The spotted owl has been a conservation flashpoint for more than 30 years. While habitat loss has been their historic foe, their most recent threat comes from within the owl family tree: the barred owl. Barred owls have expanded into the Pacific Northwest and are now outcompeting spotted owls for food and habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has put forth a strategy that some experts say is the only way to save the spotted owl, and it could involve killing hundreds of thousands of barred owls.

Ecologist and spotted owl expert Rocky Gutierrez joins Host Flora Lichtman to break down the plan, and explain how we got to this point.

Guest: Dr. R.J. “Rocky” Gutierrez is an owl ecologist and professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He’s now based in Humboldt County, California.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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