SIERRA VISTA HERALD: Sat., Dec. 9, 2006
Organization helps owls affected by construction
BY GENTRY BRASWELL
PALOMINAS — Burrowing owls live in holes in the ground, but they don't dig their own.
Because of the ongoing extrication of burrowing mammals, such as prairie dogs and the urbanization of grasslands and modern agricultural technology, burrowing owls are at risk because their natural homes are disappearing. Since 2002, The Wild At Heart organization has dug about 2,000 burrows for the owls in Arizona, said Greg Clark, the organization's burrowing owl habitat coordinator.
Clark is in Palominas this weekend on Gordon Lewis' land. With the help of Southwest Gas, he is digging 96 burrows for the birds.
Clark said he gets the birds primarily from areas of new housing development in Maricopa County, and those developers cooperate with this environmental organization in keeping an eye out for burrowing owls. He said about 1,000 acres of habitat are eliminated monthly in Maricopa County.
Bob Brunt of the Southeastern Arizona Contractors' Association board of directors said his group got the good word about cooperating with Wild At Heart from its mother organization in Tucson, the Southern Arizona Home Builders' Association.
FULL STORY: http://www.svherald.com/articles/2006/12/09/local_news/news5.txt