Killings of invasive owls to ramp up on US West Coast in a bid to save native birds

Matthew Brown, Associated Press

CAMP SHERMAN, Oregon (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials opening adjacent twelvemonth will drastically standard up efforts to termination invasive barred owls that are crowding retired imperiled autochthonal owls from West Coast forests, nether a scheme finalized Wednesday that faces challenges from barred owls returning aft they’ve already been removed.

Trained shooters will target barred owls complete 30 years crossed a maximum of astir 23,000 quadrate miles (60,000 quadrate kilometers) successful California, Oregon and Washington. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service extremity is to termination up to 452,000 barred owls and halt nan diminution of competing bluish spotted owls and California spotted owl s.

Killing 1 vertebrate type to prevention others has divided wildlife advocates and is reminiscent of past authorities efforts to prevention West Coast salmon by sidesplitting oversea lions and cormorants, and to sphere warblers by sidesplitting cowbirds that laic eggs successful warbler nests. The barred owl removals would beryllium among nan largest specified effort to day involving birds of prey, researchers and wildlife advocates said.

Native to eastbound North America, barred owls started appearing successful nan Pacific Northwest successful nan 1970s. They’ve quickly displaced galore spotted owls, which are smaller birds that request larger territories. An estimated 100,000 barred owls now unrecorded wrong a scope that contains only astir 7,100 spotted owls, according to national officials.

The newcomers’ presence besides threatens to decimate frog and salamander type that barred owls prey on.

“It’s not conscionable 1 owl versus 1 owl,” said David Wiens, a U.S. Geological Survey intelligence who led a barred owl removal study that ended successful 2020. “Because of their predatory behavior, they are fundamentally eating thing successful nan wood and this includes amphibians, mini mammals, different vertebrate species.”

Government officials opportunity 15 years of sidesplitting barred owls experimentally, including connected Northern California’s Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, shows nan arguable strategy could halt nan diminution of spotted owls. Yet researchers pass that fewer spotted owls stay successful immoderate areas, and it could return years to move nan tide connected nan barred owls’ fierce description .

Former Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Kent Livezey said nan wide sidesplitting of barred owls was ill-advised and could costs hundreds of dollars per bird. Livezey has documented much than 100 vertebrate type that expanded their scope successful caller years.

“We should fto quality return its course,” he wrote successful an email. “Birds (and each animals) move. Competitions arise. Should we beryllium stepping successful and sidesplitting wide numbers of them for illustration this?”

The wildlife work would designate authorities agencies, landowners, tribes aliases companies to transportation retired nan killings. Shooters would person to supply archiving of training aliases acquisition successful owl recognition and firearm skills.

“We’re still going to person barred owls successful nan West. This is really conscionable astir trying to forestall nan extinction of spotted owls,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon authorities supervisor Kessina Lee. She declined to springiness a costs estimate and said that would dangle successful portion connected nan willingness of different authorities agencies and onshore managers to participate.

Northern spotted owls are federally protected arsenic a threatened species. California spotted owls were projected for national protections past year. A determination is pending.

Barred owls arrived successful nan Pacific Northwest via nan Great Plains, wherever trees planted by settlers gave them a foothold, aliases via Canada’s boreal forests, which became warmer and much hospitable arsenic nan ambiance has changed, researchers say.

Their dispersed has undermined decades of spotted owl restoration efforts that antecedently focused connected protecting forests wherever they live. That included logging restrictions nether erstwhile President Bill Clinton that ignited bitter governmental fights and temporarily helped slow nan spotted owl’s decline.

Wayne Pacelle pinch nan Washington D.C.-based defense group Animal Wellness Action said nan government’s scheme was a distraction from nan threats of logging. He said national officials were misusing nan word “invasive species” astatine a clip erstwhile animals are migrating to caller areas because of world warming and different human-caused changes.

“It’s ludicrous to deliberation animals are going to enactment successful immoderate humanities range,” Pacelle said.

Barred owls are highly territorial, which makes sidesplitting them comparatively straightforward, according to researchers. Shooters usage megaphones to broadcast recorded owl calls astatine nighttime and lure nan birds adjacent to roads wherever they are killed pinch shotguns.

“The birds will travel correct in. They’re very focused connected this recording,” Wiens said. “If we spell into a tract and observe a barred owl there, we person complete a 95 % chance of removing that barred owl.”

Other imaginable approaches — including capturing and euthanizing barred owls, collecting their eggs to forestall reproduction, aliases hazing them retired of areas pinch spotted owls — were considered by nan wildlife work but rejected arsenic excessively costly aliases impractical.

About 4,500 barred owls birds person been killed connected nan West Coast since 2009 by researchers, according to officials.

That includes much than 800 birds from nan Hoopa reservation, said tribal wildlife biologist Mark Higley.

Higley conducts nan barred owl removals crossed 140 quadrate miles (364 quadrate kilometers) chiefly by himself, moving 2 aliases 3 nights a week from early outpouring until precocious fall.

“The problem has been we get for illustration 60 to 100 caller barred owls each year,” he said. “Don’t get maine wrong; barred owls are magnificent species. I conscionable would really for illustration to spell spot them wherever they’re autochthonal and not invasive.”