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    Science FridayA Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls
    16 minEpisode 1180

    A Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls

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    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 outcompeting spotted owls for food and habitat. The U.S.

    Ecologist and spotted owl expert Rocky Gutierrez joins Host Flora Lichtman to break down the plan, and explain how we got to this point.

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    © Science Friday and WNYC StudiosLength 16 min3 December 2025Episode 1180ScienceFactsEducationalUSAEpisodic

    Agricultural Bees, China’s Energy Future, Frankenstein In Class. Feb 2, 2018, Part 1

    Agricultural Bees, China’s Energy Future, Frankenstein In Class. Feb 2, 2018, Part 1

    This is an episodic podcast, so you can listen to it in any order, but episode one is a great place to start.

    Listen to episode one here
    11+ScienceFactsEducationalUSAEpisodic3 December 2025© Science Friday and WNYC Studios

    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 outcompeting spotted owls 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.

    Ecologist and spotted owl expert Rocky Gutierrez joins Host Flora Lichtman to break down the plan, and explain how we got to this point.

    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.

    Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

    Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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    © Science Friday and WNYC Studios |Original Episode URL. The content, artwork and advertising within this podcast is not owned or affiliated with Sound Carrot and remain the property of their respective owners.


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