A Northern Spotted Owl in the Mackenzie River Basin in Oregon. Photo John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS

The Hoopa Valley Tribe of California will host experimental hunts for the barred owl under a plan advanced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday.

The tribe has long been involved in efforts to protect the northern spotted owl. The northern spotted owl faces threats from the barred owl so the agency is proposing to start lethal and non-lethal removal efforts on the reservation this fall.

"We can’t ignore the mounting evidence that competition from barred owls is a major factor in the northern spotted owl’s decline, along with habitat loss,” FWS Director Dan Ashe said in a press release.

A notice in the Federal Register announced the availability of a final environmental impact statement for the experimental hunts. A record of decision will be issued before the hunts are approved.

Get the Story:
Feds advance plan to shoot barred owls this fall in Northwest to save threatened spotted owl (AP 7/23)

Federal Register Notice:
Experimental Removal of Barred Owls To Benefit Threatened Northern Spotted Owls; Final Environmental Impact Statement (July 24, 2013)

Relevant Documents:
FWS Press Release | Final Environmental Impact Statement