U.S. officials enlist trained shooters to kill 450,000 barred owls—all in the name of saving their cousins from extinction (2024)

To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan to deploy trained shooters into dense West Coast foreststo kill almost a half-millionbarred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service strategy released Wednesday is meant to prop up declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state, and California. The Associated Press obtained details in advance.

Documents released by the agency show a maximum of about 450,000 barred owls would be shot over three decades after the birds from the eastern U.S. encroached into the West Coast territory of two owls: northern spotted owls andCalifornia spotted owls. The smaller spotted owls have been unable to compete with the invaders, which have larger broods and need less room to survive than spotted owls.

Species ‘will likely go extinct’

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, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor Kessina Lee.

The notion of killing one bird species to save another has divided wildlife advocates and conservationists. Some grudgingly accepted the barred owl plan, while others say it’s a reckless diversion from needed forest preservation.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service is turning from protector of wildlife to persecutor of wildlife,” said Wayne Pacelle with the 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.

The shootings would likely begin next spring, officials said.

Barred owls would be lured using megaphones to broadcast recorded owl calls, then shot with shotguns. Carcasses would be buried on site.

The birds already are being killed by researchers in some spotted owl habitats, with about 4,500 removed since 2009, said Robin Bown, barred owl strategy leader for the Fish and Wildlife Service. Those targeted included barred owls in California’s Sierra Nevada region, where the animals have only recently arrived and officials want to stop populations from taking hold.

In other areas where barred owls are more established, officials aim to reduce their numbers but acknowledge shooting owls is unlikely to eliminate them entirely.

‘Coexistence is possible’

Supporters of the plan include the American Bird Conservancy and other conservation groups.

Barred owls don’t belong in the West, said Steve Holmer with the bird conservancy. Killing them is unfortunate, he added, but reducing their numbers could allow them to live alongside spotted owls over the long term.

“As the old forests are allowed to regrow, hopefully coexistence is possible and maybe we don’t need to do as much” shooting, Holmer said.

The killings would reduce nationwide barred owl numbers by less than 1%, officials said. That compares with potential extinction for spotted owls should the problem go unaddressed.

Public hunting of barred owls 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 publishing in the coming days of a final environmental study on the proposal will open a 30-day comment period before a final decision.

The barred owl plan follows decades of conflict between conservationists and timber companies that cut down vast areas of older forests where spotted owls reside.

Early efforts to save the birds culminated in logging bans in the 1990s that roiled the timber industry and its political supporters in Congress.

Yet spotted owl populations continued declining after barred owls started showing up on the West Coast several decades ago. Across study sites in the region, at least half of spotted owls have been lost, with losses topping 75 percent in some areas, said Katherine Fitzgerald, who leads the wildlife service’s northern spotted owl recovery program.

Opponents say the mass killing of barred owls would cause severe disruption to forest ecosystems and could lead to other species — including spotted owls — being mistakenly shot. They’ve also challenged the notion that barred owls don’t belong on the West Coast, characterizing their expanding range as a natural ecological phenomenon.

Researchers say barred owls moved westward by one of two routes: across the Great Plains, where trees planted by settlers gave them a foothold in new areas; or via Canada’s boreal forests, which have become more hospitable as temperatures rise because of climate change.

Northern spotted owls are federally protected as a threatened species. Federal officials determined in 2020 that their continued decline merited an upgrade to the more critical designation of “endangered.” But the Fish and Wildlife Service refused to do so at the time, saying other species took priority.

California spotted owls were proposed for federal protections last year. A decision is pending.

Under former President Donald Trump, government officialsstripped habitat protectionsfor spotted owls at the behest of the timber industry. Those were reinstated under President Joe Biden after the Interior Department said political appointees under Trump relied on faulty science to justify their weakening of protections.

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U.S. officials enlist trained shooters to kill 450,000 barred owls—all in the name of saving their cousins from extinction (2024)

FAQs

U.S. officials enlist trained shooters to kill 450,000 barred owls—all in the name of saving their cousins from extinction? ›

In an effort to rescue the threatened spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are proposing a new plan to enlist trained shooters into the dense forests of the West Coast to kill around 450,000 barred owls that are crowding spotted owls out of their habitats.

