Would you kill an owl to save another owl? It's not a thought
experiment from your Intro to Ethics class: Northern spotted owls -- the
feathered poster children of last decade's timber wars -- are dwindling
in the Pacific Northwest, and bigger, more aggressive barred owls, which
have migrated to the region from Canada's Great Plains, are being blamed
for at least part of the decline. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is
planning an experimental hunt of barred owls in California to see if
picking off a few will encourage spotted owls to return to their nests.
Though timber-industry reps are playing up the role of the barred owl in
the spotted owl's decline, experts point out that logging, wildfire, and
West Nile virus are also contributors. Some 59,000 acres of spotted-owl
forest habitat were logged between 1996 and 2004, according to a
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife researcher. The U.S. FWS
announced this week that it will draw up a recovery plan for the spotted
owl; a draft is due next year.
straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press,
David Ammons, 09 Aug 2005
You’ve never seen a creature more adorable, with a human face.
I’ll need to get the right person in Washington, but the FWS general
number will be good. It’s too late to research this now.
Dave Wesley, Deputy Regional Director
911 NE 11th Ave
Portland, OR 97232
(503)231-6828
