To Save One Kind of Owl, Death to 450K Others

FWS plans to cull 450K barred owls so that the spotted owl can compete for habitat
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 4, 2024 2:30 PM CDT
To Save One Kind of Owl, Death to Another
A wildlife technician records data in a lab from a male barred owl he shot earlier in the night on Oct. 24, 2018, in Corvallis, Oregon.   (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, US wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan to deploy trained shooters into dense West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins. The US Fish and Wildlife Service strategy released Wednesday is meant to prop up declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state, and California, reports the AP. A maximum of about 450,000 barred owls would be shot over three decades beginning next spring, after the birds from the eastern US encroached into the West Coast territory of two owls: northern spotted owls and California spotted owls. The smaller spotted owls have been unable to compete for food and habitat with the invaders.

Past efforts to save spotted owls focused on protecting the forests where they live, sparking bitter fights over logging but also helping slow the birds' decline. The proliferation of barred owls in recent years is undermining that earlier work, officials said. "Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or the majority of their range," says Kessina Lee, FWS' state supervisor for Oregon. The notion of killing one bird species to save another has divided wildlife advocates and conservationists. "The Fish and Wildlife Service is turning from protector of wildlife to persecutor of wildlife," says Wayne Pacelle of advocacy group Animal Wellness Action. He predicted the program would fail because the agency won't be able to keep more barred owls from migrating into areas where some are killed off.

Barred owls would be lured by shooters using megaphones to broadcast owl calls, then shot with shotguns. Public hunting wouldn't be allowed. The wildlife service would designate government agencies, landowners, American Indian tribes, or companies to carry out the killings. Shooters would have to provide documentation of training or experience in owl identification and firearm skills. The coming publication of a final study on the proposal will open a 30-day comment period before a final decision. Opponents say the mass killing would cause severe disruption to forest ecosystems and could lead to other species—including spotted owls—being mistakenly shot. Supporters of killing barred owls include the American Bird Conservancy and other conservation groups. "Our organizations stand in full support of barred owl removal as a necessary measure," the groups said.

(More spotted owl stories.)

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