Barred owls are bullies.
They use their larger size and superior hunting skills to make things difficult for the much smaller and highly endangered spotted owl.
In forest areas where the two species are found, barred owls thrive while the spotted owl suffers. Because of this, the Obama Administration announced a new plan that would allow government workers to shoot selected barred owls so that their spotted cousins might thrive. It’s survival of the fittest at its best.
The plan, announced Tuesday, would also designate habitat considered critical for the spotted owl’s survival. Logging would be allowed in the areas on a limited basis.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle saying the draft plan "a science-based approach to forestry that restores the health of our lands and wildlife and supports jobs and revenue for local communities."
The spotted owl was placed under the Endangered Species Act in 1990. In the years since, its population has dropped 40 percent due habitat loss and those barred owls.
Is this a good survival plan: shoot one species to save another? Comment below!
Photo by: John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS on Flickr
Comments (28)
The already stopped the logging to help the spotted owl, but they are still declining in population. I say there isn't much more to do, survival of the fittest. Let the owls figure it out. Look how well the wolf reintroduction in Idaho went. 75% of the Famous Yellowstone elk herd is now gone. Killing off one species to help another. Doesn't make sense at all.
I do agree with the except with the logging then the Obama administration may build a huge airport or something their?
Oooo the beloved spotted owl, this topic absolutely kills me. First those asshole loggers were killing all these birds in the 80s and this frigging bird almost single handedly destroyed logging in the northwest which i am sure a lot of you greenies would have no problem with until you wanted to wipe or build anything!!! Now that we've got those loggers out of this birds hair for the last 20 years protecting their habitats now we have another owl killing this bird off, i hate to say it but maybe just maybe this poor birds time is just up!!!! i say goooo barred owl!!
This approach is similar to how Obama's administration handled the economic recovery- Intervene with a heavy hand trying to create a level playing field. Ultimately in the short-term there will be success but the long-term success of constantly intervening will never work- with an economy or Barred Owls.
Once the intervening stops the Barred Owls will go back to hunting the Spotted Owls...By shooting them you're not changing the Barred Owl's mentality towards the Spotted Owl. Same thing with the economy- by throwing money at people/things you're not teaching them how to use/save it properly, you're just allowing them to spend/waste more money.
Sounds to me like another political favor/payoff. Pretty soon we will be building houses in the median of interstates. Bullcrap!!!!!!! Yeah it the owls fault.
nature balances itself maybe we should quit building out and rebuild all the abandion building in the cities so we quit tearing up animals habitate , we people have killed off somthing like 120 speaces of birds as it is
The loss of the spotted owl’s habitat is tragic and artificial. However, every time man meddles in natural order there seems to be unintended negative consequences. Culling a naturally the dominate species in order to correct for the man-made dilemma of another will further weaken the apex-level of the food chain in that biome. This is especially disturbing since the barred owl isn’t a game-bird – how senseless.
If the barred owl is a better hunter and provider, and the spotted owl can't compete, so be it. They go extinct. That's how nature works. Because of numerous wildlife management mistakes that caused the loss of several species, we seem to have developed a culture that is extinction-averse.
The spotted owl ran into trouble because of habitat loss caused by man. However unless we reverse that, the barred owls will always have the upper hand. Unless we continue to control barred owl populations to keep spotted owls around, this is just silly.
Obama killing something else. there is always a reason why things happen. what does the spotted owl do the world that the barred owl does'nt? survival of the fittest. why not build a place to breed more spotted? then just killing.
Sounds like they might be hunting the spotted owl due to lack of habitat and food source. So introduce more food source and revive the habitat. Keep loggers out. The worst enemy to man is himself so guess at how much more of an enemy he is to other species.
What a stupid idea. Since when does the federal government know what it's doing? What happens when the barred owls are thinned out and the spotted owl population increases and starts to eat all the threatened Mazama pocket gophers? Do we then shoot all the spotted owls? Frankly there are lot of ex-loggers here in western Washington who would love to sign up for that job.
