THE PHOENIX GAZETTE By Michael Murphy THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1994 4.8 million acres for rare owl Conservationists wonder if U.S. plan will fly The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed designating 4.8 million acres in Arizona as critical habitat for the endangered Mexican spotted owl, but local conservationists remain skeptical. Facing a federal court order to designate critical habitat to protect the owl, the agency outlines plans that could restrict logging in national forests across Arizona. It proposed designating 4.8 million acres in the Four Corners states. "We're encouraged the... (agency) has chosen to obey the court's order and follow the law instead of continuing to try to completely avoid it," said Robin Silver, a Phoenix environmental activist and conservation chairman of the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity. "They repeatedly break the law to accommodate any development or extractive industry, so caution has to remain the reaction off the day." Charles Babbitt, president of the Maricopa Audubon Society said conserva- tionists will await a final plan before relaxing their scrutiny of the agency. "We want critical habitat designation, and will not sit by quietly and let them attempt or try to get around designation of critical habitat through the use of some recovery plan," he said. John Rogers; Southwest director of Fish and Wildlife, wouldn't guess how close the proposal would come to the final plan. "I don't think it would be responsible to reply to that now," he told a news conference where the proposal was unveiled. "If the final result came out anything close to what I would suggest today, it could leave us open to criticism, if not legal action. Over the past 18 months, environmental groups have filed seven lawsuits against Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service in an attempt to compel the agencies to confront the spotted owl issue. In October, U.S. District Judge Carl Muecke set today as a deadline for Fish and Wildlife to designate critical habitat for the owls, classified an endangered species in March 1993. Muecke ordered See HABITAT, Page B2
Mail converted by
MHonArc 1.1.0