[5] The northern spotted owl has a nearly contiguous range from southwestern British Columbia south through western Washington and Oregon to Marin County, California.

The Mexican spotted owl occurs in disjunct populations in mountain ranges and canyons of the Southwestern US (including Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and extreme western Texas), as well as in western Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, and eastern Coahuila) through the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental.

The Mexican subspecies may also make use of chaparral and pinyon woodlands, including areas in deep, steep-walled canyons with little canopy cover.

[4][7][9] The California subspecies uses unlogged, complex early seral forests created by wildfire for foraging,[10][11] and more high-severity fire in a territory increases reproduction.

[3][14] Substantial tall shrub cover is a common characteristic of spotted owl habitat.

[4] Spotted owl home ranges are generally large but of variable size, with extents of 661–14,169 acres (2.67–57.34 km2), depending on subspecies, habitat, and prey availability.

[17] Spotted owls most often choose the same type of cover selected for nesting sites for daytime roosting.

[18] The spotted owl's breeding season occurs from early spring to late summer or fall, with prelaying behaviors such as preening and roosting together starting in February or March.

In some portions of its range, much of the spotted owl's diet is composed of several other mammals such as deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.

[4] The IUCN Red List status for the spotted owl is near threatened with a decreasing population trend.

[24] The northern spotted owl was one of a few cases where the "God committee", a provision of the Endangered Species Act, has been invoked to decide whether or not to open up more federal forest for commercial logging.

[25] In a battle between two federal agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Fish and Wildlife Service, the committee ruled for the exemption of 1,700 acres from the ESA.

The legal battle went on at different levels[clarification needed], creating a complex case study in environmental law.

[26] Each subspecies of the spotted owl is a frequent subject of disagreement between conservationists and loggers, cattle grazers, developers, and other organizations whose activities can affect forest conservation.

In February 2008, a federal judge reinforced a USFWS decision to designate 8,600,000 acres (35,000 km2) in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico as critical habitat for the Mexican spotted owl.