One of the Last Northern Spotted Owl Strongholds in California Is Under Pressure

The northern spotted owl has been vanishing across the Pacific Northwest for decades. But at Point Reyes National Seashore, the species is holding on better than almost anywhere else.

There is currenlty an ongoing monitoring effort at Point Reyes, where biologists continue to track one of the densest and most stable populations of northern spotted owls left in their entire range. Marin County, including Point Reyes, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Muir Woods National Monument, supports an unusually high concentration of the threatened species.

The reason has a lot to do with geography. The forests of Point Reyes are surrounded by open, rolling grasslands that act as a natural barrier, slowing the spread of barred owls. The larger, more aggressive barred owl has been steadily expanding its range southward along the Pacific coast since the mid-20th century, pushing spotted owls out of habitat from British Columbia to Northern California. In most places, the result has been near-complete replacement.

But the open terrain around Point Reyes makes it harder for barred owls to move in, buying the local spotted owl population time that other populations have not had.

That does not mean the owls are safe. Climate change, wildfire risk and Sudden Oak Death all pose growing threats to the forests they depend on. Researchers say long-term monitoring and barred owl management will be critical to keeping the population stable.

Fewer than 40 Sierra Nevada red foxes and a shrinking number of spotted owls both depend on Northern California’s protected forests. These species are running out of places to go.