It is called survival of the fittest. This is just another example of government trying to be everybody's parent...even mother natures.
Yea if it saves one of our species and there is an overflow of the other than i think its a good thing!
Well if they're gonna shoot the barred owl, are they also gonna shoot the ones who have taken away the spotted owls habitat?
Seriously though, if they must take out a few barred owls, they should at least find a way to make good money off of the ones they take. Sell the feathers for a hefty amount, then sell the meat to some fancy restaurant for a ridiculous amount seeing how it's a temporary menu item and all..
Why is it Obama's fault he is not a wildlife manager. He just listens to another person and they could be wrong. Some times there is no other choice that meets the objectives of rehabilitation, cost,and effectiveness. We kill other species of predator with out thinking about, but birds of prey are exempt. Who made those rules? I see nothing wrong if you limit the population of an ABUNDANT species to help and ENDANGERED one.
Truly disgusting. DEMs are consistent, at least. Treat wildlife the same as people: confusing equal opportunity with equal outcome.
Ya gotta love the American people. Like deer in the headlights.
why not just help the habitat instead of killing the other owls... like the article said not only the owls but the habitat loss was affecting the spotted owls...
I'm glad to see that the Goverment policy extends to wildlife..kill the strong so the weak shall survive.
There's one problem with there plan,it's very had to tell
the difference between barred owls and spotted owls,unless
you shoot them first.
The NPS shots kills hundreds of foxes, raccoons, snakes, etc. every year in the OBX to prop up the population of Piping Plovers that aren't endangered or native to the islands.
At least the Handicapper General is consistent in policy across the board. Why should the owl's escape domestic policy?
Hi...
The article claimes that a portion of the Spotted Owls population decrease was due not only to predetation by Barred Owls... but also by loss of habitat.
I'd like th think that another solution could be found...like placing Barred Owl nesting site in those areas...similar to the placement of Wood Duck nesting boxes, for example.
Ethnic cleanseing anyone! I see nothing wrong at all! Well unlesss your a barred owl!
The spotted owl should sink or swim on its own. If the spotted owls had any idea of what was about to happen when the Fed Gvt gets involved---just think of all the forms they will have to fill out and all the new survival rules they will have to learn to comply with OSHA regs.
"Hi, I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help..."
I'd rather not have the ones thast spend time on our farm shot. I love listening to them calling each other in the middle of the night lol.
Makes sense to me
No it doesnt
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"Hi, I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help..."
The spotted owl should sink or swim on its own. If the spotted owls had any idea of what was about to happen when the Fed Gvt gets involved---just think of all the forms they will have to fill out and all the new survival rules they will have to learn to comply with OSHA regs.
I'm glad to see that the Goverment policy extends to wildlife..kill the strong so the weak shall survive.
Hi...
The article claimes that a portion of the Spotted Owls population decrease was due not only to predetation by Barred Owls... but also by loss of habitat.
I'd like th think that another solution could be found...like placing Barred Owl nesting site in those areas...similar to the placement of Wood Duck nesting boxes, for example.
There's one problem with there plan,it's very had to tell
the difference between barred owls and spotted owls,unless
you shoot them first.
why not just help the habitat instead of killing the other owls... like the article said not only the owls but the habitat loss was affecting the spotted owls...
I'd rather not have the ones thast spend time on our farm shot. I love listening to them calling each other in the middle of the night lol.
Ya gotta love the American people. Like deer in the headlights.
Truly disgusting. DEMs are consistent, at least. Treat wildlife the same as people: confusing equal opportunity with equal outcome.
Yea if it saves one of our species and there is an overflow of the other than i think its a good thing!
Obama killing something else. there is always a reason why things happen. what does the spotted owl do the world that the barred owl does'nt? survival of the fittest. why not build a place to breed more spotted? then just killing.
If the barred owl is a better hunter and provider, and the spotted owl can't compete, so be it. They go extinct. That's how nature works. Because of numerous wildlife management mistakes that caused the loss of several species, we seem to have developed a culture that is extinction-averse.
