Northern Spotted Owl Quick Reads

The northern spotted owl been declining in vast parts of its range. Marin County, California, is an exception. As a result, Marin is an area of particular conservation interest. But successful conservation requires understanding the threats species face, and how those threats might change over time. So researchers recently did a vulnerability assessment of Marin's spotted owls to get answers about their exposure and sensitivity to threats.

“I'm originally from Iowa, born and raised. I guess I’ve been out in nature since I was a little kid. My dad was a hunter and fisherman. In the winter times he would take me out along the Mississippi River, and we'd be eagle watching—watching them catch fish in the ice. And [we’d go] canoeing and were always going to science museums. I was a pretty high energy kid and so I think part of it was probably trying to get me outdoors, going crazy with me inside."

For over 25 years, biologists from the National Park Service and several other agencies have collected spotted owl monitoring data to inform forest management that is guided by the multi-agency Northwest Forest Plan. Yet traditional field surveys for spotted owls have become less effective as their numbers have dwindled. Thus in 2021, the Northwest Forest Plan’s spotted owl monitoring design is transitioning to remote acoustic monitoring (also known as passive monitoring).

How do biologists survey endangered northern spotted owls in the forests of Marin county? Wildlife technician Taylor Ellis has some tricks up his sleeve for finding these charismatic birds. Read about his adventures as a field wildlife biologist and how he got to be where he is today.

Federally threatened Northern Spotted Owls are vital indicators of forest health since their survival depends on the presence of diverse, robust evergreen forest ecosystems. The National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program and its partners began long-term monitoring of Northern Spotted Owls in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore and other public lands in Marin County in 1999.

Barred owls recently expanded into the forest communities of Marin County where they may be negatively impacting the federally threatened northern spotted owl. The barred owl is an eastern species that has expanded its range westward into the Pacific Northwest and more recently southward into California. During their annual northern spotted owl surveys, National Park Service biologists in Marin also record the presence of barred owls and other potential threats.