I can get behind the killing of Barred Owls IF it is coupled with a
set-aside of a very large tract of LOW-ELEVATION, high-productivity
west-side forest. I think there is a fair amount of evidence to suggest it
isn't merely the loss of large unbroken tracts of mature forest, it's the
hugely disproportionate loss of the most productive low-elevation forests.
I think a big reason Spotted Owls aren't recovering is that the biggest
tracts of unbroken forest are at high elevation, which is marginal for
Spotted Owls.

I'm not entirely convinced it would take hundreds of years for large
suitable tracts of forests to regrow. In productive lowlands near the coast,
I think a few decades of uninterrupted growth would be worth more to Spotted
Owls than a few hundred years of growth at higher elevation.

Oh, yes, I also agree that birth control strategies are critical. For
people, not Barred Owls.

Kelly Cassidy