Oregon Public Broadcasting

Federal officials Friday released their final plan meant to help the northern spotted owl recover.  Rob Manning reports.

The  plan intends to bring back the northern spotted owl over the next 30 years.

It sets aside conservation areas on the west side of the Cascades, and takes a broader, "landscape" approach to eastside woodlands.

The plan also calls for possibly killing a species that competes with the spotted owl for food:  the more aggressive barred owl.

Rem Lohoefener is with U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Rem Lohoefener: “Unless we figure out whether or not we can attenuate the threat from the barred owl, no amount of habitat is going to conserve the spotted owl.”

The Forest Service will use the recovery plan to help guide forest  management  across the Northwest. And the Bureau of Land Management will use it to finalize extensive plans for western Oregon, due out this fall.

Some environmentalists say habitat protections in the federal plan are too weak.  They say that's because representatives from forestry and land management exerted undue  influence on the wildlife experts who wrote the plan.