The barred owl’s westward migration threatens other species and a whole ecosystem

The barred owl’s westward migration threatens other species and a whole ecosystem

A new study of nearly 800 barred owls on the West Coast shows the invasive predator feeds on 29 species given special conservation status by federal and state governments. The list includes mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles, according to an analysis led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who describe the wide-ranging pressure […]

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Senate Lets Plan Move Forward to Kill 500,000 Barred Owls in Controversial Wildlife Decision

Senate Lets Plan Move Forward to Kill 500,000 Barred Owls in Controversial Wildlife Decision

The U.S. Senate has declined to stop a controversial U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) plan that would see nearly half a million barred owls killed in the Pacific Northwest to protect their threatened cousins, the northern spotted owls. According to The Guardian, the vote to block the plan failed 25–72, allowing the large-scale culling […]

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Destroying endangered species’ habitat wouldn’t count as ‘harm’ under proposed Trump rule

Destroying endangered species’ habitat wouldn’t count as ‘harm’ under proposed Trump rule

The Trump administration is proposing to significantly limit the Endangered Species Act’s power to preserve crucial habitats by changing the definition of one word: harm. On Wednesday, the administration proposed a rule change that would essentially prohibit only actions that directly hurt or kill actual animals, not the habitats they rely on. If finalized, the […]

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Trump administration seeks to narrow Endangered Species Act by redefining ‘harm’

Trump administration seeks to narrow Endangered Species Act by redefining ‘harm’

The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed a rule to redefine what it means to “harm” a protected species under the Endangered Species Act, a move conservationists say will strip vulnerable plants and animals of habitat they need to survive. The proposal advanced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service would […]

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