As we wrote last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was expected to release a revised spotted owl plan very soon, and just this week, it did.

One of the key points to make is the 181-page revised plan is a draft, and the government is taking comments for the next 60 days. Here is where you can send your comments:

Emailed comments can be sent to: NSORPComments@fws.gov. Written comments should be submitted to: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, 2600 SE 98th Avenue, Ste. 100, Portland, OR 97266.

The reason the 60-day comment period is critical is there are some serious problems with the revised plan, and the Obama administration must hear from people who are concerned about the viability of working forests if the draft plan were to become final.

Here are just a small portion of the problems:

• The plan itself is another example of an overreaching approach by the federal government.
• New maps will come out in January 2011 with the final draft of the plan and redo all habitat reserves and incorporate private lands.
• The federal government will redo the federal designation of critical habitat, which is now currently only designated on federal lands.

Take a look at the revised plan, as well as the additional information on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service site. We will be providing more context on this important issue as it develops.