I'm not sure that killing Barred Owls is an acceptable solution, but I want
to mention a couple of related concerns:

1 - My understanding is that Barred Owls are behind the decline in local
populations of Western Screech-Owls and N. Saw-Whet Owls, as well as Spotted
Owls.

2 - When fish and wildlife officials tried poisoning gulls to protect other
species on Manomet Island in Cape Cod, there were strong objections.. The
main problem was that gulls were dying in local parks and backyards.

3 - Trapping and "terminating" Brown Cowbirds by the thousands each year in
Michigan lowered the rate of cowbird parasitism among Kirtland Warblers from
about 70% down to about 15%, if I remember correctly. Thinning the gull
population around Atlantic Puffin rookeries helped their recovery. In the
Parker River NWR in Massachusetts, escaped Mute and Whooper Swans, as well
as skunks are routinely destroyed to protect nesting waterfowl. Deer herds
are also routinely culled.

4 - Around the Great Lakes, some are advocating measures to thin the
population of cormorants because people believe they are depleting fish
stocks and threatening commercial fishing.

5 - Groups overseeing Bluebird nest box programs sometimes quietly remove
and destroy House Sparrows they find in those boxes.

We've thrown off the ecological balance, so we may be forced to take tough
corrective measures.

Gene Bullock
Poulsbo WA