Kim Kalliber, Author at Tulalip News

Great Lakes saved from nuke waste shipments!

Detroit News graphic of planned shipment route from Bruce nuclear power plant, Canada to Studsvik, Sweden radioactive waste “recycling” center.By Emma Lui, Intercontinental Cry

Communities and organizations around the Great Lakes received heartening news over the weekend. A plan to ship radioactive waste across the Lakes was officially cancelled after years of community opposition.

Swedish company Studsvik announced that the plan was annulled in its interim report for the first half of 2013.

As you may remember, Bruce Power had proposed shipping 16 bus-size radioactive steam generators across the Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean to Sweden for the nuke waste to be decontaminated.

City mayors, U.S. Senators, environmental and nuclear groups, indigenous communities and other civil society groups raised many important concerns about this shipment including the potential for water contamination and the lack of adequate community consultation. The shipment would have passed through British, Danish and Swedish waters and many European organizations and communities spoke out against the shipments.

This is a huge victory for communities around the Great Lakes and shows what can be achieved when people come together with passion and purpose.

However, the need to protect the Great Lakes from nuclear waste is not over. We need to use this victory as fuel for stopping plans to bury nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin. Ontario Power Generation has proposed a plan to bury low and intermediate level waste on the shores of Lake Huron. And there are further plans to find a willing community in Ontario or Saskatchewan that would bear the brunt of a high-level nuke waste site.

Great Lakes Nuclear Hot Spots Map (Credit: Great Lakes United and the International Institute of Concern for Public Health)

Article Adapted for Intercontinental Cry under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license. Originally published at Canadians.org

Blaze at Colville Tribes headquarters appears to be accidental

Source: indianz.com

A fire that destroyed the headquarters of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation appears to have been an accident, The Wenatchee World reported.

The preliminary investigation didn’t turn up anything suspicious, the paper said. The fire apparently started in the basement before spreading to the rest of the building.

Cedar was used throughout the entire structure, which hastened its demise. The headquarters was 40 years old and was built before the tribe updated its fire code.

“Cedar is important to our people, and I understand why it was built from cedar,” Chairman Michael Finley told the paper. “But when you look at it from the perspective of a fire marshal, it may not be the best building material.”

The tribe lost an untold number of official records in the fire.

Michael Connor nominated for top post at Interior Department

Source: indianz.com

Michael L. Connor, a descendant of Taos Pueblo, will be nominated as deputy secretary of the Interior Department.

Connor has served as Commissioner for the Bureau of Reclamation since 2009. He has worked on negotiating and implementing several tribal water rights settlements.

“Mike will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position after two decades in public service working on energy, conservation and water issues,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a press release.

“He has proven himself to be a thoughtful and collaborative leader on some of the toughest challenges at the Department – including finding sustainable solutions to water challenges in the West and resolving Indian water rights claims. Interior will be well served by his commonsense approach in the Deputy position.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Connor would be the first Native American descendant in the second-highest ranking post at DOI. He would succeed David Hayes, who left the Obama administration in June.

The Gloves Come Off: Civil Rights Suit Filed as Adoption of Veronica Finalized

Suzette Brewer, Indian Country Today Media Network

Before the adoption of Veronica Brown to Matt and Melanie Capobianco was finalized yesterday in a South Carolina courtroom, the Native American Rights Fund made good on its promised Civil Rights litigation, filing a complaint late Tuesday night in federal district court on behalf of the girl’s right to due process in a “meaningful hearing” to determine her best interest. The courts in South Carolina failed to “take into account or require any inquiry” regarding Veronica’s current circumstances before approving the transition plan provided by Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island.

Supreme Court Thwarts ICWA Intent in Baby Veronica Case

Anger Erupts Across Indian Country Over Baby Veronica Ruling

Native American Rights Fund: Stop the Forced Removal of Baby Veronica

Additionally, the suit (V.B. v. Daniel E. Martin, Family Court for the Ninth Judicial Circuit) declares that Veronica is a tribal member and remains an “Indian Child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act, and therefore she “possesses a federally protected right” to a best interest hearing under federal law.

Supported by dozens of tribes, civil rights and child welfare groups, adoption advocacy organizations, legal authorities and Native American groups, the complaint seeks federal jurisdiction over the case, as well as an injunction prohibiting South Carolina courts from further proceedings pending a full and “meaningful” best interest hearing.

