The state of Florida has permitted university staff to “harass” burrowing owls in an attempt to clear out the land needed for the construction of a new dorm. Harassing is intentionally chasing away an animal from their natural habitat. 

Florida Atlantic University staff plans to welcome students to a new dorm in fall 2026. In September of last year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) gave the university a permit to relocate the owls in the coming weeks. Staff will remove the owl burrows, and place them in a location that is yet to be determined. 

The construction of the dorms is planned to be in a grassy area west of Parliament Hall, where the owls currently reside. 

To remove the owls, FAU’s facilities management team was granted permission “to non-lethally harass owls,” according to the permit.  

This method of relocating the owls includes scaring them from their burrows without physically harming them, monitoring them with a video scop device and filling in burrows to avoid renesting, according to the permit. 

“Owls must be allowed to exit and leave the burrow on their own and reestablish in a new area,” Joshua Glanzer, FAU spokesperson, stated in an email.

To begin building the new dormitory, FAU has to comply with the FFWCC’s permit requirements, monitored by an authorized agent.

Based on the permit, burrowing owls typically nest between Feb. 15 and July 10, so the agent must carefully assess the area to ensure no active nests are being disturbed. 

The permit states that if eggs or baby owls are found in a burrow, any activity must stop immediately until a 33-foot protective nesting area is established and the nest is empty. Without the removal of the owls from their habitat, construction cannot proceed. The FFWCC permit doesn’t specify where the owls will be relocated to, but it states that the university must pay a fee to ensure the safety of the birds. 

“The Permittee will make a $1,900.00 payment to the Imperiled Species Permitting Conservation Fund to support activities which provide a conservation benefit for Florida burrowing owls,” the permit explains.

This time-consuming and costly project is raising concerns among the community. 

Colin Hughes, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at FAU, said he was unaware of this permit to remove owls until the University Press contacted him and found the initiative impractical. 

“The birds choose appropriate places to nest for themselves. You could build them artificial burrows elsewhere, but if it’s not a suitable place they won’t use them,” he said.

Burrowing owls have made the campus their home since at least the 1960s according to an archived University Press article. In 1971, FAU became an official sanctuary for the burrowing owls in an attempt to protect them.

Despite efforts to preserve this species, their population in Florida has drastically declined according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The FFWCC permit states, “The Florida burrowing owl was reclassified from the status of species of special concern to threatened, effective January 11, 2017.” A species that is labeled as threatened is subject to possible endangerment, which can lead to extinction. 

Removing these owls from their familiar decades-old habitats presents risky long-term impacts including the elimination of breeding and homelessness amongst this species, Hughes said. 

“If you destroy the habitat in one place, they’re either killed in the process or they have nowhere to go,” he said. 

This biodiverse crisis is also prevalent around the globe. Lynne Trulio is a professor of environmental studies at San Jose State University with over 30 years of experience studying western burrowing owls.

“I hope people are starting to become worried. We are losing species on this planet faster than any time in history,” she said.

She said this fear for the future of biodiversity is due to human actions including prioritizing constructing buildings at the expense of animals. 

“We’re really doing a lot of damage, but the thing is, we can turn that around,” Trulio said.

To preserve the United States’ biodiversity, Hughes said people should begin to emphasize the protection of threatened species despite societal standards. 

“I do recognize we’re a social species, and we agree on going with what the majority has chosen,” he said.  

He urges the community to refrain from trimming these areas so burrowing owls and other grassland animals can survive. What may appear as an unkempt grassy area ruining the aesthetic of people’s eyes is the thriving home of various animals.

To make positive ecological changes, Trulio encourages students to vocalize their opinions and take the initiative. 

“I think it’s good for students who are interested to get together and make an appointment with the university president and say ‘We are concerned about the wildlife on our campus,’” she said. “If we can protect burrowing owls and keep them healthy, then we might be able to protect lots of other grassland species too.” 

Sephora Charles is a Reporter for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email Charles at sephoracharl2024@fau.edu.