Federal judge scraps new Spotted Owl plan
September 3rd, 2010 - 6:11am
SEATTLE (AP) - A federal court judge in Washington, D.C., has
ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must revise a Bush
administration recovery plan for the northern spotted owl.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on Wednesday ordered
the federal agency to come up with a new recovery plan within nine
months for the threatened bird, which has been at the center of a
long battle over logging in the Northwest. The judge also required
revisions to the owl's critical habitat, which had been cut under
the Bush administration.
The Obama administration had asked the federal court to send
back the 2008 recovery and habitat plans, after reviewing records
and an inspector general's report finding potential political
interference in owl protections by a former deputy assistant
Interior secretary, Julie MacDonald.
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