Quietly, garnering little public attention, armed federal agents of the US Fish and Wildlife Service are seeking to shoot every barred owl in Pacific Northwest forests. The grisly plan exemplifies government at its most misguided. Barred owls are being condemned for being invasive. But are they? They have been present in Pacific Northwest forests for 130 years. Barred owls are prolific and adaptable. The spotted owl is neither. It has been listed as a threatened species since 1990. Spotted owls have benefited from decades of restrictions. The limits have been costly for our region’s timber industry and rural communities. Yet the spotted owl population has not rebounded. …Exterminating the barred owl has been criticized as futile, inhumane and costly by bipartisan coalitions of Senate and House members, by animal rights advocates, and Audubon Society chapters. …Secretary Burgum should end the plan and preserve owl habitats and the timber industry.