Angel Smith, an Oklahoma attorney appointed by the Cherokee Nation to represent Veronica as a tribal member, filed the motion on the girl’s behalf.

The Cherokee Nation reacted swiftly to the finalization of the adoption and transition plan in South Carolina.

“Today, a Family Court in South Carolina finalized the adoption of an almost 4-year-old Cherokee child who has been living with her unquestionably fit, loving, biological father and large extended family, for one year and seven months, half a continent away in Oklahoma and Cherokee Nation,” said Chrissi Nimmo, assistant attorney general for the Cherokee Nation. “This decision was made without a hearing to determine what is in Veronica’s current best interests and comes almost two years after the same Family Court found that Dusten Brown was a fit, loving parent and it would be in Veronica’s best interests to be placed with her father. Every parent in America should be terrified.

Dusten Brown is an honorable man and a good father. Cherokee Nation will continue to support Dusten, Veronica and the entire Brown family in their attempt to keep their family whole.”

Dusten Brown, who is currently in training with the National Guard, also issued the following statement:

“Our family is shocked and deeply saddened that the South Carolina Supreme Court has refused to allow Veronica’s best interest to be considered. Even worse, that Court issued an order they acknowledge will cause my daughter to suffer harm. The Court gave its blessing to the transition plan offered by the Capobiancos that says upon transfer to them, Veronica will be ‘fearful, scared, anxious, confused,’” said Brown.

“They say she will likely become quiet and withdrawn and may cry herself to sleep. That the transfer will cause ‘grief’ and ‘loss’ and she will feel ‘rejected’ by me and her family. They say it will leave her with many ‘unanswered questions.’ I will not voluntarily let my child go through that, no parent would. I am her father and it is my job to protect her. My family and I continue to pray that the justice system bring justice to Veronica.”

But legal experts acknowledged that the fight over custody of Veronica is not only not over, but has now moved into a whole new level of litigation. In spite of South Carolina’s ruling yesterday, enforcement in Oklahoma courts will now be the focus of the case.

“Everything will now move to Washington County, Oklahoma, where Veronica now resides,” said a legal scholar who asked for anonymity because of the ongoing litigation. “But it will require a bit of time for any order to be domesticated in that state. You may have an order from South Carolina, but guess what? Veronica’s not in South Carolina. She’s been domiciled in Oklahoma for 19 months and there’s no way a court in Oklahoma is going to approve enforcement of this order without a normal, legal checklist of things that would be required for any other child up that’s been put up for adoption, not to mention a child who is a tribal member and is living with a biological parent.”

For example, the adoption was finalized without a current homestudy or psychological evaluation of any of the parties involved, which legal and child welfare experts say are standard operating procedures.

“It’s called giving ‘full faith and credit’ to another state’s order,” said the expert. “[The legal team] is going to go into court to argue that full faith and credit should not be given to the South Carolina order because the courts there did not follow the law. And Oklahoma, quite frankly, does not have to give full faith and credit if Veronica’s constitutional right to due process has been denied.”

Additionally, observers say that because jurisdiction has been shifted to Oklahoma, the gloves have now come off in a state that was originally founded as “Indian Territory.” With nearly 40 tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma has the second largest American Indian population in the United States. And they have watched the events in Adoptive Couple unfold in South Carolina with growing alarm and disgust.

“How is it that Paul Clement, who wasn’t even a party in this case, walks into the United States Supreme Court and insults every Indian tribe in the country by making this case about blood quantum and fiercely advocating for a ‘best interest’ hearing, only to have it shot down in South Carolina because the judges there think it’s too hard?” asks one Tulsa lawyer who works exclusively in ICWA cases. “It simply boggles the mind that any court would callously disregard the most important party in this case: Veronica herself. The fight is definitely not over.”

Lori Alvino McGill, the attorney for birth mother Christy Maldonado, today dismissed the federal suit to stop the finalization of the adoption as a “publicity stunt,” as tribes across the country continue to unify in support of Veronica and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Baby Veronica’s Birth Mother Files Suit, Claims ICWA Unconstitutional

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the Capobiancos filed their response to Dusten Brown’s request to the U.S. Supreme Court that the South Carolina courts postpone finalization of the adoption until a best interest determination hearing could be held. Chief Justice John Roberts, an adoptive parent himself who sided with the majority against Brown, oversees emergency petitions for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes South Carolina.

