The Disappearing Northern Spotted Owl - A Metaphor for Intelligence in the U.S.

For a variety of reasons, completely unrelated to conservation or wildlife, I needed to find the habitat of the infamously endangered Northern Spotted Owl. A Google search turned up some lovely pictures and a link to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service page for the Strix occidentalis caurina. This page didn't give any clear indication of the bird's range or habitat, but there were several USFWS links on the page: An Environmental Alternatives Analysis for a 4(d) Rule for the Northern Spotted Owl; Northwest Forest Plan; and the most promising - Find out where you can find this species on or near a National Wildlife Refuge.

All of these links are dead. All you'll get from these FWS pages is "page cannot be found - Alert 404."

So, in addition to removing critical information about womens' health care on the NHS website and redacting the history of the civil rights movement from the Lincoln Memorial, the Bush Administration is continuing to implement its policy of censorship and disinformation. It's a national shame that this president perpetually hides behind "executive privilege" whenever he is asked to explain even the most mundane decisions, but that his administration seeks to deny public access to any information that runs contrary to its agenda is criminal.

We have allowed ourselves to be silenced. We have allowed ourselves to be blindfolded. We shouldn't be surprised when the world turns a deaf ear to our voice.