If it's said often enough by enough people, it must be true...

In a press release from the Sierra Club in January of 2001 that "applauded" the 2001 Sierra 
Nevada Framework, David Edelson, an attorney who represents the Sierra Nevada Forest 
Protection Campaign (now Sierra Forest Legacy) and the Natural Resources Defense Council was 
quoted as saying "...it is too soon to tell whether the plan will be sufficient to recover 
imperiled species like the California spotted owl..."

Center for Biological Diversity 05/21/03 "Found throughout the Sierra Nevada and the southern coast ranges, this agile predator has been declining by as much as 10% annually throughout the 1990's, placing it in serious danger of extinction."

Save Tejon Ranch "The California Spotted Owl is a nocturnal, woodland owl. Their darkly colored plumage is heavily spotted with white on the breast and belly, with fewer spots on the wings, back, and head. They have round heads and dark brown eyes. (Status: Federal—threatened; State—species of concern.)"

Center for Biological Diversity 12/18/06 "...and the California Spotted Owl, which is rapidly vanishing from the forests of the Sierra Nevada and Southern California"

What do the scientists find?

See the charts below.   Wildlife population trends are described as a lambda value.  A lambda value of 1.0 denotes a stable population.  A lambda values that is less than 1.0 suggests a declining population and a value that is greater than 1.0 is increasing. 

All populations being studied have population estimates that average