After 14 years on the endangered species list and a 24.5 million acre federal land grant upon which to roam, the saintly spotted owl is on the verge of extinction. This time the blame rests not at the feet of the villainous loggers–if it ever did–but on a different species of owl, the barred owl.
Across the West Coast, the barred owl is a prime suspect in the spotted owl’s disappearance. Native to the East Coast, it’s thought to have reached the West Coast in the mid-1900s via forests in Canada. But it wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that they first were seen in Washington and Oregon. In the last two decades, their numbers have exploded.
The article doesn’t go into it, but you have to wonder if this other species of owl was not the culprit in the demise of the spotted owl all along. What to do now?
Ideas under consideration include shotgunning one owl species to save another.
Actually on my way home from the FRO picnic last night I smacked into an owl. It was in the middle of the road and realized too late I was coming and the last thing I saw were the wings spreading to take flight and THUMP! it was toast.
After 14 years on the endangered species list and a 24.5 million acre federal land grant upon which to roam, the saintly spotted owl is on the verge of extinction. This time the blame rests not at the feet of the villainous loggers–if it ever did–but on a different species of owl, the barred owl.
The article doesn’t go into it, but you have to wonder if this other species of owl was not the culprit in the demise of the spotted owl all along. What to do now? Nice.
Do you believe what they say? I remember them saying the spotted owl was going extinct in the 1990s and the fact is it wasn’t. Dixy Lee Ray, IIRC, addressed this in her book “Trashing The Planet”.
Anyway, I don’t believe them. They have earned my distrust at the deepest levels.
Not usually, but I dont see what they gain by lying this time. If they were going to lie about it, wouldnt it be better to say that the spotted owl has made a remarkable comeback, and hold it out as an environmental activism success story? The way the article reads, destroying the logging business in an effort to save this one breed of owl was a complete waste. It seems that the spotted owl may in fact have been dying out, but not because of man, but because of other owls.
