Executive Summary

During the 1980s and 90s, the northern spotted owl was perhaps the most controversial animal in the Pacific Northwest. The recommendation that the bird be listed as a threatened species turned the lumber industry against environmentalists in an angry, ugly confrontation, which continues to this day. But today the spotted owl faces a new and even more desperate battle, one that has it staring straight into the face of extinction. The new threat comes not from people but from an invasion of its own cousin, the barred owl.