I don't disagree, but too little is being said about the fact that Barred Owls also threaten local populations of Western Screech-Owl and Saw-Whet Owl.
Gene
----- Original Message -----
From: Brett Wolfe
To: Eugene and Nancy Hunn ; JEFFREY COHEN ; tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Killing Barred Owls Won't Help


Thanks Gene, for saying what I tried to with my initial email of dissent. I may not have said it as well, but my intent was there. And I too wanted to be sure that other sides of the debate were heard. Thank you for your eloquence here. However this all turns out, I don't think it will be good news for the Spotted Owl, although I have been surprised before.

Brett A. Wolfe
Seattle, WA
m_lincolnii at yahoo.com

Eugene and Nancy Hunn <enhunn323 at comcast.net> wrote:
Tweets,

The proposed Barred Owl control measure is too important not to debate it fully.

My personal opinion is that it is ill advised in that I suspect that every Barred Owl we shoot will very soon be replaced by two or three. I also believe that promoting this sort of control measure will let the timber harvesters off the hook. This is already implied by the current administrations efforts to dilute whatever habitat protections remain.

I believe that it is not correct to conclude that because Barred Owls continue to encroach on Spotted Owl territories, despite some considerable restrictions on old growth forest cutting, that the continuing declines in Spotted Owls are not a direct consequence of past (and to some extent continuing) logging in and near potential Spotted Owl refugia. The quality low elevation old growth is now so fragmented that Barred Owls are able to continue to encroach on the remaining Spotted Owl territories, as has been my personal experience over the past decade.

It may be the case that the Spotted Owl is doomed in Washington, but if so it is due to our careless destruction of their preferred habitats, not to the Barred Owl, and I simply am not convinced killing Barred Owls will provide any long-term solution to the problem. Instead we should do everything possible to preserve the Spotted Owl habitat that we still have, in Washington or more likely in Oregon and California.

As for killing Barred Owls to protect Western Screech-Owls -- assuming a connection can be demonstrated -- that would require a Barred Owl extermination program on a scale of Auschwitz.

Gene Hunn
18476 47th Pl NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
enhunn323 at comcast.net

----- Original Message -----
From: JEFFREY COHEN
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 5:28 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Killing Barred Owls Won't Help


What most people seem to be missing, although a few have been close, is that it won't make a difference to kill one native species just to save another native. Which species is more deserving species...who makes that call? The situation has come about through constant human intervention, whether direct (Mute Swans, starlings, etc.) or indirect (ever-expanding human population). So we'll just manage the situation...by killing off a bunch of un-deserving creatures? Good Grief! We can't even manage our own species!
Jeff Cohen
Maple Valley



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