U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Plans To Reduce The Population Of Barred Owl

Over The Next 30 Years, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Plans to Reduce The Barred Owl By 450,000

Monday, July 8, 2024, 7:30 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Ryan Metz: Englebrook Independent News,

BAILEY'S CROSSROADS, VA.- Last Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in a press release a plan to kill 450,000 Barred Owls along the west coast of the United States over the next 30 years.

     The purpose of this cull is to remove the non-native Barred Owl from the territory of the native and now-endangered Spotted Owl. "We're at a crossroads, and we've now developed the science and analyzed everything," said Bridget Moran, a deputy state supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Oregon. "We have to manage the barred owl. There is time to protect spotted owls, but that window is closing."

     Since the 1970s, Barred Owls have been spotted along the west coast with their population growing rapidly, displacing the native Spotted Owl. Estimates indicate that the Spotted Owl population has decreased by some 75%. Though it's not clear exactly why the Barred Owls have increased their range into the West, it is expected that humans may have played a part, possibly in releasing birds that were kept as pets. 

     The actual plan as proposed would not call for, or allow public hunting of the birds. Instead, crews of professionals would broadcast territorial calls on loudspeakers to lure the birds into range. Once in range, the professionals would dispatch the birds with shotguns.

     The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes that this would give the Spotted Owl an increased chance of survival by 10%. Opposition to the plan has focused on the low increase in survival chances as well as the fact that this plan would not fully eradicate the Barred Owl, but would only decrease its numbers. The agency has yet to specify what steps could be taken to prevent the Barred Owl from returning to this territory in the future.

FILED UNDER: JULY 8, 2024: NATIONAL, SCIENCE & NATURE, EDUCATION: