwyer issued the rulings
- Triangle Lake, Oregon, United StatesArea of the herbicide controversy over aerial spraying
- Klamath-Siskiyou region, United StatesTimber communities tied to the federal log flow
Timeline
- June 1990The Fish and Wildlife Service lists the northern spotted owl as threatened.
- May 23, 1991Judge Dwyer enjoins roughly 2 billion board feet of federal timber sales in owl habitat.
- April 2, 1993Clinton's Forest Conference convenes in Portland.
- December 21, 1994The Northwest Forest Plan takes effect across about 24 to 25 million acres.
- 2020Monitoring reports show territorial spotted owls on federal land fell about 62% in 25 years.
- August 2024The Fish and Wildlife Service finalizes a strategy to remove up to about 450,000 barred owls.
Still debated
People argue over whether the plan cut harvest below its own projections, whether more active forest management would reduce fire risk, and whether culling barred owls is ethical or effective. What a standing forest is worth is also contested, since valuations depend on models and on who receives the value.
← PreviousWhy the U.S. Forest Service Loses Money Selling Public TimberNext →Why Taxpayers Pay Billions to Log the Tongass Rainforest
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