Larry Jordan
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Suppressed Dept. of Fish and Game Burrowing Owl Report Exposed
I find myself in awe over what appears to be overwhelming support for a cause in which I have become completely ensconced. As I sat on the runway in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday my only concern was that I could potentially miss a slot that had been scheduled for me to address the crowd at the latest meeting of the Burrowing Owl Consortium. As the time ticked away and the delay continued to expand from 10 minutes to 1 hour, I was beginning to think the ability to travel at the speed of light would be my only chance.
However, favorable flight conditions provided an opportunity to gain an edge over the delay and by the time the wheels squealed on the runway at SFO I was JUST 40 minutes behind schedule. Needless to say I did slightly push the limits of speed and successfully arrived at the Martinelli Event Center in Livermore just before 2:30pm. And just like the airlines, the presentations were running long so I was able to catch my breath and relax…much needed after an 11 hour flight and 9 hour time change.
So, THANKS to everyone who attended the Burrowing Owl Consortium meeting on February 6th. Well, I will admit I am sitting here biting my lip in frustration while writing this post (details/updates to follow shortly), but I wanted to make the unreleased 2008 Department of Fish & Game report, Guidance for Burrowing Owl Conservation (download report), available as promised. This report is designed to:
- Provide updated recommendations from the California Department of Fish and Game to biologists, planners, land managers, and CEQA lead agencies.
- Provide guidance that supersedes and augments or clarifies the Department’s Staff Report on Burrowing Owl Mitigation (1995) and the California Burrowing Owl Consortium’s Survey Protocol and Mitigation Guidelines (1993, 1997)
- Provide a statewide vision for burrowing owl conservation goals and actions.
- Promote a consistent approach to burrowing owl conservation throughout the State, while allowing local flexibility.
Please enjoy the read and join me in my effort to understand why the Department of Fish and Game management is not implementing the guidelines, continues to allow burrowing owl “take”, violates Fish and Game code, and is not concerned for the conservation of burrowing owls but yielding to politics and developer wishes. This is not a fight that I will allow to be extinguished as has been done so many times in the past.
I encourage everyone with information, questions and concerns to contact me directly.
Please read my previous posts regarding this report:
Calling on Attorney General to Investigate Lack of Owl Conservation
BREAKING NEWS: CDFG Suppresses Conservation Measures for Burrowing Owls
About The Author
Wow. I read the report this morning. I’m speechless. The “pre-construction” and “exclusion of owls…” sections really blow me away. Not that the whole report isn’t damning in and of itself, but those two sections shed a new light on what’s happened. It’s unbelievable that so many of these recommendations contradict the actions taken thus far. Great work on uncovering this, Scott! It will certainly be interesting to see what happens now that this has come to light.
Thanks Jason. I completely agree with you. The report highlights the very situation in which I find myself in right now with these owls and speaks to the greater problem. Imagine what happens with no public oversight…oh that’s right it is a declining species. I am glad to have found a few DFG personnel who are fed up with the lack of conservation and feeding me info/materials. Thanks for the support!