The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to tackle the dwindling spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington, and California by killing up to 470,000 barred owls across the next 30 years.
As reported by PBS News, the federal agency announced on Wednesday, July 3 that it would hire trained shooters to kill as many as 470,000 barred owls, an invasive species responsible for the declining populations of the endangered northern spotted owls and California spotted owls. Ever since barred owls began to encroach the West Coast states, spotted owls have struggled to compete for prey thanks to the presence of the larger species.
"We’re at a crossroads. We have the science that indicates what we need to do to conserve the spotted owls, and that requires that we take action on the barred owls," said Oregon Fish and Wildlife Service deputy state supervisor, Bridget Moran. Conservationists and wildlife advocates previously tried increasing the population of spotted owls by protecting forests, but their work has only helped barred owls thrive in the area.
Critics of the plan have suggested that it could lead to other owl species, including the endangered spotted owls, being shot by mistake. "The practical elements of the plan are unworkable, and its adverse collateral effects would ripple throughout these forest habitats," reads a letter from earlier this year that was endorsed by several animal welfare groups. However, groups such as the American Bird Conservancy support the "necessary measure."
Donald Trump's administration was responsible for the removal of several habitat protections for spotted owls, however, they were later reinstated during President Joe Biden's administration.
Northern spotted owls are federally protected as a threatened species, but officials suggested that their rapidly declining populations warranted an "endangered" status. The Fish and Wildlife Service responded by saying that other species were under bigger threat at the time. California spotted owls have not yet been given federal protections.
