Advocacy groups have expressed dismay after the Senate’s decision last month not to halt the planned killing of hundreds of thousands of barred owls, a measure intended to protect the spotted owl.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for comment via online contact form.

Why It Matters

USFWS says spotted owls, which are native to western North America, are threatened by barred owls, in addition to habitat loss from timber harvests and wildfires. Barred owls, native to eastern North America, began expanding west around 1900 as human activity altered forests and the Great Plains. Larger and more aggressive, barred owls have displaced spotted owls from their historical territory, according to the agency.

The agency has also said that actions to address the thr

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