Heated Homes or Owls?

Imagine going to bed wearing a winter jacket. You can't afford propane to fuel a fire and you don't have access to a natural gas line. Your only source for heat is wood from dead trees and now you don't even have that to rely on. The U.S. Forest Service has put a ban on timber sales, thinning projects and prescribed burning in forests across the southwest.. The notion is in order to protect and get a better sense of the population of Mexican spotted owls. This may sound nice but the effects are drastic for people living in Arizona and New Mexico.

The Mexican spotted owl is a threatened species and scientists have had a difficult time monitoring the population. To combat the issue, the U.S. Forest Service put in its suspension on many projects that affect the amount of wood being taken from the forests, including the wood used by civilians to heat their houses. This will take its toll on many citizens in the area because a lot of them rely on wood to fuel their fires in their home. With temperatures that are already reaching below freezing during the night, people could be in serious danger if they don't find an alternate solution. Moises Morales, a rancher and farmer from Canjilon, New Mexcio explains, "If we get a bad winter, God knows what could happen." The people in the southwest are very terrified that they won't have any heat in their house during the winter months. One option that has been brought to light is giving the people a certain cut out area of the forest for personal usage of the wood. Additionally, on September 26th, the WildEarth Guardians (WildEarth Gurdians Website) placed an idea for a motion that would exclude personal firewood cutting and gathering from the ban. This plan however has no timetable to be put in place and may not be able to help out citizens during this coming winter.

Although big companies are also being effected by the suspension of forest cutting, citizens are a major concern right now. A percentage of people can't even afford to pay for a different source of heat and this is cause for worry among the population. If lots of humans are taking the hit for this new motion;

Is it worth the struggle for people to save the owls?
What can the states do to help the people who need heat in their homes?

 Map of forests with restrictions in New Mexico