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...