Wyoming Republican U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso voted to reject the resolution.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Barred Owl Management Strategy comes with a roughly $1 billion price tag, and would involve wildlife agents shooting barred owls.<\/p>\n
To give the spotted owls better odds, feds have already killed roughly 4,500 barred owls along the West Coast since 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But apparently that\u2019s not enough, so the plan is to shoot another 470,000 over the next 30 years or so in California, Oregon and Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barred owls are originally from the eastern United States, but they\u2019ve been moving West, claiming new territory as they go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some argue that they\u2019re displacing threatened spotted owls.<\/p>\n
In Wyoming, barred owls have gained a toehold in the Grand Teton area and there is concern that they could eventually push out native great gray owls.<\/p>\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Barred-owl-10.30.25.jpg\")
This is the first barred owl to be tagged by researchers in Wyoming. (Courtesy Bryan Bedrosian)Will The Owl Massacre Work?<\/p>\n
Some Wyoming bird experts have mixed views regarding whether the strategy of slaughtering barred owls to save spotted owls will work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the greater ethical debates of wildlife management of our time,\u201d Bryan Bedrosian, conservation director for the Teton Raptor Center, told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n
In some areas, shooting barred owls might create \u201chabitat corridors\u201d for spotted owls.<\/p>\n
He added that barred owls, spotted owls and great gray owls are all closely-related species.<\/p>\n
In the Pacific Northwest, barred owls and spotted owls compete for old-growth forest habitat. Some argue that barred owls have been bullying spotted owls out of prime habitat.<\/p>\n
While the overall effectiveness of shooting barred owls is controversial and questioned by many, something must be done to help spotted owls, Bedrosian said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chances of spotted owls going extinct if we don\u2019t do anything are great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Chuck Preston, the founding curator of the Draper Natural History Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, is skeptical whether shooting barred owls will save spotted owls in the long run.<\/p>\n
Barred owls will probably reproduce and reclaim territory faster than wildlife agents can kill them, he said.<\/p>\n
Barred owls compete for nesting sites with other owls \u201cand they can be very territorial,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Even so, gaining a better understanding of the owls\u2019 habitat might be a better way to save spotted owls, he said.<\/p>\n
There could be sections of habitat or conditions under which spotted owls have the advantage, but there\u2019s no way of knowing that without further research, Preston said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s part of the problem,\u201d\u00a0he said. “We need to understand the limitation of each species.”<\/p>\n
Wyoming Senators Vote To Keep Shooting Owls<\/p>\n
Wyoming\u2019s senators support the plan to keep shooting barred owls.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenator Lummis is supportive of managing the barred owl population to allow spotted owls the ability to recover,\u201d Lummis spokesman Joe Jackson said in an email to Cowboy State Daily. \u201cPro-active\u00a0conservation will always be cheaper and stronger than reactive methods.”<\/p>\n
In spotted owl territory, barred owls are an invasive species, according to a statement from Barrasso\u2019s office sent to Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenator Barrasso believes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should use the best available science to develop and implement wildlife management plans on public lands,\u201d\u00a0the statement says. “USFWS worked with states to develop the barred owl management strategy as a way to conserve the threatened northern spotted owl species.<\/p>\n
\u201cBarred owls are a nonnative, invasive species in Western North America and pose a threat to the continued survival of the northern spotted owl. This strategy is supported by the previous administration and the Trump administration.”<\/p>\n
![\"Great](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gray-owl-10.30.25.JPG\")
Great gray owls are native to the Grand Teton region of Wyoming. There\u2019s concerned that barred owls might be moving in on their territory. (Courtesy Bryan Bedrosian)Politics, Not Conservation<\/p>\n
Shooting masses of barred owls is about politics and timber industry interests, not conservation, Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n
He spearheaded efforts to draw up the resolution to halt the owl-shooting program.<\/p>\n
He said that he was disappointed that Senate Republicans failed to reject \u201cthe billion-dollar Biden plan to shoot half a million barred owls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Democrats failed to recognize it as a ploy to give logging companies more access to old-growth forest in the Northwest, he said.<\/p>\n
He said the plan has \u201czero chance of working\u201d when it comes to saving spotted owls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is the U.S. government trying to dictate social relationships between two species of owls?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s worried that approach could set a precedent of killing one species to supposedly save another, threatened or endangered species.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s happening between spotted owls and barred owls is just another example of competition in nature, and nature functions through competition, Pacelle said.<\/p>\n
So he questions the need for humans to intervene by killing barred owls.<\/p>\n
Great Gray Owls Vs. Barred Owls In Wyoming<\/p>\n
The Grand Teton area is on the southern end of the great gray owls\u2019 natural habitat, Bedrosian said.<\/p>\n
There have been reported barred owl sightings there going as far back as the 1990s, he said.<\/p>\n
In 2023, a nesting pair of barred owls was found in the Teton region.<\/p>\n
At least one other individual barred owl has been confirmed there as well, Bedrosian said.<\/p>\n
Another nesting pair of barred owls was recently discovered near Ennis, Montana, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think there is potential for them to be problematic\u201d toward the great gray owl population, if barred owl numbers continue to grow, he added.<\/p>\n
He noted that in the area where the Teton barred owls were found, there had been great gray owls, up until 2021.<\/p>\n
It could be coincidence that the great gray owls disappeared from the spot at roughly the same time the barred owls were verified. Or, it might not be, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not (established) cause and effect. But it does raise questions\u201d over whether the barred owls drove the great gray owls out, Bedrosian said.<\/p>\n
Researchers will keep an eye on the situation, he said.<\/p>\n
The female nesting barred owl in the Tetons was recently captured and outfitted with a tracking device transmitter.<\/p>\n
Researchers use audio recording devices to capture sounds made by owls, which can help identify species and track the birds\u2019 movements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve taken it to the point where we can identify individual owls\u201d by their vocalizations, he said.<\/p>\n