The spotted owl ran into trouble because of habitat loss caused by man. However unless we reverse that, the barred owls will always have the upper hand. Unless we continue to control barred owl populations to keep spotted owls around, this is just silly.
Ethnic cleanseing anyone! I see nothing wrong at all! Well unlesss your a barred owl!
The NPS shots kills hundreds of foxes, raccoons, snakes, etc. every year in the OBX to prop up the population of Piping Plovers that aren't endangered or native to the islands.
It is called survival of the fittest. This is just another example of government trying to be everybody's parent...even mother natures.
What a stupid idea. Since when does the federal government know what it's doing? What happens when the barred owls are thinned out and the spotted owl population increases and starts to eat all the threatened Mazama pocket gophers? Do we then shoot all the spotted owls? Frankly there are lot of ex-loggers here in western Washington who would love to sign up for that job.
Sounds like they might be hunting the spotted owl due to lack of habitat and food source. So introduce more food source and revive the habitat. Keep loggers out. The worst enemy to man is himself so guess at how much more of an enemy he is to other species.
The loss of the spotted owl’s habitat is tragic and artificial. However, every time man meddles in natural order there seems to be unintended negative consequences. Culling a naturally the dominate species in order to correct for the man-made dilemma of another will further weaken the apex-level of the food chain in that biome. This is especially disturbing since the barred owl isn’t a game-bird – how senseless.
This approach is similar to how Obama's administration handled the economic recovery- Intervene with a heavy hand trying to create a level playing field. Ultimately in the short-term there will be success but the long-term success of constantly intervening will never work- with an economy or Barred Owls.
Once the intervening stops the Barred Owls will go back to hunting the Spotted Owls...By shooting them you're not changing the Barred Owl's mentality towards the Spotted Owl. Same thing with the economy- by throwing money at people/things you're not teaching them how to use/save it properly, you're just allowing them to spend/waste more money.
The already stopped the logging to help the spotted owl, but they are still declining in population. I say there isn't much more to do, survival of the fittest. Let the owls figure it out. Look how well the wolf reintroduction in Idaho went. 75% of the Famous Yellowstone elk herd is now gone. Killing off one species to help another. Doesn't make sense at all.
Makes sense to me
No it doesnt
At least the Handicapper General is consistent in policy across the board. Why should the owl's escape domestic policy?
Well if they're gonna shoot the barred owl, are they also gonna shoot the ones who have taken away the spotted owls habitat?
Seriously though, if they must take out a few barred owls, they should at least find a way to make good money off of the ones they take. Sell the feathers for a hefty amount, then sell the meat to some fancy restaurant for a ridiculous amount seeing how it's a temporary menu item and all..
nature balances itself maybe we should quit building out and rebuild all the abandion building in the cities so we quit tearing up animals habitate , we people have killed off somthing like 120 speaces of birds as it is
Sounds to me like another political favor/payoff. Pretty soon we will be building houses in the median of interstates. Bullcrap!!!!!!! Yeah it the owls fault.
Oooo the beloved spotted owl, this topic absolutely kills me. First those asshole loggers were killing all these birds in the 80s and this frigging bird almost single handedly destroyed logging in the northwest which i am sure a lot of you greenies would have no problem with until you wanted to wipe or build anything!!! Now that we've got those loggers out of this birds hair for the last 20 years protecting their habitats now we have another owl killing this bird off, i hate to say it but maybe just maybe this poor birds time is just up!!!! i say goooo barred owl!!
I do agree with the except with the logging then the Obama administration may build a huge airport or something their?
Why is it Obama's fault he is not a wildlife manager. He just listens to another person and they could be wrong. Some times there is no other choice that meets the objectives of rehabilitation, cost,and effectiveness. We kill other species of predator with out thinking about, but birds of prey are exempt. Who made those rules? I see nothing wrong if you limit the population of an ABUNDANT species to help and ENDANGERED one.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)