Why is it that Wild Turkeys answer owl calls? (Outdoor Life)

Barred owl (Strix varia), now on federal hit list

The Washington Post recently reported that the federal government in the Age of Obama is planning to extend into the realm of Nature the same kind of policies it pursues in the American economy.

If an avian species succeeds; if it extends its range; if it successfully competes, outbreeds, and even manages to hybridize itself with a rival species, the federal government will intervene on behalf of the loser.

To save the imperiled spotted owl, the Obama administration is moving forward with a controversial plan to shoot barred owls, a rival bird that has shoved its smaller cousin aside.

The plan is the latest federal attempt to protect the northern spotted owl, the passive, one-pound bird that sparked an epic battle over logging in the Pacific Northwest two decades ago.

The government set aside millions of acres of forest to protect the owl, but the bird’s population continues to decline — a 40 percent slide in 25 years.

A plan announced Tuesday would designate habitat considered critical for the bird’s survival, while allowing logging to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and to create jobs. Habitat loss and competition from barred owls are the biggest threats to the spotted owl.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called the draft plan “a science-based approach to forestry that restores the health of our lands and wildlife and supports jobs and revenue for local communities.

Barred owls are a well-known and generally admired species of owl, renowned for their distinctive “Who Cooks For You? Who Cooks For You All?” call.

The Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is clearly a typical pampered and decadent left coast inhabitant, too stoned on pot to prosper and too sexually ambiguous to reproduce effectively. The mystery is how they managed to become major democrat party donors.

Americans For Limited Government has launched a Save the Barred Owl! petition site in response to the proposed federal strigicide.