Burrowing owls are easy to spot because they are often active in daylight and possess a prominent white chin stripe. They can be found in the grasslands region of North America, from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada to central Mexico.
Intensified land use, primarily the conversion of grasslands for agricultural purposes and urban development, has resulted in widespread loss and fragmentation of nesting habitat. Eradication programs for the prairie dog and ground squirrel, pesticide use and food availability are also contributing factors to the population decline.
Today, there are less than 1,000 pairs breeding in prairie Canada and numbers have declined by an average of 22 percent per year over the past decade.
The NACAP proposes to identify and prioritize the most valuable habitats for conservation activity, promote the conservation of burrowing mammals, reduce the use of pesticides that affect the owl's food supply, establish cooperative research programs to determine why the owls are declining, familiarize farmers and ranchers with owl conservation issues and promote sustainable rangeland practices.
|
Publication – Western Burrowing Owl