The Obama administration has decided not to defend the decision to cut protections for the spoted owl.

The spotted owl’s need for old-growth forest has been at the center of long-standing battles about logging in the Northwest.
Now there’s a new development in the controversy.
The Obama administration has decided not to defend the Bush administration's decision to cut protections for the owl.
Lawyers for the Department of Interior filed a motion in a lawsuit over the owl this week.
Lawyers said they based the decision on a report of potential political interference in owl protections by a former deputy assistant Interior secretary.
It remains to be seen exactly what policy the Obama administration will support, but move represents a major change in policy.