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<p>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 <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/spotted-owls-barred-owls-conservation/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri" target="_blank">outcompeting spotted owls</a> 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.</p><p>Ecologist and spotted owl expert Rocky Gutierrez joins Host Flora Lichtman to break down the plan, and explain how we got to this point.</p><p>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.</p><p><i>Transcripts fo...