Posted on 07/06/2024 5:38:50 AM PDT by Libloather
To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, US wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan: hire trained sharp-shooters to assassinate its rivals.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service strategy released Wednesday is meant to prop up declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state and California.
Trained shooters will be deployed to the dense forests of the West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their endangered cousins.
Documents released by the agency show up to about 450,000 barred owls would be shot over three decades — a solution designed to level the playing field after this invasive species of owl from the eastern US encroached into western territory.
Both of the Pacific coast's smaller native owls, the northern spotted owls and California spotted owls, have proven unable to compete with the invading barred owls, which breed in larger numbers and need less room to survive.
Past efforts to save spotted owls focused on protecting the forests where they live, sparking bitter fights over logging but also helping slow the birds' decline.
The proliferation of barred owls in recent years is undermining that earlier work, officials said.
'Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or the majority of their range, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts,' said Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor Kessina Lee.
But the notion of killing one bird species to save another has divided wildlife advocates and conservationists.
It's reminiscent of past government efforts to save West Coast salmon by killing sea lions and cormorants that prey on the fish, and to preserve warblers by killing cowbirds that lay eggs in warbler nests.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Barred owl lives matterà
That belief is precipitating mass extinctions. The problems arise with the introductions of exotics and withdrawal from that responsibility to preserve biodiversity via managed disturbance. Humans have stabilized ecosystems for millennia. We are the keystone species.
Good thing it's owls and not Palestinian refugees.
[[How do you hunt owls in the middle of a dense forest?]]
With calls most likely-
Really stupid people running our country right now.
Maybe there could be a bounty on these “federal employee” hunters and snipers.
This may stop their actions. Then again, maybe they are slow learners and need a lesson GOOD AND HARD!!
Just make sure the spotted owls have dinner.
Mice breed quickly.
There should have been wildlife officials like this forever. The world would still be full of dinosaurs. /off SARC
First owls, then Republicans. The planet needs it!
I wouldn’t be surprised if they use guns that are felonies for us peasants to own, too.
I have contacted my Congress critter and mentioned Chevron regarding this.
That said my critter is Vicki Spartz....so there is that.
Maybe if a whole lot of us do the same it would help.
Michael Byrd at the ready. He will not only slaughter the owls, but he will be happy to silence those who oppose the edict.
Can’t they just put up more windmills? They’ll kill anything flying by!
The Chevron ruling is made for this. We just need a judge to put a restining order on it while it goes through the courts.
There’s reason why the word “Mental” is in environmentalist
I like how they use the word “officials”. Official at what?
Being stupid and careless?
They just can’t leave nature to the real official who knows what he is doing because he created it, God.
Judge: before I sentence you for killing an endangered species, I am curious; What does a spotted owl taste like?
Defendant: Well your honor, to be honest; a lot like bald Eagles.
I’ll be surprised if they can actually tell the difference between a spotted owl and a barred owl.
your post was spotted by those with eyes like an owl. good shot.
Evidently, the barred owl is considered an invasive species out west. I live in Illinois and white pelicans have expanded their range to the Illinois river in recent years. They were mostly a west of the Mississippi river bird. Is that an invasive species?
NO ONE CARED ABOUT MAKING ALL THE LOGGING MILLS EXTINCT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.