###
Barred
owl removal is moving forward in California and new data suggests
that removals are working as intended: freeing up northern
spotted owl habitat that was lost to barred owl invasion. A
new peer-reviewed paper
in the journal Biological
Conservation used
GPS locators on 56 barred owls in Northern California confirms
that barred owls preferentially choose the same older forests that
spotted owls require. Slightly larger than spotted owls, barred
owls are able to bully spotted owls from their nest sites. Now,
barred owls are pervasive across the landscape and the
consequences are dire: just this week, another
new paper described
the spotted owl as “functionally extinct” across much of
its range in Washington and Oregon. But through sustained removal
efforts, wildlife managers are able to recover substantial amounts of
spotted owl habitat, improving the prospects that your kids or
grandkids can enjoy a world with northern spotted owls.
Vitek
Jirinec of the Integral
Ecology Research Center join
the program to discuss.