From The News Tribune

The Washington State burrowing owl population has been declining for years. Development, sprawl, agricultural habitat loss and increased wildfires have worsened their survival in Washington to the point that the Washington Department of Wildlife (WDFW) is considering listing them as endangered.

On Friday, the WDFW announced it is seeking public comments on its official recommendation to list the burrowing owl as a state endangered species.

“While burrowing owls used to be present across much of Washington, they’ve since been eradicated from most of the state outside of the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin,” Gerald Hayes, the WDFW burrowing owl specialist and lead author on the recent status report, said in a statement on Friday. “Today, we estimate that fewer than 100 breeding pairs can be found in Washington. Habitat loss and degradation are major contributors to the burrowing owl’s population decline in Washington.”

The public comment period is open through Dec. 31, 2026. People can submit written comments via email or by mail to Taylor Cotten, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, P.O. Box 43141, Olympia, WA 98504-3200.

After the public comment period, WDFW staff will brief the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, which has the authority to approve or decline the department's request to list the species as endangered. The commission is scheduled to consider the issue in February 2027.

WDFW says the western burrowing owl is the only breeding subspecies of burrowing owl in western North America. It was once found across Eastern Washington, but habitat loss and destruction have significantly impacted its population. Burrowing owls are usually found in Washington from early March through late September before migrating to California for the winter.

The burrowing owl is listed as endangered in Minnesota and threatened in Colorado and Florida. Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming list the burrowing owl as a species of concern. Washington now lists the burrowing owl as a species of greatest conservation need.

Burrowing owls prefer shrub-steppe and grassland ecosystems like those found near the Tri-Cities area in Eastern Washington around the confluence of the Yakima, Snake and Columbia rivers. They fly quite well, even though they are often found on the ground. They like to nest in burrows dug by other wildlife, like ground squirrels and badgers.

They are small, usually only 7.5 to 10 inches in length. Their heads are round, and they lack the ear tufts of other owl species and have yellow eyes with broad white eyebrows.

According to a WDFW burrowing owl status report, burrowing owls were once abundant in southeastern Washington, the Columbia Basin and north through the Okanogan Valley to the border with British Columbia. The report says the burrowing owl has since experienced range-wide population declines across the entirety of the region.

“The burrowing owl is considered extirpated [removed from a geographical area] from the Okanogan Valley, the Palouse, southeastern Washington, and Klickitat County,” the report says. “Severe population declines have occurred in the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin. The current population in Washington is estimated at less than 100 pairs.”

If you see a burrowing owl in Washington, the WDFW is asking the public to share their observations using this wildlife reporting form.

The email link is to the web form, which seems a little indirect, but I got TandEpubliccom@dfw.wa.gov from another article.