Their proposal as touched on here in Outdoor Life has a component in it to selectively harvest Barred Owls because of the impact they have on Spotted Owls. I know it may seem hypocritical to be upset about the above proposal while yelling at the top of my lungs that hunters need to be utilized as a natural predator in the control of wildlife populations as well as pat ourselves on the back for the role we play in bringing back populations from the brink with sound wildlife management and the monies from us used to support such management plans. And I know that controlling predator populations is also needed in order to insure a proper balance in the predator-prey ratio. The difference in this, in my opinion, is that we are talking about two predators who directly compete for food and resources, using the same, solitary hunting style while utilizing the same habitat. Is hunting one to save the other needed in this situation or would helping to identify and protect as much suitable habitat be the bigger help? I tend to lean towards the latter as you'll always have that competition between species even with a decrease in the larger population. And whose to say that selective hunting of the Barred Owl doesn't put us right back in this situation years down the road, with the Spotted Owl population needing to be reduced to help the Barred Owl.
This is a flawed policy proposal in my opinion as we should control what we directly can, i.e. habitat conservation, to save the Spotted Owl instead of relying on the removal of another native, competing species. Agree? Disagree? Have another idea on helping the Spotted Owl regain population? Let it all come out by leaving a comment!
-C.B.