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Home > Programs and Policy > Wildlife Conservation > Imperiled Species > Western Burrowing Owl

Management and Policy

Because of the significant declines of burrowing owls in the state of California, in April 2003, Defenders and others conservation groups petitioned the state of California to list the owl under the state's Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, the state failed to list the bird.

Read our press release on the filing of the petition, the petition, the state's response and our press release on their decision.

Due to intense development pressures in California, Defenders is frequently called for advice on how to deal with development projects that will destroy burrowing owl habitat. Unfortunately many birds are lost in the development process when their burrows are covered by bulldozers.

In an attempt to counteract such losses, Defenders has partnered with Wild At Heart, an Arizona group that is successfully relocating owls in that state. Thanks to grant funding, we are in the process of documenting Wild At Heart’s protocols and summarizing them into a plan. We hope to present them to officials in California in the near future. If approved for use, the plan would facilitate active relocation of burrowing owls to protected lands. Read more about Wild At Heart.