Let us hope that we don't have to face up to this sort of dilemma in Oz.
Note also that 11,700 comments were received on the Draft Recovery Plan.
Tony
Should barred owls be shot to save endangered spotted owls?
By John Platt | Feb 16, 2011 01:00 PM | 8
The ever-controversial northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) has
been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1990, but despite the
best efforts of lawmakers and conservationists the bird's population numbers
continue to dwindle. Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has a
radical plan to help the raptor: kill some of the barred owls (S. varia)
that are outcompeting their spotted cousins for food and habitat.
Spotted owls became notorious following several decades, starting in the
1980s, of back-and-forth lawsuits as environmentalists tried to end logging
in the Pacific Northwest's old-growth forests, the habitat the owls depend
on for their nests and food. Logging on federal land was banned in 1991, and
since then logging in Oregon alone has declined 95 percent, from 4.9 billion
board feet of timber in 1988 to just 240 million board feet in 2009,
according to The Oregonian. But even with less of its habitat being
destroyed the spotted owl population has yet to bounce back.
Aside from its shrinking habitat, the major threat now, according to the
FWS, is the growing number of barred owls in the area. These birds are more
aggressive, can live in any type of forest, and eat more types of food than
spotted owls, making them more adaptable to the current Pacific Northwest
landscape.
According to the FWS's latest draft recovery plan for the spotted owl:
"Limited experimental evidence, correlational studies and copious anecdotal
information all strongly suggest barred owls compete with spotted owls for
nesting sites, roosting sites and food-and possibly predate spotted owls.
The threat posed by barred owls to spotted owl recovery is better understood
now than when the spotted owl was listed. Because the abundance of barred
owls continues to increase, the effectiveness in addressing this threat
depends on action as soon as possible."
The recovery plan doesn't spell it out how it would control the barred owl
population, but The Oregonian reports that "over the next year, in three or
more study areas from Washington [State] to northern California, they might
kill 1,200 to 1,500 barred owls."
(This might not actually be quite legal without changing existing laws, as
killing any owls is currently against California law under the state's Fish
and Game Code. According to the FWS recovery plan, "this statute could
hinder the ability to reduce the effects of barred owls on spotted owls in
the southern portion of the range.")
It's a tough idea that pleases no one. "There's no winner in that debate,"
Bob Sallinger, conservation director with the Audubon Society of Portland,
told The Oregonian.
The draft recovery plan was released in September 2010. It addresses
numerous other threats to spotted owls, including habitat loss, climate
change, forest fires and inadequate protective regulations. More than 11,700
public comments have been received on the plan, which the FWS says is
expected to be finalized early this year.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=should-barred-owls-be-shot-to-save-2011-02-16&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20110223
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