Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10
Existing Protection or Other Status Designations
The Short-eared Owl was classified by COSEWIC in 1994 as Special Concern (Cadman and Page 1994) and is currently classified as G5 (demonstrably widespread and secure) by NatureServe (2007; www.natureserve.org). However, NatureServe provincial status designations are S1 (Critically imperiled) in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, S3 (Vulnerable) in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland/Labrador, S4 (apparently secure) in Saskatchewan and the Yukon, with no ranking in the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. Short-eared Owls are also listed as critically imperiled through much of the northeastern United States (e.g., Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) and vulnerable through much of the rest of the U.S. distribution. Short-eared Owls are also considered a Species of Conservation Concern by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Short-eared Owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (Federal Register 2006) as well as under a large number of Provincial Wildlife acts (e.g., Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, and the Act Respecting the Conservation and Development of Wildlife in Quebec).
Despite these widespread concerns over the species’ decline, there are no management efforts currently underway in the United States, while in Canada, only Newfoundland/Labrador has initiated a management plan (Schmelzer 2005). Some management actions, such as Operation Grassland Community in Alberta and Operation Burrowing Owl in Saskatchewan are probably indirectly benefiting Short-eared Owls by increasing habitat quantity and quality, as well as increasing landowner awareness of the problems facing grassland wildlife.
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