To save the population of spotted owls, wildlife officials in America have devised a new plan. The plan involves shooting approximately 500,000 barred owls to protect the spotted owls. Officials concerned about the dwindling population of small-sized spotted owls in American forests have developed new plans to conserve this species. However, the planning has become mired in controversy as consensus is elusive among stakeholders.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a strategy on Wednesday aimed at bolstering declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state, and California. The Associated Press obtained details in advance.
Conservation Strategy And Implementation
According to documents released by the agency, they plan to shoot up to about 450,000 barred owls over three decades. This action follows the encroachment of barred owls from the eastern U.S. into the West Coast territory of two owl species: northern spotted owls and California spotted owls. The smaller spotted owls have been unable to compete with the invaders, as barred owls have larger broods and require less space to survive.
This planning is scheduled for March or April next year, during which owl voices will be played through megaphones in forests to call other owls and then shoot them, burying their bodies at the same location.
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Conservation Efforts For Spotted Owls
Kasina Lee, the State Supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, stated that they have restricted logging in the forests’ habitats to protect the small species of spotted owls. Lee emphasized that without effective management of barred owls, despite ongoing efforts, the spotted owl species could face extinction. Many people have reluctantly accepted this strategy. Cedar Robin Bovan of the Fish and Wildlife Service mentioned that researchers had already been studying spotted owls, leading to the removal of approximately 4,500 owls in 2009.
During former President Donald Trump’s administration, government officials removed habitat protections for spotted owls at the request of the timber industry. President Joe Biden reinstated these protections after the Interior Department determined that political appointees under Trump had used flawed science to justify weakening them.
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