Welcome to Winter. Photo credit: Eric Herman

One day, early this past October, I headed towards my favorite mountain canyon for my annual collection of Mahonia root. As is typical for a day in mid-autumn when the glow and colors of changing leaves harkens a transition to winter, my mood was somewhat melancholy– a mix of devouring the beauty and feeling grief over how ephemeral it all is. As well my heart felt heavy with the weight of the world, a special kind of sadness I experience from knowing that our modern path of humanity is wreaking so much havoc on Nature.

And then in the way Mystery likes to knock me out of my storyline, I encountered the unexpected at this remote trailhead–a small red pickup truck with a sign on the passenger door. Like a cat who was on a trail and suddenly had something to investigate, I moved off my trajectory to get close enough to read the sign and discovered it was for an environmental consulting business which does wildlife surveys for projects on private lands and NEPA documents, and named the biologist running the business.

Having worked on a draft of an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement/NEPA document) years ago to stop a government project, seeing this advertisement raised my suspicions and concerns that my special canyon was being surveyed for the next project of the day. As my hackles went up, I scanned the truck again and seeing feathers hanging from the mirror, noted that Eric Herman is likely a hippie and I should stay open to meeting him and finding out what he was up to.

As I entered the canyon I made an offering of Tobacco at the threshold, praying that all who enter this canyon are kind to the plants, animals, water, insects, birds ... and onwards I went wondering when I would run into Eric. After several creek crossings I noticed a man walking in my direction and anticipating he was the person I was waiting for, I plunged across a very deep pool to meet him, ready to deliver the questions I had been pondering.

Thankfully Eric was open and kind hearted and didn't seem to notice (or mind) how socially awkward I am after 15 years of living in a town of 200 people and mostly wandering in the wild alone. It turns out that he was on a day hike looking for spotted owls and I was thrilled to hear that my beloved canyon is a perfect habitat for them.

My energy quickly shifted from melancholy to exuberance to discover a kindred spirit with a love for wild nature, who works to educate others about the creatures who share this Earth with us. Feeling at ease, I asked Eric what he is most passionate about and in his response I heard myself mirrored back to me: “Life. I love Life. I love all of Life.”

While chatting I discovered that Eric lives in Patagonia AZ, a place where I used to live, and that he’s currently involved in projects regarding mining and border issues. As well he shared my exasperation over the federal government’s plan to lethally eradicate nearly half a million barred owls in the Pacific NW, in a misguided attempt to protect the endangered Mexican spotted owl.

Something energetically was very different after we parted ways. My heart felt lighter, my step more buoyant, the air felt clear. The encounter had an element of magic in the sense that it felt so specific to my unique constellation of preoccupation, the ingredients that could banish the weight of what I was carrying.

Thank you for your letter, Constance, and for the excellent letters you sent to the Secretary of Interior. This issue has been distressing me for some time. I am relieved to know that other people and groups feel as I do, that this is misguided management that will not help the spotted owl and teaches all the wrong lessons of ecology.
You have inspired me to investigate more thoroughly the reasons that certain environmental groups in California are promoting these actions.
We have to keep trying, no matter how dark things are looking these days.
Carry on and all best wishes, Nancy
(Matt and I consulted with biologists, Nancy and Don Erman during our successful community action in stopping the government from poisoning Boulder Creek to eradicate Brook Trout as part of their fisheries management project).

To meet another human being who loves wild nature and is caring for owls, desert tortoise, birds, and other creatures through his work just lifted my spirits in a way not much else does. The sense of magic was so potent that I half expected to not see any human foot tracks in the sand upon my return back upstream later that afternoon.

Discovering that someone else cares about the issues I care about renewed my capacity to do something about the concerns I have regarding the barred owl and spotted owl “conflict”, and I sent a letter to Deb Haaland, the Secretary of the Interior. I also sent the email to friends on my mailing list and within minutes I received a flurry of responses from others who care. This outpouring of love and support for Owl brought me to tears and dispelled the sense of isolation I often feel thinking I’m alone in my love for wild nature.

Thank you for caring in the ways that you care…Thank you for the ways you share your gifts, your medicine and your love. Please know that who you are and what you do matters. May you know how much an act of kindness can change the world. Thank you for shining your Light.

“The broken world waits in darkness for the Light that is you.”

~LR Knost

““The broken world waits in darkness for the Light that is you.” ”

— LR Knost

Thank you for giving a hoot!

Here are two letters friends sent to Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior. Please scroll down for my original email and consider sending a letter of your own.

Dear Secretary Haaland,

Thank you for your dedication and service. Before anything else, I would like to thank you and congratulate you for all you've done with the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, and President Biden's historic apology last week.

