“Controversial Plan to Save Spotted Owls: Trained Shooters to Target Barred Owls in West Coast Forests”

In a controversial move to save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials have announced a plan to deploy trained shooters to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins. The plan, released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, aims to prop up declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state, and California.

According to documents released by the agency, up to about 450,000 barred owls would be shot over three decades after encroaching into the West Coast territory of the northern spotted owls and California spotted owls. The smaller spotted owls have been unable to compete with the larger barred owls, which have larger broods and require less space to survive.

Past efforts to save spotted owls focused on protecting their forest habitats, but the proliferation of barred owls in recent years has undermined those efforts. Without actively managing barred owls, officials warn that northern spotted owls could go extinct in their range.

The plan to kill barred owls has divided wildlife advocates and conservationists, with some supporting the strategy as a necessary step to save the spotted owl and others criticizing it as a reckless diversion from needed forest preservation. The shootings are expected to begin next spring, with barred owls being lured using recorded owl calls and then shot with shotguns.

Supporters of the plan argue that removing barred owls could allow spotted owls to coexist with them over the long term, while opponents raise concerns about the disruption to forest ecosystems and the potential for other species to be mistakenly shot. Barred owls are not native to the West Coast, and their aggressive hunting behavior has led to declines in other species they prey on.

The plan follows decades of conflict between conservationists and timber companies, with logging bans in the 1990s aimed at protecting spotted owl habitats. Despite these efforts, spotted owl populations have continued to decline, with at least half of the population lost across the region.

The final decision on the plan will follow a 30-day comment period after the publication of a final environmental study. The plan has reignited debates over the conservation of endangered species and the management of wildlife populations in the face of habitat loss and climate change.