Brian in OR.
Steelhead
What the F are they thinking .....
https://www.newsweek.com/invasive-species-barred-owl-cull-pacific-northwest-1850348
https://www.newsweek.com/invasive-species-barred-owl-cull-pacific-northwest-1850348
NFR Anybody want to shoot some owls....
- Thread starter Brian in OR.
- Start date
Non-fishing related
I'm of two minds here...
I mean, I love owls. They are awesome birds. We watch a Barred pair on one of my favorite creeks all year round. Killing them seems sad. I genuinely hope my wife never sees that article.
That said, invasive species are invasive species, no matter how cute they are, and they can screw things up for native habitat. Ask folks on the Mississippi how those Asian carp are working out. Or if everyone loves the hundreds of thousands of iguanas in Florida. Or even the sea lions on the Columbia (perhaps not "invasive", but surely changed from their natural behaviors and causing problems).
Maybe it's a fools errand and we can't actually fix any of the invasive species problems we've created. But they ARE problems and unless we're just going to give up, the solutions that are most likely to work often won't be pretty.
I mean, I love owls. They are awesome birds. We watch a Barred pair on one of my favorite creeks all year round. Killing them seems sad. I genuinely hope my wife never sees that article.
That said, invasive species are invasive species, no matter how cute they are, and they can screw things up for native habitat. Ask folks on the Mississippi how those Asian carp are working out. Or if everyone loves the hundreds of thousands of iguanas in Florida. Or even the sea lions on the Columbia (perhaps not "invasive", but surely changed from their natural behaviors and causing problems).
Maybe it's a fools errand and we can't actually fix any of the invasive species problems we've created. But they ARE problems and unless we're just going to give up, the solutions that are most likely to work often won't be pretty.
There is no way in my opinion that these owls are going to put back where they belong. That goes for most of these invasive. We got lucky on the murder hornets. Once there are widespread reproducing pairs, we might as well get used to the fact that they are part of the new ecosystem.
Bonefish Jack
Steelhead
I think these are not really invasive ... rather, they are simply expanding their range, just as many other species of birds and mammals have done ... which, to me, makes the whole population control idea ludicrous ...
SSPey
loco alto!
Getting hung on the definition(s) of invasive isn’t the point. By some formal definition(s) the barred owls are certainly invading and invasive. They were not endemic to the PNW and their continental range expansion was facilitated by continental-scale habitat modification by people, settler extirpation of native peoples (via disease and warfare) and resulting continental-scale effects on fire exclusion and forest extent. Bottom line is they aren’t native / endemic to the PNW. All biological ranges shift, but this was clearly human-caused, and threatens viability of other endemic PNW species.
That said, I think the plan to shoot barred owls is a sisyphusian exercise in absurdity. What a waste of money. And, I can tell you that many of the biologists most deeply involved in spotted owl / barred owl studies think so, too … but they‘re not paid for their opinion, they‘re paid to generate data that policymakers use.
That said, I think the plan to shoot barred owls is a sisyphusian exercise in absurdity. What a waste of money. And, I can tell you that many of the biologists most deeply involved in spotted owl / barred owl studies think so, too … but they‘re not paid for their opinion, they‘re paid to generate data that policymakers use.
Spey hackle?
Like for instance, the way humans have been expanding their range and how well the planet has benefited from that . . .
If American society values and wants to continue to have spotted owls, then controlling barred owls appears to be necessary, even if unpleasant and not universally embraced. And even if not perfectly effective, it's likely to be more effective than we, as a society, are in protecting spotted owl habitat, or the habitat of most wildlife species for that matter. I wish we'd put this much effort into restoring balance in the Puget Sound harbor seal population and the Columbia River sea lion population.
Don't think so, but I haven't looked at the feathers up close. They are fairly bold for large birds, but I've never gotten closer than about 20 feet.
And what else will the mongoose eradicate? Unless they're single species focused, that might just become a bigger problem.
One thing they won’t eradicate is mice and rats…the very thing they were imported to remove
It does matter that Barred Owls have naturally expanded their range vs. being transplanted by some owl lover. Any comparison to Asian carp or for that matter walleye in Washington state is apples to oranges. What is next shoot all of the scrub jays that are moving north and competing with what we think of as native birds? No current species is original here if you go back far enough. Climate change, other man made changes and natural changes all contribute to continual flux and the ranges and even existence of species move and change. While the Spotted Owl is PNW endemic, many species all over the country are moving and/or expanding ranges to match changing conditions. Cardinals in northern Minnesota, beavers in Alaska, Moose on the tundra. Each of these expansions will have an effect on endemic species.There are myriad examples of this and shooting a few (or many thousand) owls won’t stem the tide.
I also don’t believe such a plan could even be implemented without changes to the laws governing protection of birds. Congress would need to act and we all know how likely they are to pass legislation.
I also don’t believe such a plan could even be implemented without changes to the laws governing protection of birds. Congress would need to act and we all know how likely they are to pass legislation.
We are the worst “invasive species”.
RCF
Life of the Party
So you had to look it up also?
The rule of our house has always been you shoot it you eat it.
This just seems stupid to me.
Edit: I wonder if this is a result of climate change, or did the protections put in place for the spotted owls make this a more inviting enviroment to the new owls? It is an ugly conundrum to face however it came about.
This just seems stupid to me.
Edit: I wonder if this is a result of climate change, or did the protections put in place for the spotted owls make this a more inviting enviroment to the new owls? It is an ugly conundrum to face however it came about.
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Owl is great for soft hackles. The extremely supple nature of their feathers is why they are nearly silent in flight.
If they're anything like the Spotted Owls, don't follow the cooking instructions included on the leg band.
Plucking and grilling is far superior to the suggested “Wash. Biol. Surv.”
Plucking and grilling is far superior to the suggested “Wash. Biol. Surv.”
flybill
Life of the Party
I don't have any owl feathers.. so send some my way!! LOL!!
