Barred owls could get the boot (or a bullet) to save spotted owls

Article Date: 2009-12-09   Source: http://www.oregonlive.com   Comments: 0

By Matthew Preusch

Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. - The U.S. government, facing ongoing decline in protected spotted owl numbers, wants to try ridding the woods of some of its bigger and more aggressive cousins, the barred owl.

That might mean shooting them, trapping them and moving them out, or some other technique. And if the experiment works, it could be expanded across the Pacific Northwest for years to come.

"The decision to kill large number of barred owls for an extended period is fraught with ethical issues, and the decision to let the spotted owl go extinct is fraught with ethical issues," said Bob Sallinger, conservation director of the Portland Audubon Society.

"We're stuck between two evils."

Though Audubon, Sallinger said, would err on the side of avoiding extinction.

The spotted owl is dependent on the region's oldest forests, which are a fraction of their historic extent. The bird's addition to the list of endangered species nearly two decades ago contributed to a collapse in public lands logging.

But the owl's numbers continue to fall.

More recently, blame for that has been laid on the barred owl, a larger bird more common in the East that has been moving into Northwest forests.

"We hope this will show us whether barred owls are really driving spotted owls out of the woods, which is what we think they are doing them," said Phil Carroll, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which today released its proposal for comment.

Government policies to trap or kill one species in order to save another aren't new. Sea lions that feed on protected salmon at Bonneville Dam are routinely hazed and, sometimes put down. On the coast, hunters battle ravens and raccoons that attack the nests of snowy plovers.

"But we will not proceed with this experimental removal until we better understand - and document - the environmental effects of doing it," said Paul Henson, the wildlife service's Oregon supervisor.

The agency is proposing to remove barred owls from three areas: near Cle Elum, Wash.; Oregon's Coast Range, and the Klamath Mountains.

Government scientists will measure whether spotted owls in these test zones do better than those in areas where barred owls remain. They'll also be able to learn how quickly barred owls repopulate an area they've been removed from.

The results of the experiment, if it goes forward, could inform a long-term plan to reduce barred owl numbers for years to come.

"If the experiment shows that there is a negative effect from barred owls and you can knock it back by removing them, you're locking yourself into removal on a large scale," said Dominick DellaSala, lead scientist for National Center for Conservation Science and Policy in Ashland.

That could be complex, expensive and open-ended, said Audubon's Sallinger.

And it shouldn't be done in the absence of protecting the bird's remaining forest habitat.

"I think to kill barred owls without having a real plan in place to recover our forests is obscene," Sallinger said.

Related Articles:
2009-06-10 - Study: Shrinking gene pool among spotted owls contributing to their decline by Matthew Preusch - Oregon, U.S.A.
2008-06-03 - New Threats to the Spotted Owl Prompt Legal Notice on the Elliott State Forest by Noah Greenwald - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
2007-06-12 - Spotted Owl Old Growth Habitat Protections Reduced - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
2007-04-28 - U.S. proposes killing owls to save another - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
2007-03-16 - Spotted owl ruling halts local logging by Paul Fattig - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
2007-02-16 - Appeals court says spotted owl protection violated by William McCall - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
2005-04-20 - Old Growth Up, Spotted Owl Numbers Down by Jeff Barnard - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
2005-02-13 - Rare owl has birders flocking to Bend by Matthew Preusch - Bend, Oregon, U.S.A.
2004-06-22 - New threats imperil spotted owl - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
2004-06-01 - Experts ponder latest menace to the spotted owl - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.

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