I also write to you about the plan to eradicate nearly half a million Barred Owls in the Pacific Northwest. While the goal of protecting the endangered Spotted Owl is a worthy one, I urge you to discontinue the effort to address the issue by killing other owls.

There have been innumerable changes to the landscape and ecosystems of this continent over recent decades and centuries, and all plants, animals, and ecological systems are adapting. The increase in population of Barred Owls, and the threat to Spotted Owls, cannot be separated from deforestation in some locations, expansion and changes of forest in other locations due to fire suppression, loss of forest to out-of-control fires in other places, changes in temperatures, changes in populations of prey and other animals in the owls’ food web, and even the spraying of herbicides within forests to eradicate “invasive” plant species.

We cannot yet understand the complex adaptations that ecosystems are making, and should move with respect and caution as animal and plant populations migrate and change. There are many more factors at play in the Spotted Owls endangerment than the presence of Barred Owls. Our climate is changing, and ecosystems, as living, intelligent systems with many mechanisms of feedback for survival, are adapting.

Given all of this, the killing of hundreds of thousands of birds seems not only cruel, but short-sighted and misguided. There is no evidence that continuously killing Barred Owls will help Spotted Owls in the long-term. We need to take actions that account for the greater ecological picture of change, uncertainty, and adaptation, such as addressing why Barred Owls are moving west, and why Spotted Owls are losing suitable habitat.

I do not want to see the Spotted Owl go extinct. I grieve the massive loss of species and populations of birds around the world. However, this management plan is a cruel and ineffective way to protect them. I urge you to oppose it.

Again, thank you for your dedication, and thank you for considering this matter.

Leilani Navar

Dear Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland

Thank you for your dedication in your role of overseeing the projects that attend to the federal lands of the United States. Having you serve as Secretary of the Interior has been a breath of fresh air. Your intentional leadership is much appreciated.

The issue I’m writing to you about is the proposed plan to eradicate nearly half a million Barred Owls in the Pacific NW. While I know the need to protect and nurture diversity, including the continuance of endangered Spotted Owls, I strongly urge you to withdraw the proposed action. While it is well-intentioned, it is misguided and overly informed by colonizing habits that do not line up with my understanding of stewarding with the Land for future generations.

These are challenging times, and I don’t have all the answers. I do know colonizing mindsets and actions when I see them though. Managing the land with colonizing solutions to colonizing atrocities will not bring about more diversity and harmony. The greater ecology is responding to changes in the environment and ultimately Nature knows best how to adapt. When I hear that Barred Owls are leaving their home territory in the East and are moving West, my first question is, why? Have they lost habitat and/or a food source? If so, how would the populations respond if the source of their departure was addressed?

Barred Owls are known to maintain permanent territories and may undertake sporadic, temporary invasive movements, also known as irruptions. Given this fact, it is possible that the current movement of the Barred Owls is a sporadic occurrence rather than a long-term trend that threatens the existence of Northern Spotted Owls. Irruptions are often due to the availability of prey as well as temperature and other push factors. There are a lot of relationships to be considered with a rapidly changing climate. We need to be more curious in a heartfelt way about how birds and animals are adapting.

We know that Spotted Owls are endangered due to ongoing logging of old growth forests that they depend on. According to Sibley’s book on bird behavior, (Franklin et al. 2021), and other scientific studies, tree harvesting practices aimed at extracting the last vestiges of valuable timber from ancient old growth forests have been and remain a major contributor to declining Spotted Owl populations. In portions of the spotted owls range virtually all their habitat has been lost to the chainsaw. It seems that the most important action to protect Spotted Owls is to ban the continued harvesting of old growth forest, and pass laws that will expand and grow the sizes of old growth forests. We need to be less reactive/short-sighted and more proactive/long-sighted.

These same forests and their commercially clear-cut neighbors are being sprayed with herbicides to eradicate invasive plant species. It would behoove us to study the effects of these toxic practices on Spotted Owls and others who live in these forests. It is too simplistic to blame the Barred Owls as the primary culprit for the survival challenges the Spotted Owls face. We know there are many factors negatively effecting Spotted Owls.

I’m also aware of stories of Barred Owls and Spotted Owls adapting to each other’s presence. Both through hybridization and through sharing forest habitat. I'm curious if this is Nature’s way of adapting to allow for ongoing creation in changing conditions.

