January 10, 2025 3:20 a.m. 

The Bureau of Land Management issued a final decision on Wednesday to implement a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service strategy which the agency says will responsibility manage barred owl populations on BLM-managed lands.

A BLM release said the decision was made to further protect northern spotted owls in Oregon. BLM staff said the strategy is the first comprehensive proposal to address the significant threat posed by inter-species competition.

The release said northern spotted owl populations are rapidly declining, and the species is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Its two biggest threats are competition from invasive barred owls, as well as fire and drought-related habitat loss. The BLM says it is already limiting habitat through its 2016 Resource Management Plans for Oregon.

The release said although barred owls are native to eastern North America, they moved west due to human activity. Their population now surpasses northern spotted owls across most of Washington, Oregon, and California. Barred owls are bigger and more aggressive and frequently outcompete native spotted owls for nesting spots and prey.

More information from the BLM is available on the barred owl management website: https://www.fws.gov/project/barred-owl-management