SEATTLE — It is time, federal wildlife managers have decided, to kill invasive barred owls in the Pacific Northwest that threaten native spotted owls with extinction.

The barred owl, ransacking forests and pushing deeper into fragile habitats, is outcompeting the spotted owl. It's bigger, more aggressive, and eats anything in the spotted owl's territory. Wildlife managers see no choice but to reduce the number of barred owls in some areas, to create refugia where spotted owls may persist.

The control program, outlined in a final Environmental Impact Statement announced Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is intended to result in the annual removal of less than one-half of 1% of the current North American barred owl population — but it's still a lot of birds: as many as 500,000 barred owls, over the next 30 years, depending on how fully the program is implemented.

The policy is the result of more than 15 years of review and study and collaboration, said Bridget Moran, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office deputy state supervisor.

"We are at a crossroads. We now have the science. ... There is time for us to act now, but that window is closing," Moran said.

"We are wildlife biologists, we don't take this on lightly. We do so because we know the Endangered Species Act requires us to do everything possible to protect endangered species, and we are doing that."

Under the program, trained professionals would be deployed in about half of the areas where spotted owls and invasive barred owls are found in the northern spotted owl's range, and also deployed to limit the barred owl's invasion into California. Hunting by the general public would not be allowed. Shooters are to call barred owls into close range to confirm the species' identity, and kill them with a shotgun. Lead shot will not be used.

To implement the program, USFWS must first obtain a permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The agency could then designate interested tribes, federal and state agencies, or landowners to shoot the owls. The "removal specialists," as the agency calls them, would have to meet training and competency requirements set by the agency and monitor and report results.

The USFWS conducted a scoping and public comment process on its draft environmental impact statement last winter and will announce a final record of the decision in at least 30 days after the formal publication of the final statement in the Federal Register on Friday.

The plan is essentially unchanged from the draft statement, which attracted strong responses, including .

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