Are officials plan to kill 450k invasive owls that are endangering native owls? ›

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to kill about 450,000 invasive barred owls to save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest.

Do US officials plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls to save another species from extinction? ›

To prevent the extinction of the threatened spotted owl species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to kill thousands of invasive barred owls across forests in the western U.S. The plan, released Wednesday, is seen as a necessary evil by some conservationists, but a potentially destructive gamble by others.

What is the government plan to kill barred owls? ›

The plan calls for killing up to 470,000 barred owls over three decades after the birds from the eastern U.S. encroached into the territory of two West Coast owls: northern spotted owls and California spotted owls. The smaller spotted owls have been unable to compete for food and habitat with the invaders.

Why are they going to kill owls? ›

To save spotted owls, officials plan to kill a half-million of another owl species The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service strategy is meant to prop up declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington and California by killing barred owls that have encroached into their territory.

Can I shoot an owl if it's killing my chickens? ›

Can You Kill An Owl If Its Killing Your Chickens? Owls have protection laws. We need to know that it is important not to hurt owls. Laws are there to keep owls safe.

Why does the government want owls killed? ›

Wildlife officials plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls to save spotted owls. The federal government issued a plan Wednesday that could eliminate 400,000 barred owls, an invasive species, to protect threatened spotted owls in the western U.S.

How illegal is it to kill an owl? ›

Federal and state laws protect all hawks and owls. Shooting can be authorized under depredation permits in specific situations involving public health and safety hazards or seriously affecting a person's livelihood.

Are owls close to extinction? ›

Northern spotted owls are threatened. Burrowing owls and ferruginous pygmy owls are listed as least concern, spotted owls are near threatened and snowy owls are vulnerable. Many owls are listed under Appendix I or Appendix II. Protect habitat, oppose the border wall and help fight climate change.

What is causing the extinction of the owl? ›

Species endangerment and extinction have three major anthropogenic causes—overhunting or overharvesting; introduction of nonnative species, including the spread of disease; and habitat degradation or loss. All three causes probably were factors in prehistoric as well as modern times.

What kills most owls? ›

Natural causes of death include starvation and hunting injuries. The oldest known wild Great Horned Owls were 28 years old, but in captivity they can live even longer. A captive female at the San Francisco Zoo turned 50 in 2012, but normally they only live into their 20s or early 30s if they do well in captivity.

Will barred owls kill chickens? ›

But, domestic chickens rarely feature in an owl's diet. It's unusual for an owl to see chickens as an attractive meal. Furthermore, it's rare for them to attack and finish an entire flock of chickens in a go.

What is the enemy of barred owl? ›

Barred owls are preyed on by raccoons and weasels as eggs and nestlings. Adults are sometimes killed by great horned owls, northern goshawks, hit by cars, and captured in traps set for mammals.

Is it bad to shoot an owl? ›

A mass killing of barred owls “will cause severe disruptions to wildlife from the forest floor to its canopies, producing an untold number of mistaken-identity kills of other native owl species (including spotted owls),” the letter to Haaland suggests.

Is it bad luck to kill an owl? ›

Debunking Owl Myths

Reality: Owls are no more bad luck than black cats, broken mirrors, or spilled salt. In many cultures, owls are seen as bad luck or omens of death and are feared, avoided or killed because of it. Myth: Owls are messengers of witches. Reality: Owls usually want nothing to do with humans.

Are barred owls aggressive to humans? ›

Barred owls are known to be aggressive and territorial.

Is the government going to kill barred owls? ›

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes a proposal to cull barred owls along the West Coast will prevent the spotted owl's extinction in California and Pacific Northwest forests.

Is it a federal crime to kill an owl? ›

Federal and state laws protect all hawks and owls.

What is the number one killer of owls? ›

They have no natural predators as adults, so most owls admitted to rehabilitation centers are the result of human-caused problems: hit by car, shot, electrocuted, caught in barbed wire, caught in leghold traps, west nile virus, poison, etc. Natural causes of death include starvation and hunting injuries.

What is being done to save burrowing owls? ›

Restoring prairie dog colonies and habitat for other burrowing mammals is one way wildlife agencies are working to conserve these birds. This species has benefited from protective legislation, reintroduction and habitat protection programs and artificial nest burrows.

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