The barred owl blasting we predicted [here, here, here, here, here] has already begun. Self-described and alleged “biologists” and “researchers” have been driving around Northern California shooting owls with shotguns from the back of pickup trucks.
From the Oregonian yesterday [here]:
Shooting one owl to save another
A scientist says it’s an easy, inexpensive way to get rid of barred owls and help spotted owls
Michael Milstein, The Oregonian Staff, Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Biologists grappled Tuesday with the realities of shooting barred owls that invade the older forest habitat of federally protected northern spotted owls, a strategy critics say the Bush administration employs to help spotted owls while also trimming away at their preserves in an effort to open up logging.
A scientist who experimented with barred owl control in Northern California said it proved relatively easy, at least in limited areas of accessible forests, and removing some adult barred owls before nesting season could control the broader population and open a window for spotted owls to come back.
The cost would be relatively minor, Lowell Diller, a biologist with Green Diamond Resource Co. in Northern California, told researchers meeting Tuesday in Portland. He cautioned he wasn’t trying to make light of it, but said, “This is almost like a redneck sport — you do it from the tail of your pickup.”
A redneck sport! Not to make light of it, but what color is your neck, Lowell?
January 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment | Topic: Endangered Specious, Birds
