U.S. wildlife officials beginning next year will drastically scale up efforts to kill invasive barred owls that are crowding out imperiled native owls from West Coast forests, under a plan finalized Wednesday that faces challenges from barred owls returning after they've already been removed.
Trained shooters will target barred owls over 30 years across a maximum of about 23,000 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) in California, Oregon and Washington. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service goal is to kill up to 452,000 barred owls and halt the decline of competing northern spotted owls and California spotted owl s.
Killing one bird species to save others has divided wildlife advocates and is reminiscent of past government efforts to save West Coast salmon by killing sea lions and cormorants, and to preserve warblers by killing cowbirds that lay eggs in warbler nests. The barred owl removals would be among the largest such effort to date involving birds of prey, researchers and wildlife advocates said.
Native to eastern North America, barred owls started appearing in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s. They've quickly displaced many spotted owls, which are smaller birds that need larger territories. An estimated 100,000 barred owls now live within a range that contains only about 7,100 spotted owls, according to federal officials.
The newcomers' arrival also threatens to decimate frog and salamander species that barred owls prey on.
“It’s not just one owl versus one owl,” said David Wiens, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist who led a barred owl removal study that ended in 2020. “Because of their predatory behavior, they are basically eating anything in the forest and this includes amphibians, small mammals, other bird species.”
Government officials say 15 years of killing barred owls experimentally, including on Northern California's Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, shows the controversial strategy could halt the decline of spotted owls. Yet researchers warn that few spotted owls remain in some areas, and it could take years to turn the tide on the barred owls' aggressive expansion of their range.
Former Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Kent Livezey, a critic of the agency strategy, said the mass killing of barred owls was ill-advised and could cost hundreds of dollars per bird. Livezey said his research has documented more than 100 bird species that expanded their range in recent years.
“We should let nature take its course,” he wrote in an email. “Birds (and all animals) move. Competitions arise. Should we be stepping in and killing mass numbers of them like this?”
The wildlife service would designate government agencies, landowners, tribes or companies to carry out the killings. Shooters would have to provide documentation of training or experience in owl identification and firearm skills.
Public hunting of barred owls wouldn’t be allowed.
“We're talking about managing in less than 50% of that northern spotted owl range to try and carve out space for those spotted owls,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor Kessina Lee. “We're still going to have barred owls in the West. This is really just about trying to prevent the extinction of spotted owls.”
She declined to give a cost estimate and said that would depend in part on the willingness of other government agencies and land managers to participate.
Some wildlife advocates have backed the barred owl killings. Others say it’s a reckless diversion from needed forest preservation and won't stop barred owls from migrating into the region.
Their spread has undermined decades of spotted owl restoration efforts that previously focused on protecting forests where they live. That included logging restrictions under former President Bill Clinton that ignited bitter political fights but also temporarily helped slow the spotted owl's decline.
Northern spotted owls are federally protected as a threatened species. California spotted owls were proposed for federal protections last year. A decision is pending.
Barred owls are highly territorial, which makes killing them relatively straightforward, according to researchers. Shooters use megaphones to broadcast recorded owl calls at night and lure the birds close to roads where they are killed with shotguns.
“The birds will come right in. They're very focused on this recording,” Wiens said. “If we go into a site and detect a barred owl there, we have over a 95 % chance of removing that barred owl."
Other potential approaches — including capturing and euthanizing barred owls, collecting their eggs to prevent reproduction, or hazing them out of areas with spotted owls — were considered by the wildlife service but rejected as too costly or impractical.
About 4,500 barred owls birds have been killed on the West Coast since 2009 by researchers, according to officials.
That includes more than 800 birds from the Hoopa reservation, said tribal wildlife biologist Mark Higley.
Higley conducts the barred owl removals across 140 square miles (364 square kilometers) on the reservation primarily by himself, working two or three nights a week from early spring until late fall.
“The problem has been we get like 60 to 100 new barred owls each year,” he said. “Don't get me wrong; barred owls are magnificent species. I just would really like to go see them where they're native and not invasive.”
