How it works: Regulations and education

I thought I'd take a little time and try to explain how changing regulations works to educate the entire wildlife community, and why this is so important:

First, let me adamantly point out that we must continue our efforts to educate our communities about owlboxes - that they are more than just a method of rodent control! These are living, sentient, emotional, ENDANGERED beings, and it's not enough for them to serve us by hunting rodents - we must serve them in return by making sure that the owlets they're working so hard to feed (while they clean up our rodent problem) survive!

I am certain that most people w/ owlboxes on their land have no idea anything is wrong. And many of these owlboxes are on very large parcels of land where the owner doesn't see the day to day operation of the owls and their behavior and needs. Nor will the owner see when the owlets fall and are dragged off by other wild animals.

So we do need to educate! And we will do that through the owl alliance and through individual efforts of likeminded people. We hope to put together both a website and a brochure that can clearly outline the issues and solutions.

So why the need to change the law and regulations?

Note that one of our commenters went to a wildlife rehab center and noticed that there were perches for the birds of prey, and that they all had astroturf on them (usually held on tightly by those plastic zip ties).

They are all like that because that's a regulation.

When wildlife centers put together a cage for a particular animal, they refer to a big notebook that has all the regulations for all the caging needs of each type of animal spelled out in great detail. The dimensions, materials used, perches, EVERYTHING.

By reading this notebook, the wildlife people are instantly educated as to the needs of the species they are working with. Even if they don't know the reasons for all the regulations, the outcome is that they do build the right setup for that species so that it will thrive.

It's instant, top-down education.

The same goes for wildlife regulators. They know what they know largely by having to read and know the regulations. They don't have to be specialists in every species out there - they just have to know the laws that they are to enforce, and they do enforce them.

So if we manage to get it put into the current willdlife code that all owl boxes must have branching systems, must be installed in shade, must have a door with the bottom at least 8-10 inches above the floor, and must have a way for the owlets to climb back up (and all of these will be defined specifically with measuremets and materials and installation requirements), then that wildlife agent suddenly knows what is needed and necessary. He or she does not have to know every intimate detail about barn owl branching or how they learn to fly. He/she just knows that this is what they need and makes sure that's what they get.

The wildlife agent does come to understand the reasoning, though, and is able to explain that to whoever owns the land upon which the box sits.

Regulations, then, DO serve to instantly educate all the people who are working closely with the animals involved, and that is passed on to the people who put up the owlboxes, and passed on to the builders of owlboxes.

It's a very effective way to spread the word and solve the problem all at the same time!

We are currently filing papers for the Barn Owl Alliance to be a 501(c)3, meaning a nonprofit organization. We're pulling together all kinds of information from all over the place, and we're working on putting up a website to contain this information and be a go to site for all things owlbox and barn owl (eventually). The wheels are turning.

And it can be done by working directly with the Dept of Fish and Game and the Dept of Fish and Wildlife. Fines for non-compliance help to fund the enforcement of these laws. For example, the fine for harrassing a nest of wild owls, or taking one for oneselfl without a permit, or shooting one, is $25,000 and minimum 6 months in jail.

This is serious stuff!

Twenty five THOUSAND dollars minimum, per offence, and a minimum of 6 months in jail!

I'm not saying this would be the fine for an improperly installed owlbox, I'm saying that under current law, this is what happens if you harrass a nest of owls or take one for yourself w/o a permit, or shoot one, or injure one. The severity of the mandatory sentence tells you how seriously the Dept of Fish and Wildlife and Dept of Fish and Game take this issue! And they learned about the importance of these things from the research done by biologists.

So we aim to fill the gap that is allowing so many owlets to perish after their parents have been lured to an inadequate box. The more of these inadequate boxes that are put up, the lower will be the survival rate of baby owls, and the more endangered they will become unless we do something to change the way owlboxes are installed and built. That is why we are doing this.


It's very exciting to be able to help change the outcome for so many, many of these beloved, smart, sassy, emotional, curious, empathetic, lovely, sincere, loyal, earnest, innocent beings with whom we share this sweet earth! It's an honor and a huge privilege to be their voice, to be protectors of their futures.

-Stacey