A new plan released yesterday for saving the northern spotted owl is taking aim – maybe literally – at a rival bird.
Federal agency leaders said Thursday the spotted owl is losing out to a bigger, more aggressive invader from the eastern United States, the barred owl.
However, one biologist whose research led to the listing of the spotted owl believes shooting and other measures to control the barred owl are too little too late. Because, he lamented, the spotted owl's population has shrunk over the last 15 years in spite of conservation efforts. (Interactive map inside)