Washington forest regulators are going to allow logging in certain spotted owl habitat where it had been banned.
The state Forest Practices Board on Tuesday adopted an emergency rule for 2009 that allows forest landowners to log in owl habitat under certain conditions.
The rule replaces a statewide moratorium on logging in certain owl sites that ends Dec. 31.
It will allow landowners to log if they show that spotted owls aren't present. An advisory group must also evaluate the site and conclude that it isn't needed to protect the owl while the board reviews logging rules next year.
The spotted owl was declared a threatened species in 1990, primarily because of heavy logging in old growth forests.
Over the years, the owls have faced threats from logging, habitat lost to wildfire and competition from barred owls.The Seattle Times
