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GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- A timber industry group has filed a lawsuit challenging the latest habitat protections for the northern spotted owl, a threatened species.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday against the secretary of Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which had no immediate comment.
American Forest Resource Council President Tom Partin says wildfire and barred owls pose a bigger threat to spotted owls than the loss of old growth forests to logging.
He adds that while the plan calls for some logging in owl habitat, the cost of extra consideration required by the Endangered Species Act makes the prospect unlikely.
The spotted owl has been the subject of intense legal and political battles over logging for decades.
