A burrowing owl perches on a sign at Florida Atlantic University. Students say the school’s expansion is taking habitat away from the threatened birds, which happen to be its official mascot. Photo provided by Jose Camacho
By Janis Fontaine
Resilience. Persistence. Tenacity. Intelligence.
These attributes of the Florida burrowing owl make it an excellent school mascot for Florida Atlantic University.
So why are some of these threatened owls being evicted from their underground homes on campus?
The tiny raptor, the only owl that lives and breeds underground, comes under fire every time FAU expands on its Boca Raton campus. The construction of the ironically named Talon Hall, a new seven-story, 244-unit dormitory, has already displaced at least two owls living in one burrow. They moved, but no one knows where.
The school paid $1,900 for a Florida Burrowing Owl Incidental Take Permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that allowed it to harass the owls legally, targeting three inactive nest burrows on one lot. The permit secured last September says that burrow cluster “may be destroyed in association with construction of student housing. …”
The permit allows the permittee to “frighten without touching” — using loud noises — and it is allowed to fill in any burrow that doesn’t have eggs or young birds in it. The permit holder isn’t required to provide a new home for the displaced birds.
Jose Camacho, an environmental engineering student who founded FAU’s Sustainability Club last year, has been a voice for the raptor on campus. The club has about 200 active members who address issues like responsible building and the health and welfare of protected species like owls and gopher tortoises.
“Since we started, the movement has been to raise awareness, to work collaboratively with the school to incorporate sustainability into the master plan, to have respect for the natural environment. We understand growth; the issue is when conservation is neglected,” he said.
Camacho started a petition on change.org in February opposing the harassment of owls near Talon Hall, which had 4,191 signatures as of Aug. 23.
“We understand the reality of development. We’re just asking that they find better ways. There are a lot of organizations that do growth sustainably. It’s a shame to see it being neglected here,” Camacho said.
FAU: Population is growing, healthy
Joshua Glanzer, FAU’s associate vice president for media relations and public affairs, said the burrowing owl population “has shown consistent growth, resulting in a healthy and sustainable presence across the campus today.”
“FAU takes a proactive approach through its conservation committee to manage natural habitats and species on the Boca Raton campus,” Glanzer said. “Efforts have included creating new open-grass owl habitats and working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to install artificial burrows, many of which are now occupied, as confirmed in recent species assessments.”
The owl has been FAU’s mascot since the mid-’80s, but it’s been a protected species on campus since 1971. Walk along Indian River Street on the campus and you might just see one checking you out. But. advocates wonder, for how long?
FAU calls itself an owl sanctuary, but in reality the owls are not a priority, Camacho said. He and other club members attended a meeting with FAU’s Facilities Management, which oversees all the construction on campus, and Miller Legg, a Sunrise-based environmental consulting company that has been working with the university to track owls since 2011.
“They made it really clear what their position was: The owls can stay until we need the land. They showed us all these maps with green conservation areas but it’s a screen to cover what’s really happening” and they have no intention of protecting the native wildlife, Camacho said.
It’s not the first time the owl has been at the center of a controversy between progress and environmental protection at FAU. In 2005, it was the construction of the medical school. Ten years after that, the new stadium needed more parking and tailgating space for students on game days. The university has received at least six Migratory Bird Nest Removal permits since 2009.
Joshua Scholl, a biology professor, thinks burrowing owls relocated to the sandy scruff left behind when the land was cleared for the Boca Raton Army Airfield in 1942 and have been living there for about 80 years, displaced by development in Central Florida.
FAU officially opened on that old airfield in 1964. In 1971, the National Audubon Society took notice of the owls and designated four conservation areas to preserve them, including the strip of land alongside Glades Road. The campus originally had 120 acres of preserves available for native wildlife. Now it has 95.
Avian biologist Kelly Heffernan, founding director of the nonprofit Project Perch, said burrowing owls are incredibly resilient and will find and make homes in new suitable places if they’re available, but to displace them with nowhere to go isn’t right.
Project Perch has successfully relocated owls before using artificial burrows, and its program at Broward College has owl numbers soaring.
FAU’s Glanzer said the university’s owl numbers are healthy too.
“A protected species assessment conducted in January 2025 documented 64 potentially occupied burrows. Our environmental consultants estimated the current population at 30 to 40 individuals — approximately double the estimate from 10 years ago — and 31 owls were visually observed during the recent campus-wide protected species survey,” he said.
The university points to the Tortuga Preserve, an area located near the stadium, as a potential home for the displaced owls, but it’s too overgrown with invasive plants like Brazilian pepper to support owls or gopher tortoises, Heffernan said. Without clearing the land mechanically or with a prescribed burn, the preserve will not support either species.
Heffernan said the owl is less affected by development than the gopher tortoise, which can’t fly to scout out new digs.
Some call for better planning
For many local residents, alumni and students, the owl is a symbol of Florida’s soul.
Paul Kragh, a volunteer with Project Perch, says burrowing owls symbolize the tenacity and intelligence of the settlers who developed South Florida. They’re clever birds, he says. The burrowing owl can imitate the sound of a rattlesnake’s rattle to scare off predators. It also practices a kind of farming, depositing bits of dog waste near its burrow knowing the odor will lure insects in for an easy snack.
“How can you not love the little guy?” asked Kragh, a retiree. He knows the owl can be saved and he’s ready to lend a hand. “We’ve placed more than 500 artificial burrows around South Florida with great success. Our only goal is to protect the owl.”
Working with Heffernan and Project Perch, Kragh has proved that artificial burrows correctly placed, along with appropriate maintenance of the landscape, is a successful way of supporting the burrowing owl community. The burrows are fairly cheap — about $250.
Heffernan says that with proper planning, the owls can thrive.
Building up instead of out, with parking garages instead of lots, would conserve space for owls and gopher tortoises, Heffernan said.
Dr. Colin Hughes, who has been at FAU since the ’70s, has watched this story play out time and again. A long-term plan is needed, he said. Keeping campus vegetation short but not manicured and avoiding irrigation near owl nesting grounds would help.
Bill Comiskey, a Boca Raton businessman, has lived within a mile of FAU since 1970, and he’s been watching this story unfold, too. He has offered to pay for artificial burrows for the displaced owls.
“There needs to be a permanent plan in place,” Comiskey said. He tried speaking to the university without success. He and other local residents are “frustrated” by FAU’s inability to resolve the owl issue. “I see a lot of interest but no action. There are a lot of residents who care about the owls. I’m happy to join and do what needs to be done.”
Critics say the university finds the community and Camacho’s club easy to ignore. “They see a cycle of students who will go away if they wait us out. But we are proving we’re a generation of students who can keep the movement going,” he said. Camacho graduates in December and has passed the baton to new leaders who promise to keep the pressure on.
There’s a lot of momentum around the owls, with Camacho saying he’s heard from news organizations, environmental groups like Project Perch, community members and students who want to help.
“The only organization that’s not reaching out to us is our own school. Everyone seems to care about this, but they’re looking the other way.”
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