[Tweeters] Barred Owls

[Dennis Paulson via Tweeters]

Hello, tweets.

I wrote earlier that I didn’t think of Barred Owl as an invasive species, as it is native to North America, but perhaps it is, from the definition given by the USDA National Invasive Species Information Center. I hadn’t looked at that before.

1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and,

2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

Non-native species are plants and animals living in areas where they do not naturally exist. "Non-native species" and "invasive species" can not be used interchangeably. Many commonly grown fruits and vegetables are not native to the U.S. For example, tomatoes and hot peppers originated from South America, while lettuce was first grown by the Egyptians. Domestic cows are non-native to North America and were introduced as a food source, and considered to be a beneficial organism in an agricultural setting.


So I guess Barred Owls can be looked at as alien to the ecosystem under consideration, and I guess they are causing harm to one or more species, and perhaps that comes under the umbrella of environmental harm. The owls are surely here only because of massive anthropogenic environmental changes wrought on the North American continent over time.

As others have said, it is debatable whether the harvesting of large numbers of them will really assure the continued existence of Spotted Owls in our area, as when a pair of Barred are removed from a territory, it is likely that it wouldn’t take too long for another pair to fill it, which could lead to a long-term fight without a win. It’s all our fault in the first place, of course, for wiping out old-growth forest over large areas. Don’t blame Barred Owls and starlings and rats and cockroaches and locusts and Marmorated Stink Bugs—it’s us.

Dennis Paulson
Seattle
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