Spotted Owls

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service is currently planning to kill nearly half a million barred owls (Strix varia) on the West Coast in order to conserve the endangered spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) from extinction. The plan is has been met with outrage by some environmental and animal welfare groups. Read about the contrasting perspectives in the two articles below.

Grim Dilemma: Should We Kill One Owl Species to Save Another?Federal officials are set to launch an effort to save the threatened northern spotted owl by killing thousands of invasive barred owls in the Pacific Northwest. The initiative is supported by mainstream conservation organizations but opposed by animal welfare groups.

Opinion | A Dystopian Effort Is Underway in the Pacific Northwest to Pick Ecological Winners and LosersWe need new laws to protect important ecosystems.

Review Assignment

Read and watch these pieces to consider multiple perspectives on the proposed management plan. Then use Google Scholar or another search engine to find a recent (after 2015) peer-reviewed journal article on the competition between barred owls and spotted owls and spotted owl conservation. Using these resources and your knowledge from class, write a response (1-2 pages) that summarizes contrasting argumentws, presents examples of why each may be true, and state what you think about the issue (should USFW proceed with its plan to cull barred owls? Why or why not?)

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