Frequent, low-severity fire supports habitat for threatened owls: Study yields insights for wildlife habitat management

Walking through the dappled light of a southwestern forest at dusk, scientists focus their eyes aloft. Their quarry? A Mexican spotted owl perched high in the overstory. New research from a collaborative group of scientists from the USDA Forest Service, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that frequent, low-severity fire supported owl habitat, but high-severity fire was detrimental.