Research wildlife biologist Eric Forsman whisked through campus Wednesday to explain how environmental conditions in the Pacific Northwest are worsening and threatening the existence of the spotted owl.

Forsman, a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, spoke to an audience of 40 in the University Museum Auditorium and showed slides of the Pacific Northwest.

The debate over logging in the Pacific Northwest has been going on for more than 100 years, Forsman said. Douglas Fir and Redwoods trees are some of the massive trees that make up an area known as the old-growth forests in Oregon, Washington and northern California.

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The northern spotted owl has been a leverage tool used by environmentalists to cease or limit logging of old-growth forests. The owl forages in the old-growth forest where an ample supply of wood rats and flying squirrels exist.

Forsman said the logging has limited where the owls can hunt for food and nest.

It’s amazing as things go to hell in the Pacific Northwest that no one steps up, Forsman said.

The spotted owl is not the only wildlife in danger, Forsman said. Man-made dams on the Columbia River and Oregon’s long history of salmon fishing have threatened the salmon population, Forsman said.

He cited the farming community for using too much river water for crops. The irrigation drains too much water in some rivers, cutting off migratory accesses to some trout.

Dams located up and down stream on the Columbia create passage problems for the salmon, whose numbers are drastically lower now than a century ago.

The federal government has struggled to implement environmentally sound policies regarding the region, Forsman said.

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Everyone blames everyone. No one takes responsibility, he said. Everyone is at fault and it’s painful to watch.

Forsman said there needs to be a concerted effort by the legislature and the citizenry in order for the forests to be adequately protected.

The legislatures look into these problems and the protected areas for wildlife continue to grow, he said. It’s too bad they didn’t foresee these problems when there was more forest.