WASHINGTON, D.C.: To save the endangered spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are adopting a controversial plan to cull nearly half a million barred owls in dense West Coast forests.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that trained shooters will be deployed to Oregon, Washington state, and California to support declining spotted owl populations.

Documents reveal that approximately 450,000 barred owls will be shot over three decades to alleviate pressure on northern and California spotted owls.

The barred owls, which migrated from the eastern U.S., have outcompeted their smaller cousins due to larger broods and lower space requirements. Previous conservation efforts focused on protecting owl habitats, which limited logging but slowed the birds' decline. However, officials said the barred owl's proliferation has undermined these efforts.

"Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or most of their range, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts," stated Kessina Lee, Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor.

The plan has sparked debate among wildlife advocates and conservationists. Wayne Pacelle, founder of Animal Wellness Action, criticized the plan, predicting it would fail to prevent barred owls from repopulating targeted areas.

The shootings, set to begin next spring, will involve luring barred owls with recorded calls and shooting them with shotguns. Carcasses will be buried on-site. Research has already seen the removal of 4,500 barred owls since 2009 in specific spotted owl habitats.

Supporters, including the American Bird Conservancy, argue that while unfortunate, reducing barred owl numbers is necessary to protect the spotted owl population. "As the old forests regrow, hopefully, coexistence is possible, and maybe we don't need to do as much shooting," said Steve Holmer, Vice President of the American Bird Conservancy.

The killings are expected to reduce North American barred owl numbers by less than 1 percent annually, while the potential extinction of spotted owls looms if the issue is not addressed. According to Tom Wheeler, director of the Environmental Protection Information Centre, removing barred owls could also benefit other West Coast species they prey on, such as salamanders and crayfish.

Public hunting of barred owls will not be allowed. Instead, designated government agencies, landowners, American Indian tribes, or companies will carry out the killings. Shooters must provide documentation of training or experience in owl identification and firearm skills.

The proposal will soon be subject to a 30-day public comment period following the release of a final environmental study.

The barred owl plan comes after decades of conflict between conservationists and timber companies over protecting older forests where spotted owls live. Efforts in the 1990s led to logging bans, which impacted the timber industry and its political supporters. Despite these measures, spotted owl populations declined as barred owls encroached on their territory.

Opponents of the cull argue that it could disrupt forest ecosystems and potentially lead to other species being mistakenly shot. Some also challenge the notion that barred owls don't belong on the West Coast, viewing their migration as a natural ecological phenomenon.

Northern spotted owls are federally protected as a threatened species, with a pending proposal to upgrade their status to "endangered." California spotted owls were proposed for federal protections last year, with a decision still pending.

Under former President Donald Trump, habitat protections for spotted owls were weakened but were reinstated under President Joe Biden following the Interior Department's findings that previous decisions relied on faulty science.