Johan de Jong
During the 1970s the barn owl was threatened with extinction. There were only about a hundred breeding pairs the Netherlands, and eight in the province of Friesland. De Jong started a rescue plan and founded in 1973 the "Tsjerkûlen Fryslân" working group. Nest boxes were placed in hundreds of barns. The number of volunteers increased and also the number of barn owl increased. In 1985 De Jong became for many years national coordinator. Without the efforts of Johan de Jong, the barn owl would almost certainly be extinct in the Netherlands.