Oregon State & USFS Study: Landscape Forest Restoration Through Controlled Fire Compatible With Spotted Owl Conservation

Researchers from Oregon State University and the U.S. Forest Service published findings in the journal Forest Ecology and Management in May 2026 demonstrating that landscape-scale forest restoration — including planned, prescribed fire — does not inherently conflict with conservation goals for the Northern Spotted Owl, a threatened species whose habitat overlaps significantly with mature Pacific Northwest forests requiring restoration treatment. The team developed spatial maps identifying where restoration burning and thinning can proceed without compromising owl nesting territories, providing forest managers with a practical decision framework for reconciling two longstanding management objectives that have been in tension since the early 1990s Timber Wars. The study is significant for large-scale national forest restoration in the Pacific Northwest: millions of acres of fire-suppressed, overstocked forest need treatment to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, but the process has been slowed by legal challenges related to spotted owl habitat. By demonstrating that restoration and owl conservation can be spatially compatible, the findings open a path for accelerated ecological restoration across the region.