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To Save These Owls

We have to destroy those other owls.

Stopping logging didn’t save the spotted owl. Decline continued. Now, federal wildlife biologists say, they need to stop the more aggressive barred owl. Dead in its tracks. They are evaluating a plan to off barred owls. On a “large scale.” The Oregonian: 

 The U.S. government, facing ongoing decline in protected spotted owl numbers, wants to try ridding some of its bigger and more aggressive cousins, the barred owl, from the woods.

That might mean shooting them, trapping them and moving them out, or some other technique. And if the experiment works, it could be expanded across the Pacific Northwest for years to come.

“The decision to kill large number of barred owls for an extended period is fraught with ethical issues, and the decision to let the spotted owl go extinct is fraught with ethical issues,” said Bob Sallinger, conservation director of the Portland Audubon Society.

“We’re stuck between two evils.”

Though Audubon, Sallinger added, errs on the side of avoiding extinction.

I dunno, sounds a little like Audubon is erring on the side of post-Darwinism.

The spotted owl is dependent on the region’s oldest forests, which are a fraction of their historic extent. The bird’s addition to the list of endangered species nearly two decades ago contributed to a collapse in public lands logging.

But the owl’s numbers continue to fall.

Maybe they should try hiding the decline. Great trick, has been employed to advance science in other areas of environmental concern. Never mind … just a thought.

More recently, blame for that has been laid on the barred owl, a larger bird more common in the East that has been moving into Northwest forests.

It’s “blame the successful species” again.

The results of the experiment, if it goes forward, could inform a long-term plan to reduce barred owl numbers for years to come.

“If the experiment shows that there is a negative effect from barred owls and you can knock it back by removing them, you’re locking yourself into removal on a large scale,” said Dominick DellaSala, lead scientist for National Center for Conservation Science and Policy in Ashland.

That could be complex, expensive and open-ended, said Audubon’s Sallinger.

And it shouldn’t be done in the absence of protecting the bird’s remaining forest habitat.

“I think to kill barred owls without having a real plan in place to recover our forests is obscene,” Sallinger said.

Negative effect!!! Stone the bloody crows, mate! Sounds more like a final barred owl solution. Nobody’s asking the barred owls. They might think being removed on a large scale is obscene, forest recovery plan or no. This could make a pretty good Disney animated film, though … lots of wide-eyed drama and opportunities for child animals to express concern and ask the adult animals awkward probing questions, plus lessons about differences, how some owls use their screeches, not their talons, something like that.

Topics: do-goodism,science

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:08 am Comments (3) on Thursday, December 10, 2009

3 Responses to “To Save These Owls”

1. Moe Lane » “Two Owls Enter! One Owl Leaves! Two Owls Enter! One Owl Leaves*!” Says:
   December 10th, 2009 at 10:16 am

   [...] Jules Crittenden.  Do spotted owl tears cure cancer, or something? – because it’s darn certain that [...]

2. RebeccaH Says:
   December 10th, 2009 at 11:00 am

   Good grief. These people would have run a meddlesome program to save the dinosaurs.

3. MikeHu Says:
   December 10th, 2009 at 12:23 pm

   Who? Hoo-Hoo! Ha-Hooooaaaahhhh!

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