FILE - Wildlife technician Jordan Hazan records data in a lab from a male barred owl he shot earlier in the night, Oct. 24, 2018, in Corvallis, Ore. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
FILE - Wildlife technician Jordan Hazan records data from a male barred owl he shot earlier in the night, Oct. 24, 2018, inside a lab in Corvallis, Ore. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
FILE - A northern spotted owl flies after an elusive mouse jumping off the end of a stick in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore., May 8, 2003. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Zack Littell shut down Cleveland for six innings and rookie Logan Driscoll hit his first career homer, a two-run shot, sending the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 win over the AL Central-leading Guardians on Friday night.
Littell (7-9) allowed just two hits in his second straight strong start. He blanked Baltimore for five innings last week and has thrown 13 consecutive scoreless frames. The right-hander is 4-0 in his career against the Guardians.
Littell's performance followed Tampa Bay's bullpen shutting out Cleveland over the final seven innings in Thursday's series opener.
“We downplayed it a little but we needed a strong outing from the starter and he certainty provided that,” manager Kevin Cash said of Littell, who retired his final 11 batters. "He had to get the off-speed pitches going and he did, and got deep in the ballgame for us.”
The Guardians didn't score until the eighth, when rookie Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry hit back-to-back doubles off Mason Montgomery. Fry's shot to left missed being a two-run homer by inches.
Cash brought in Edwin Uceta, returning from his two-game suspension for throwing at Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos, to get two outs in the eighth. Uceta then worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save.
“He’s done that every outing but one,” Cash said. "He’s really set the bar high for himself. We’re fortunate to have him and some other young pitchers. They’re getting some good reps in this type of atmosphere on this trip.”
Cleveland's loss coupled with Kansas City's win reduced the Guardians' division lead to three games. The Guardians are 1-4 against the Rays.
“This Tampa team knows how to pitch,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us the next two days.”
Cleveland played without All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan, who was scratched with back soreness.
Driscoll connected in the third inning off Tanner Bibee (11-8), who had an up-and-down outing. Bibee gave up two homers and finished with nine strikeouts after striking out the side in two innings.
Jonathan Aranda also homered for the Rays, who are facing three division leaders — Baltimore, Philadelphia and Cleveland — and are 4-4 on a 10-game trip.
“For us, it’s win every game right now, but this road trip has been circled all year,” Littell said. "We've done a really nice job. We got swept in Philly, but every game we were in and it just kind of didn’t go our way.”
Driscoll's shot into the right-field seats in the second came moments after Jose Siri narrowly missed a homer with a blast to center field that hit the yellow line marking the top of the wall.
With Siri on third following a triple, Driscoll, who drove in the winning run in his MLB debut on Sept. 3, homered. He received a warm welcome in Tampa Bay's dugout as the Rays raised their arms to form a tunnel for him to run through.
“It was one of those things where you don’t really realize what happened in the moment until the game ended and I was able to kind of process things,” Driscoll said, who got the souvenir ball, trading a signed bat with a fan.
“I’ve got find a spot for it,” he said. “That's for sure.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rays: LF Christoper Morel was replaced in the third inning with right Achilles tendon discomfort. Morel accidentally got stepped on by Cleveland's Brayan Rocchio on Thursday night and appeared to be favoring his foot on two plays in the field. Cash said he'll like get Saturday off.
Guardians: RHP Ben Lively (bruised thigh) threw a bullpen session and is on track to start Sunday's series finale. Lively was lucky to not be more seriously hurt after being hit with a line drive in Chicago.
UP NEXT
Guardians rookie LHP Joey Cantillo (1-3, 5.96 ERA) starts Saturday in his first game since taking a perfect game into the seventh inning against the White Sox. The Rays will start Drew Rasmussen in a bullpen game.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Logan Driscoll, left, celebrates with relief pitcher Edwin Uceta, right, after they defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Edwin Uceta pitches in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Logan Driscoll, left, celebrates with relief pitcher Edwin Uceta, right, after they defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Caballero reacts after a called second strike in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. Caballero struck out in the at-bat. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Siri tosses his bat after striking out in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. Guardians catcher Bo Naylor is at left. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, left, gestures after tagging out Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Lowe (8) in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel catches a fly ball hit for an out against Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Caballero walks back to the dugout after striking out in the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez, right, slides safely into second base under the tag of Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Jose Caballero, left, inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, left, tags out Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Lowe (8) in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Logan Driscoll, right, is congratulated by teammate Jose Siri (22) after hitting a home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Zack LIttell pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
