Tracking Mexican Spotted Owls at Bandelier After the Las Conchas Fire

A Mexican spotted owl at Bandelier National Monument. NPS

The Mexican spotted owl, a federally threatened species, once lived and bred in the steep-walled canyons of Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. But natural disasters, compounded by climate change, have transformed that landscape in recent decades.

The fire

In 2011, the Las Conchas wildfire burned 156,000 acres (243 square miles) of the Jemez Mountains in north-central New Mexico, from 6,500 to 10,000 feet in elevation, including Bandelier.

The damage hit the owls' ability to breed and thrive in the park hard.

The surveys

Since 2018, scientists have resurveyed potential breeding habitat across the park to learn where owls live, whether they're nesting, and how well they reproduce after the fire.

Scientists scan a canyon from the rim. NPS

The results let Bandelier draw new — or redraw existing — Protected Activity Centers and core areas, the places most important to managing, protecting and recovering the species.

Why it matters

Knowing where owls nest helps the National Park Service plan prescribed burns and other land management with the least disturbance. And learning how the species recovers after wildfire and forest loss matters to scientists and land managers across its range.

Sources

Based on "Survey for the Federally Threatened Mexican Spotted Owl in Post-Burn Critical Habitat," National Park Service, Bandelier National Monument; a work of the United States government in the public domain.