Feds draw up final plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls in PNW

It is time, federal wildlife managers have decided, to kill invasive barred owls in the Pacific Northwest that threaten native spotted owls with extinction.

The barred owl, ransacking forests and pushing deeper into fragile habitats, is outcompeting the spotted owl. It’s bigger, more aggressive, and eats anything in the spotted owl’s territory. Wildlife managers see no choice but to reduce the number of barred owls in some areas, to create refugia where spotted owls may persist.

The control program, outlined in a final Environmental Impact Statement announced Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is intended to result in the annual removal of less than one-half of 1% of the current North American barred owl population — but it’s still a lot of birds: as many as 500,000 barred owls, over the next 30 years, depending on how fully the program is implemented.

The policy is the result of more than 15 years of review and study and collaboration, said Bridget Moran, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office deputy state supervisor.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/feds-draw-up-final-plan-to-kill-hundreds-of-thousands-of-barred-owls-in-pnw/