A group of lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum is calling on the Trump administration to abandon its proposal to cull over 450,000 barred owls in West Coast forests. This proposed action is meant to prevent these invasive birds from pushing out the smaller northern spotted owl, which is at risk of extinction.
The coalition of 19 lawmakers, spearheaded by Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas and Democrat Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, argues that the planned culling is excessively costly, estimating expenses of $3,000 per owl. They express skepticism about whether this method would effectively aid the native populations of northern spotted owls and the similarly impacted California spotted owl, which have been at the center of heated debates due to logging restrictions dating back to the 1990s.
Barred owls, originally from the eastern regions of North America, started migrating to the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s. Their presence has rapidly increased, leading to the displacement of many spotted owls. These larger barred owls outcompete the smaller spotted owls, which require larger territories for breeding. Currently, there are around 100,000 barred owls in areas that contain only approximately 7,100 spotted owls.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had approved a plan last year, detailing a three-decade execution of the removal of barred owls across up to 23,000 square miles in California, Oregon, and Washington. However, the plan lacked a clear cost estimate. The lawmakers, in their letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, state that the projected expense could surpass $1.3 billion, based on a grant given to the Hoopa Valley Native American Tribe in California for eliminating up to 1,500 barred owls.
They described the culling as an “inappropriate and inefficient” use of taxpayers’ money, criticizing the federal government’s attempt to manipulate environmental outcomes at significant cost. A representative from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to comment on the financial assessment and the owl removal initiative.
Historically, scientists have been culling barred owls as part of experimental strategies, and officials assert that these measures could arrest the decline of spotted owls. Since 2009, around 4,500 barred owls have been killed along the West Coast under research projects.
This controversial approach of eliminating one bird species to safeguard another has polarized wildlife advocates and mirrors previous governmental efforts like killing sea lions and cormorants to protect West Coast salmon, or eradicating cowbirds to save warblers. The removal of barred owls represents one of the most extensive operations of its kind concerning birds of prey.
The spread of barred owls into the Pacific Northwest is attributed to the Great Plains, where trees planted by settlers offered them new habitats, and Canada’s boreal forests, which have become more accommodating due to climate change. Their invasion has obstructed decades of efforts to restore spotted owl populations, which initially focused on forest preservation. Measures such as the logging restrictions implemented under former President Bill Clinton have sparked intense political debates, albeit briefly mitigating the decline of the spotted owl.