I grieve the daily loss of species diversity that colonizing and modernizing societies are responsible for. I would hate to see the Spotted Owl fall victim to the environmental impact of how we are choosing to “develop.” While (Franklin et al. 2021) and other studies advocate for widespread, generalized exterminating of Barred Owls while being aware of the other, nuanced factors, their conclusions are fundamentally flawed. In their article Franklin et al (2021) state that the other factors I mentioned above are occurring, and that there are local nuances and phenomena occurring that they cannot study or offer analysis on. This is why the findings of such studies are valuable and informative but should not be the primary information we base decisions on. What do local Indigenous/Environmental leaders have to say about the local relations happening between Northern Spotted Owls and Barred Owls?

To make local decisions largely based on large, generalized analyses like Franklin et al (2021) would be a grave mistake. It was encouraging to see that in the draft version of the Fish and Wildlife Services “Barred Owl Management Strategy” each specific management area was receiving its own plan, however, I did not get a sense that local Indigenous/Environment leaders were being actively engaged with or informing the proposal in any significant way. Maybe in some instances there is a need to take the lives of some Barred Owls. Such a decision would need to be informed of the local relationships and done with the care, honor, respect, reverence, and ceremony Life requires of us.

I strongly urge you and the USFS to withdraw the proposed action to eradicate the Barred Owls and address why these owls are leaving their territory in the first place, while also securing habitat for the Spotted Owl.

Scientific studies do not fully understand how Nature is adapting to the effects of our society’s short-sighted “development,” and any scientist worth their salt would admit to you that it is not possible to fully understand (in our heads) how Nature is adapting. We need to have all our decisions coming from our full capacity of understanding as humans who are part of Nature. We need a more heartfelt, embodied understanding of the relationships occurring between Barred Owls and Spotted Owls before we take anyone’s life.

Thank you for considering and thank you for your service,

Will Hanson

Here is my original email to friends:

hello friends:)

I am writing to you on behalf of Owl, my medicine ally....

I recently became aware of a federal project aimed at eradicating barred owls from the Pacific NW in an effort to protect the spotted owl. This is a misguided approach to addressing an issue that began with enormous human impacts on the environments that both the barred owls and the spotted owls inhabit. I have just sent a letter to Deb Haaland, the Secretary of the Interior requesting that she withdraws this proposed action. Please consider writing a letter to Deb and sending it via email or mail to this contact (feel free to copy my letter if you like).

Here is an article explaining the action. Please keep in mind that government officials are quite adept at public relations and can sound convincing regarding the worst atrocities (like poisoning water to reintroduce native fish).

and here is the letter I sent to Deb Haaland:

Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland

Thank you for your dedication in your role of overseeing the projects that attend to the federal land of the United States.

The issue I’m writing to you about is the proposed plan to eradicate nearly half a million Barred Owls in the Pacific NW. While I relate to and understand the concern for the endangered Spotted Owl, I strongly urge you to consider withdrawing the proposed action.

These are challenging times and the greater ecology is responding to changes in the environment and ultimately Nature knows how to adapt. When I hear that Barred Owls are leaving their home territory in the East and are moving West, my first question is, why? Have they lost habitat? A food source? If so, how would the populations respond if the source of their departure was addressed?

Barred owls are known to maintain permanent territories and may undertake sporadic invasive movements, also known as irruptions in some years. Given this fact is it possible that the current movement of the barred owls is a sporadic occurrence? Irruptions are often due to the availability of prey as well as temperature and these reasons need to be taken into account with changing climate. We may need to be more curious about how birds and animals are adapting.

Likewise we know that the spotted owl is endangered due to logging the old growth forests that they depend on. According to Sibley’s book on bird behavior, the survival of the Mexican spotted owl in the Pacific NW is put at risk by tree harvest practice aimed at extracting the last vestiges of valuable timber from ancient old growth forests. In portions of the spotted owls range virtually all of their habitat has been lost to the chainsaw. It seems that the most important action to protect the spotted owl is to ban the continued harvesting of old growth forest in their range.

As well these same forests are being sprayed with herbicides to eradicate invasive plant species. Perhaps it’s too simplistic to blame the barred owls for the challenge the spotted owls face as I know how sensitive they are to these environmental changes.

I’m also aware of stories of barred owls and spotted owls adapting to each other’s presence through hybridization and I'm curious if this is Nature’s way of adapting to allow for ongoing creation in changing conditions.

While I would hate to see the spotted owl fall into extinction and currently grieve the loss of numerous species who have failed to survive the environmental impact imposed on them through human development, I strongly urge you and the USFS to withdraw the proposed action to eradicate the barred owls and address why these owls are leaving their territory in the first place, while also securing habitat for the spotted owl.

We may not fully understand how Nature is adapting to the time we are in until we look back from a perspective from the future.

thank you for your consideration,

Constance Lynn

Thank you for giving a hoot for owls!

with love of wild nature,

constance lynn

Shine a Light