The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is the “canary in the coal-mine” for the health of old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. This owl indicates the status of old-growth forest, which has dwindled to only 15% of its former extent because of logging. The spotted owl is adapted to hunt and nest in the complex mixture of severely burned forest and unburned old-growth forest patches found within the large wildfires that are a natural part of the owls’ dry forest habitat.
Click here for original story, Logging, not wildfire, is most likely driving northern spotted owl decline
Source: Phys.org