Bird Nailed To Tree Was A Spotted Owl

The owl found dead and nailed to a tree last week off a Snohomish County logging road was a spotted owl, the state Department of Natural Resources said yesterday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's forensics laboratory in Oregon examined the owl's remains and determined it was a spotted owl born this spring, said Sandi Snell, DNR spokesman.

The cause of death was a gunshot wound, Snell said.

She said it's not clear whether the owl was killed near where it was found on DNR land by Spada Lake or killed elsewhere and brought to the site about 8 to 10 miles from Granite Falls.

So far, Snell said, the DNR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have received no tips on who may be responsible for the killing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent handling the case could not be reached for comment.

The owl was found last Tuesday nailed to a sign on a tree that said "Snohomish Watershed." The bird's feet had been cut off.

The nearest old-growth forests, prime spotted-owl habitat, are about 15 miles from where the bird was found, Snell said. Areas around the site have been taken out of timber production for conservation reasons, she said, but not because they are spotted-owl habitat.

Last week, the DNR offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for killing the owl.

Now that the species of the owl is clear, Snell said the DNR hopes more information about the killing will surface.

She also hopes other groups will come forward with rewards.

In addition the the DNR, the Fish and Wildlife Service has a standing $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who kills a spotted owl, spokesman Cynthia Barry said. She said two private timber groups, the Washington Commercial Forest Action Committee and the North Olympic Timber Action Committee, also have a standing $7,500 reward.

Under the Endangered Species Act, the maximum penalty for killing a spotted owl is one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, Snell said.