Sources in Washington have pointed out that Alvino McGill’s role in Adoptive Couple is more than that of a spokesperson for Christy Maldonado. As it turns out, Chief Justice Roberts and former solicitor general Ted Olson, both of whom sided with the Capobiancos, attended Ms. Alvino McGill’s 2006 wedding to Matthew McGill who, coincidentally, was a clerk for John Roberts in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore, given the cozy nature and small world influence in the Capitol’s legal circles, observers say it was no surprise when Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl was granted petition of certiorari in January.

“Dusten Brown never had a chance,” said the source. “His biggest sin was that he got on the wrong side of the billion dollar U.S. adoption industry and he was winning. [The Supreme Court] knew this when they took cert on this case, otherwise, why would they bother with a custody dispute that should have been nipped in the bud four years ago? And the sad part is that he’s rehabilitated himself in every way in this case. He’s gone to every length to keep his child, he’s done everything asked of him. But it is a system that was stacked against him from the beginning. This is Worcester v. Georgia all over again.”

After the South Carolina court’s ruling finalizing the adoption of his daughter, Dusten Brown made a direct plea to the Capobiancos.

“To Matt and Melanie Capobianco I want to say this: Please, for Veronica’s sake, just stop. Stop, and ask yourself if you really believe this is best for her.”

Fate of Harvest Camp Postponed, Considered a Political Lightning Rod

Mary Annette Pember, Indian Country Today Media Network

The Iron County Board voted on July 30 to postpone action against the Penokee Hills Education Camp, referring the issue back to the Forestry Committee with instructions to work with county and LCO tribal attorneys to find a legal way to allow the camp to remain in the forest.

About 50 people gathered at the Penokee Harvest Camp immediately before the meeting for a flag raising ceremony and tobacco offering by Bad River tribal elder Joe Rose. Lac Courte Oreilles vice chairman Rusty Barber was on hand to personally raise the LCO flag and underscore the cultural and environmental significance of the Camp. “We want to tell our future generations how to use mother earth in the right way,” he said.

More than 100 people showed up at the Iron County courthouse Tuesday night in support of the camp, many carrying signs supporting the Harvest Camp and treaty rights.

The tiny county board meeting room was filled to capacity forcing many people to wait outside and in the hallway. Several people spoke during the public comment period before board members voted, most in opposition to the mine.

Several people giving public comments were overcome with tears as they spoke of the injustice of putting an open pit mine in the Penokees. Others described how the Harvest Camp had turned around their perceptions of Native people who are often scape goated by the mainstream community as opponents to progress and jobs. Aileen Potter of Montreal, a few miles from the proposed mine described how she was taught to fear Native people as a child. “My dad used to tell us to duck down in the car when we drove through the Bad River reservation,” she recalls.

Originally a mine supporter as a way to generate jobs in the community, she has since changed her opinion after learning more about the potential impact on the water and environment. Recently she worked up the courage to visit the Harvest Camp.

“It was scary for me to go out there. I was nervous but Mel (Mel Gaspar, camp leader) greeted me at the entrance and asked if I had come to learn about what was going on there,” she said.

Gaspar gave her a tour of the camp and described the work being done to identify plant species, teach people about traditional Ojibwe gathering methods and determine the potential impact of the mine on the area.

Potter has been trying to educate other people in her community about the dangers presented by the mine but opines that although many not support it, they are afraid to speak out against it. “They may be afraid of being penalized at work or becoming targets in the community, “ she speculated.

The boardroom debate became heated when board member James Lambert complained that the camp was not about treaty rights but was in fact a protest against the mine. “I don’t consider this to be a treaty rights issue at all,” he interjected during the public hearing portion of the meeting.

Although the board charged the Forestry committee to work out a way for the camp to remain in the forest, it is unclear if such an arrangement is possible under current Wisconsin state statutes. Corporation counsel for the Iron County board Michael Pope expressed concern about ensuring that any agreements between the county and LCO tribe met with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approval. If the county does not conform to DNR statues, it runs the risk of losing financial support and grant monies administrated by the DNR.

Paul DeMain, spokesperson for the Harvest Camp was pleased with the county’s action and hopeful that the attorneys can arrive at a decision that both sides can agree on.

“This decision gets the issue back where it needs to be in order to find a middle ground,” he observed.

