Rare Bay Area owls earn temporary legal protection

A petite Western burrowing owl is no match for a big bulldozer.

In a major step toward protecting the unique ground-dweller from loss of habitat around the San Francisco Bay and four other regions, the California Fish and Game Commission recently voted to make the owl a candidate for protection under the state Endangered Species Act.

That temporarily affords  the owl the same protections as a state-listed endangered or threatened species and requires state and local agencies to manage threats...