PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity learned this week from a project collaborator, Taal Levi, that regional monitoring for northern spotted owls either won’t occur or will be greatly reduced because of the Trump administration’s hiring freeze. This leaves conservation agencies without crucial information needed to prevent the imperiled owls from sliding into extinction.

Monitoring of the spotted owl is required by the Northwest Forest Plan and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s western Oregon plan revision. In addition to the harm caused to the owl, it’s unclear the extent to which either agency will be able to move forward with timber sale or fuels reduction projects since both hinge on monitoring the endangered owls.

“This assault by Trump and Musk on the civil servants who help save endangered species across the country is just beginning to rear its ugly head, and spotted owls could be their first victim,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “As a former seasonal spotted owl surveyor myself, I know first-hand how important keeping track of these inquisitive birds is to their survival. Decades of work has gone into ensuring the owls aren’t harmed by logging on our public lands. If we can’t do the surveys, the logging may need to stop.”

Almost all monitoring of spotted owls, as well as many other endangered species including Pacific salmon, marbled murrelets, Oregon spotted frogs and more, is done by seasonal biologists. Hiring of these hard-working, highly trained and dedicated individuals would typically happen now in advance of the spring and summer field seasons but can’t because of the hiring freeze.

Monitoring of spotted owl population trends across Washington, Oregon and California was greatly streamlined in 2023 through use of acoustic recorders, but seasonal field workers are needed to place these recorders on the landscape.

“I’m deeply concerned that we’re not able collect most of the data we need to monitor the health of the beautiful northern spotted owl because of a lack of staff,” said Taal Levi, Ph.D., an associate professor of wildlife biology at Oregon State University and a collaborator on the spotted owl monitoring project. “We need this data every year to ensure that our efforts to protect these owls and the old forests they depend on are succeeding.”

The effects of the hiring freeze, lay-offs of newly hired employees and buy-out of senior officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and other agencies is just beginning to come into focus, but it is likely to have serious consequences for plants and animals on the brink of extinction, as well as management of national parks, national forests and other public lands.