Federal protection proposed for critically at-risk spotted owls in B.C., groups say

 Two environmental groups and a British Columbia First Nation say the federal government is recommending an order to protect the critically at-risk northern spotted owl.

Just three of the tiny owls are known to be in the wild in B.C., with a fourth recovering at a rehabilitation centre after it was suspected to have been hit by a train.

A statement from the Wilderness Committee, Ecojustice and Spuzzum Nation says they have learned federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault is recommending an emergency order to protect the spotted owl from imminent threats to its survival and recovery.

The statement says the minister has determined that logging must be prevented in two watersheds within Spuzzum Nation territory along the lower Fraser River canyon, about 180 kilometres east of Vancouver.

The groups say the minister is also calling for protection of a further 2,500 hectares of forest habitat considered critical to the spotted owl's survival but at a high risk of being logged within the next year.

They say First Nations must be consulted, but want the federal cabinet to quickly accept the minister's recommendation when talks conclude.