Oregon Begins 15-Year Plan to Kill Up to 350 Barred Owls a Year to Protect Threatened Spotted Owls

Oregon has begun a long-term program to remove barred owls from the Elliott State Research Forest, as part of a broader effort to protect the threatened northern spotted owl.

Federal Strategy to Protect Spotted Owls

Barred owls are native to eastern North America but expanded westward during the 20th century. In much of Oregon, Washington, and California, they now outnumber northern spotted owls and compete with them for resources and habitat.

Northern spotted owl populations have declined rapidly, and the species is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Oregon Department of State Lands began overseeing the lethal owl management program yesterday. The agency estimates that up to 350 barred owls will be removed annually during the first three to five years of the program, which is expected to continue for at least 15 years.

Oregon Begins Barred Owl Removals

The Oregon owl program follows a management strategy finalized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2024 to address the threat posed by invasive barred owls.

The federal strategy allows trained and authorized specialists to conduct lethal removals in designated areas where the two species overlap. Under maximum implementation, the service said annual removals would represent less than 0.5% of the North American barred owl population.

At the Elliott State Research Forest, wildlife specialists trained and specifically designated by the Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct the removals and collect data. Public hunting of barred owls is prohibited and illegal without authorization.

The Department of State Lands says there are no practicable alternatives to lethal reduction of the invasive population. It also cites previous research showing that removing barred owls has had a strong positive effect on the survival of northern spotted owls.

The 83,000-acre Elliott State Research Forest is northeast of Coos Bay. The barred owl program will be monitored and studied over the coming years to evaluate whether it helps stabilize the declining spotted owl population.