Coalition Petitions to Protect Burrowing Owl
The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, California State Park Rangers Assn. and Tri-County Conservation League plan to file a petition under the California Endangered Species Act to protect the western burrowing owl.
The owl stands between 9 and 11 inches tall and lives underground, usually taking over burrows dug by ground squirrels. It hunts insects and small rodents above ground.
The groups say the owl’s breeding colonies dropped 60% statewide in the 1990s. They claim breeding owls have been eliminated from Napa, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties.
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