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Who Gives a Hoot? Determining the Value of Owl Habitat
The northern spotted owl is an endangered species that needs old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest to live. Unfortunately, old-growth forests, like all forests, may catch fire and be damaged or destroyed. There are many things forest managers can do to reduce the risk of a large forest fire. The scientists in this study wanted to know whether people like you and your family and friends value the endangered owl’s habitat enough to support spending more of our tax money on prescribed fires.
Who Gives a Hoot? Determining the Value of Owl Habitat
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Test your knowledge on conservation, mammals, and wildfire. -
In this FACTivity, you will answer the questions: What is the value of a favorite possession?FACTivity – Who Gives a Hoot
In this FACTivity, you will answer the questions: What is the value of a favorite possession?
Glossary
View All Glossaryconservation
(kän(t) sər vā shən): A careful preservation and protection of something, especially planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.
economic
(ek ǝ nä mik): Of, relating to, or based on the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
economics
(ek ǝ nä miks): A social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
endangered species
(in dān jǝrd spē sēz): A plant or animals with so few individual survivors that the species could become extinct in the area where it naturally lives.
forest manager
(fȯr ǝst ma ni jǝr): A person who manages a forest; in the Forest Service, forest managers focus on managing vegetation, restoring ecosystems, reducing hazards, and maintaining forest health (definition from USDA Forest Service).
mammal
(ma mǝl): Any of a class of warm-blooded vertebrates that include human beings and all other animals that nourish their young with milk produced by mammary glands and have the skin usually more or less covered with hair.
old-growth forest
(ōld grōth fȯr ǝst): A forest characterized by the presence of large old trees, dead standing trees, and fallen rotting trees and that is usually in a late stage of development.
psychology
(sī kä lǝ gē): The science of mind and behavior.
represent
(re pri zent): To serve as a specimen, example, or instance of.
sociology
(sō sē ä lǝ jē): The science of society, social institutions, and social relationships; specifically, the study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings.
vegetation
(ve jǝ tā shǝn): Plant life or total plant cover of an area.
wildfire
(wī(ǝ)ld fī(ǝ)r): An uncontrolled, damaging fire started in a wilderness or rural area.
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Armando Gonzalez-Caban
Economist/Resource Economist
I like being a scientist because it is fun to play detective and try to understand how people make economic decisions about the natural environment. I discover how people feel...View Profile -
John Loomis
Social Scientist
I like being a scientist because I like solving puzzles about human behavior. I am interested in how much people value clean air and water, and protecting the environment for...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- People, Places, and Environments
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Time, Continuity, and Change
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email