chasing

In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, spotted owls have been the subject of environmental concern for more than 30 years. Over the past 20 years, northern spotted owl populations have declined by up to 80% as the birds have faced marginalized territories and increasing numbers of wildfires. Only about 3,000 of them remain on federal lands. Spotted owls are picky eaters and are not very adaptable.

The barred owl, a larger and more ornery species, has been moving in on spotted owl turf for 50 years, competing for food and space, and out-reproducing them and chasing them out of their nesting spots.

A last-ditch effort to rescue the northern spotted owl from possible extinction has been proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The plan would be to eradicate up to half a million barred owls over the next 30 years in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. The owls would be dispatched using cheap and efficient methods, such as shotguns.

The concept of killing off vast numbers of barred owls is awful, and nobody likes the idea. However, other strategies have failed, and time is running out. The only way to preserve the northern spotted owl is to protect and increase its habitat and have fewer barred owls.

To say that the proposed plan is controversial is a massive understatement. A coalition of 75 wildlife and animal welfare organizations described it as a “colossally reckless action.”

A central issue in the debate is whether humans are responsible for this situation and should try to rectify it or, despite our desire to protect the spotted owl, we should just let nature take its course.

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They Shoot Owls in California, Don’t They?

Photo, posted April 4, 2022, courtesy of Kyle Sullivan / BLM via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The ivory-billed woodpecker is or was the largest woodpecker in the United States. The last unassailable sighting of the bird was in 1944. Since then, there have various reports of glimpses of the bird or of hearing its distinctive sounds. But there has not been anything resembling proof that the bird still exists.

Despite this, the ivory-billed woodpecker has been legally protected under the Endangered Species Act. There has been a proposal to end that protection and formally declare the species extinct. Because of the controversy surrounding the bird, a final ruling on its status has been repeatedly delayed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Very recently, a peer-reviewed study in the journal Ecology and Evolution makes the case that the ivory-billed woodpecker still exists and that it is premature to declare it extinct. The study cites visual encounters by expert observers, audio recordings, tree-damage, and rather grainy video evidence. The authors claim that there is intermittent but repeated presence of birds that at least look and behave like ivory-billed woodpeckers.

One might ask: why does it matter whether this bird is declared extinct or not? The answer is that there are limited federal funds for conservation efforts, and they should be spent on saving genuinely endangered species and habitats. The authors of the new study say that removing federal protection would be bad for any remaining ivory bills, which may be living in some swampy old-growth forests in Louisiana. Other scientists consider conservation resources expended on the ivory-billed woodpecker to be chasing a ghost.

As is the case for several other notorious objects, one really clear photograph of an ivory-billed woodpecker could solve a long-standing mystery.

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A Vanished Bird Might Live On, or Not. The Video Is Grainy

Photo, posted October 19, 2014, courtesy of James St. John via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Good owls and bad owls

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Chasing The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker | Earth Wise

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