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OWLS
 Update
January 2010
The burrowing owls have been present through the winter. The remote solar powered camera system had to be turned off for a few days to allow battery recharge. As daylight increase our streaming video should be possible in addition to the 10 second refresh. Check often and check at night several of the WildWatch cams are capable of nigh viewing.
Burrowing
owls are a charismatic species favored among many wildlife
watchers. Because of their relative tolerance of altered
habitat and human presence, they can persist where other
species have been lost.
 The Tri-Cities have been growing
at a rapid pace for several years. In population growth,
Franklin County was #1 and Benton County was #3 in Washington
from 1 April 2000 through 1 April 2003. As a result of
this rapid growth, the shrub steppe habitat that burrowing
owls and other wildlife depend upon has been lost, degraded
or fragmented.
WDFW biologists have been working with
researchers, city and county planners, and the Lower Columbia
Basin Audubon Society to slow the rate of loss of existing
burrows within the urban growth zone. Despite this effort,
each year new subdivisions and shopping centers compete
for land occupied by burrowing owls. WDFW and its partners
hope that this Internet web page and camera project will
inspire the local community and others to develop growth
management practices that promote burrowing owls and other
wildlife within urban areas.
 There are numerous web links
included on this page to point readers to interesting
information found elsewhere on the web. More importantly,
especially for residents of the Tri-Cities, this page
functions as a conduit to local shrub steppe conservation
and education efforts. Individuals, local government officials,
private development companies, educators and others are
encouraged to contact the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife at 509-545-2201 to learn how they can help
conserve burrowing owls and other wildlife in the Tri-Cities
area.
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