Subject: [Tweeters] "Killing Barred Owls to Help Spotted Owls"
Date: Feb 8 21:47:21 2011
From: Douglas Canning - dcanning at igc.org
On 7 Feb 2011 at 15:18, Wayne Weber wrote:
> Doug,
>
> I would disagree with one comment you made-- that the proposed killing of
> Barred Owls is a "potential departure in wildlife management philosophy".
> Trying to assist endangered or threatened species or populations by lethal
> control of predators or competitors is nothing new.
.
.
.
> The proposal to help Spotted Owls by killing Barred Owls is indeed
> controversial, but it has been kicking around for at least 7 or 8 years now.
> (Western Screech-Owls have also been heavily impacted by Barred Owls to the
> point of being threatened, at least in coastal BC, if not in WA.) Wildlife
> management, by its very nature, is frequently interventionist in its
> approach. The alternative, in some cases, would be allowing species or
> populations to go extinct without lifting a finger to help them. I have my
> doubts that the proposed (experimental) Barred Owl control program will be a
> success, but I feel strongly that it is worth a serious attempt.
Thank you Wayne, for catching that flaw in my writing, which was too
abbreviated. Certainly, lethal control measures have long been a part
of the management of wildlife. I should have been more specific and
made it clear that this proposed program, if implemented, would be a
departure from the basic thread of prior attempts at management of the
Spotted Owl - Barred Owl "situation."
Also in mind when I was writing, was a memory of my first encounter
with the Spotted Owl when in 1982 I was a part of a consulting team
which was preparing a Cumulative Effects of Forest Practices Study
report for the Washington Forest Practices Board. Then, the debate over
Spotted Owl management was pretty much a matter of old growth timber
harvest and its potential adverse effect on Spotted Owl habitat; then
the struggle was between the timber industry and the state wildlife
managers. Now, 30 years later, the old growth has been cut and the
timber industry has pretty much slipped the noose; the Barred Owl has
become the principal villain; and the struggle has become (in part) a
familial debate within the wildlife management community. A fine piece
of irony!
I am probably agnostic about the proposed control program, but believe
that it should debated publicly.
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Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at scattercreek.com
dcanning at igc.org
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