In a bid to save the endangered spotted owl from extinction, U.S. wildlife officials announced a controversial plan to deploy trained shooters in West Coast forests to eliminate nearly half a million barred owls, a competing species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released details of this strategy on Wednesday.
Strategy aimed at protecting spotted owls
The new plan aims to bolster the declining populations of spotted owls in Oregon, Washington, and California. According to agency documents, up to 450,000 barred owls could be culled over three decades. These barred owls, originally from the eastern U.S., have encroached upon the territory of the northern and California spotted owls, outcompeting them due to their larger broods and lesser space requirements.
Historical context and previous efforts
Past conservation efforts focused on protecting the spotted owls’ forest habitats, leading to disputes over logging but successfully slowing their decline. However, the recent surge in barred owl populations has jeopardized these gains.
“Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or the majority of their range, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts,” said Kessina Lee, Oregon state supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The plan has sparked division among wildlife advocates. Some reluctantly support the cull, while others, like Wayne Pacelle of Animal Wellness Action, criticize it as a reckless diversion from necessary forest preservation. Pacelle argues, “The Fish and Wildlife Service is turning from protector of wildlife to persecutor of wildlife,” predicting the program’s failure due to inevitable barred owl migrations.
The cull is slated to begin next spring. Barred owls will be lured using recorded owl calls and then shot with shotguns, with carcasses buried on-site. Researchers have already culled around 4,500 barred owls in some habitats since 2009, focusing on areas like California’s Sierra Nevada region to prevent population establishment.
Support and long-term goals
Supporters, including the American Bird Conservancy, argue that barred owls do not belong in the West and that reducing their numbers is crucial for the spotted owl’s survival. “As the old forests are allowed to regrow, hopefully coexistence is possible and maybe we don’t need to do as much” shooting, said Steve Holmer of the bird conservancy.
The killings are expected to reduce nationwide barred owl numbers by less than 1%, compared to the potential extinction of spotted owls if the issue remains unaddressed. Public hunting is not permitted; designated agencies, landowners, tribes, or companies will carry out the culls, with shooters required to demonstrate proficiency in owl identification and firearm use.
The release of a final environmental study will soon open a 30-day comment period before a final decision is made. This plan follows decades of conflict between conservationists and the timber industry, which resulted in logging bans in the 1990s.
Despite these bans, spotted owl populations have continued to decline with the rise of barred owls. Katherine Fitzgerald, leader of the wildlife service’s Northern Spotted Owl Recovery program, noted that at least half of the spotted owl populations across study sites have been lost, with some areas seeing losses of over 75%.
Challenges and criticisms
Opponents argue that the cull could severely disrupt forest ecosystems and result in the accidental shooting of spotted owls. They also contest the idea that barred owls are unnatural to the West Coast, viewing their spread as a natural ecological shift. Researchers attribute the westward movement of barred owls to human-induced changes, such as tree planting and climate change.
Northern spotted owls are federally protected as a threatened species, and despite a 2020 determination to upgrade their status to “endangered,” the Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to do so. California spotted owls are also under consideration for federal protection.
Habitat protections for spotted owls, weakened during the Trump administration, were reinstated under President Biden, following an Interior Department review that found the previous administration’s actions were based on flawed science.
