The Burrowing OwlCam Story

Update June 2008
Seven or eight (you count them) young owls emerged in early June and are active most days at the burrow entrance.

Please stay tuned and pass this website on to your friends and neighbors for what promises to be an intriguing burrow season!

Burrowing owls are a charismatic species favored among many wildlife watchers. Because of their relative tolerance of altered habitat and human presence, they can persist where other species have been lost. The Tri-Cities have been growing at a rapid pace for several years. In population growth, Franklin County was #1 and Benton County was #3 in Washington from 1 April 2000 through 1 April 2003. As a result of this rapid growth, the shrub steppe habitat that burrowing owls and other wildlife depend upon has been lost, degraded or fragmented. WDFW biologists have been working with researchers, city and county planners, and the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society to slow the rate of loss of existing burrows within the urban growth zone. Despite this effort, each year new subdivisions and shopping centers compete for land occupied by burrowing owls. WDFW and its partners hope that this Internet web page and camera project will inspire the local community and others to develop growth management practices that promote burrowing owls and other wildlife within urban areas. There are numerous web links included on this page to point readers to interesting information found elsewhere on the web. More importantly, especially for residents of the Tri-Cities, this page functions as a conduit to local shrub steppe conservation and education efforts. Individuals, local government officials, private development companies, educators and others are encouraged to contact the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife @ 509-545-2201 to learn how they can help conserve burrowing owls and other wildlife in the Tri-Cities area.