Editor:
I find myself replying once again to a letter concerning Kimberly Wear’s excellent article on the barred owl invasion and management strategy (“Combating the Barred Owl Invasion,” Oct. 10). Constance Lynn’s letter (Mailbox, Jan. 16) is quite thoughtful, in that she points out that other factors are at play in endangering spotted owls and she would like choices made to benefit all beings.
However, she overlooks information provided in the article and falsely states that “the article failed to recognize human actions as the source of the trophic cascade in the ecosystem.” Wear’s article does state that barred owl expansion west likely was the result of people planting trees in the Great Plains (and, I would add with emphasis, through fire suppression). Barred owls are now well established in the Pacific Northwest. Also, she states that “without the forest, there will be no spotted owls, regardless of how many barred owls are killed.”
While certainly correct, that idea overlooks two points made in the article: 1) that “we must manage barred owls, in addition to habitat” (i.e. barred owl management is intended to complement habitat management) and 2) without barred owl management, there will be no more northern spotted owls no matter how much forest habitat we protect, as barred owls outcompete spotted owls in any forest conditions. Lynn shares her view that killing thousands of barred owls is “cruel, short-sighted and misguided.”
While she is entitled to her opinion, the reality is that without some barred owl management in the Pacific Northwest, including in Northern California, northern spotted owls will be functionally extinct within a few decades. While the USFWS Barred Owl Management Strategy is not perfect, it is the result of over a decade of research and planning and is our best option for maintaining spotted owls in the Northwest over the next few decades.
Peter Carlson, Arcata
This article appears in Enter the Papaya Lounge.