Poor Little Barred Owl
Like watching the PR engine in a presidential campaign, when it comes to wildlife management there is always a villain, but sadly unlike politicians or celebrities craving attention an animal’s only agenda is survival. Open Range will return after the break. As a student of PR it’s interesting to note the words the government and special interest groups use when they’ve determined that one species must be sacrificed for another. Think “voracious” sea lions, "aggressive" squawfish , "blights" of starlings and today’s topic, "invasive" barred owls. Up to now it seems that spotted owls have been given every opportunity to survive in northwest forests and they can’t make a go of it even after career loggers lost their jobs to save the birds that are now designated as “threatened” under the Endangered Species act. Enter the Barred Owl whose name on press releases is typically paired with words like aggressive, invasive. The Barred Owl’s demise is that like a coyote it’s able adapt and thrive the reason it is now marked for destruction. The outlook for barreds is grim after a three year study by Oregon State University that found “ barred owls appear to be outcompeting the northern spotted owl for critical resources such as space, habitat and food”. And that despite two decades of dedicated management efforts, northern spotted owl populations have continued to decline throughout much of their range. US Fish and Wildlife have outlined plans that include both lethal and non-lethal methods of capturing and relocating or placing in permanent captivity (miserable way to go) these poor little barred owls whose misstep is the their sheer ability to survive .