Joseph Pinardi, Iron County board chairman was clearly eager to get Iron County out of the national spotlight and return to “business as usual” as he described the work for the normally sparsely attended meetings in this small county.

He told a reporter that the controversy surrounding the Harvest Camp was “seriously blown out of proportion.”

The camp has become a political lightning rod and will continue to draw fire from both sides.

In June Wisconsin Rep. Mark Honadel (R-South Milwaukee) rallied fellow Republicans to introduce a bill into the state budget that would restrict public access to mining sites under the auspices of concern for public safety. He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that public access is already restricted from areas where mining is going on. “It just makes common sense,” he said.

The bill didn’t pass however because it was “too rushed” according to Honadel. He told the Daily Reporter, however, that the state assembly should act quickly to introduce a separate bill that restricts public access.

After visiting the Harvest Camp in July, however, state Senators Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) and Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) announced that they will introduce legislation to address workplace safety and ensure public access to open managed forest land. The proposed Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) mine is located on such land.

Public access and public gatherings have been a sore spot for the Gov. Scott Walker administration. Harkening back to the 1960’s Vietnam protests, groups have gathered in the capital rotunda daily to sing protest songs. The Solidarity Sing Alongs held at the capitol building in Madison protesting the Walker administration since 2011 have grown in size. In response, Walkers administration revised the buildings public access policy, requiring groups to get permits for organized activities. Last week, over a three-day period, police arrested nearly 100 people for singing in the capital rotunda including a mother who was led away in handcuffs as her young daughter stood by. Protesters were issued citations in the amount of $200.00.

The Walker administration described the sing-alongs as disruptive and claimed that the gatherings discouraged others from visiting the building. Protesters, however, maintain that it is their constitutional right to gather and petition their government. Earlier in July, a federal judge upheld Walkers change in access policy.

On July 30, Walker supporters occupied the capital rotunda leaving protesters to gather on the lawn outside the building. The Wisconsin State Journal described the gatherings as “dueling protests.”

Several opponents to the GTAC mine have also participated in the sing-alongs including Rebecca Kemble of The Progressive Magazine whose parents were arrested for their participation last week. Tom and Joan Kemble are 85 and 80 years old.

As for the Harvest Camp, it’s time to “hunker down” according to DeMain. Camp organizers will continue with their work of educating the public about the cultural and environment significance of the Penokee Hills and hope to expand to create a public market for Native artists. “If we build it, they will come,” DeMain said.

RELATED: Wisconsin Mining War

Don’t dismiss versatile kale

By Lisa Abraham, Akron Beacon Journal

Kale is one of the most versatile greens. It can be substituted for spinach in any dish, and pairs well with many foods: pasta, potatoes, sausage and white beans, to name a few. When you spot it at local farmers markets, don’t shy away from this hearty green.

Check out the recipes below for two different ways to prepare kale.

Braised curly kale with garlic and soy sauce

1 pound green curly kale
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh red chili pepper
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
Salt and pepper

Remove any yellowing bits or tough stalks from the kale, then reserve the leaves in cold water. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and season with salt. Drain the kale, add to the pan, and cook for 6 minutes. Drain again and keep warm.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the chili and garlic, and fry gently for about 3 minutes, until the garlic begins to brown. Immediately put the cooked kale into the pan and stir well. Season lightly with pepper and the soy sauce, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve warm.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Creamed purple kale with pepper and lemon

11/2 pounds purple kale
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, finely diced
3/4 cup medium-dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and white pepper

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the shallots, and fry gently for 4 to 5 minutes, until they begin to brown. Pour in the wine and allow it to evaporate before adding the cream. Just as the cream starts to bubble, add the cooked kale and squeeze in the lemon juice. Grind in some white pepper and season lightly with salt. Allow the liquid to reduce slightly, then serve.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Recipes adapted from “Eat Your Vegetables” by Arthur Potts Dawson

Roasting ramps up the strawberry flavor

By Rose McAvoy, The Herald

Roasting produce is a terrific way to take the usual flavor and turn the volume way up. Boosting the volume of flavor is among my top tips when it comes to lightening your cooking. We tend to read a lot about roasting vegetables such as potatoes, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Roasting fruit can be equally if not even more rewarding. Roasted apples, for instance, with some cinnamon and honey can be a real crowd-pleaser on a crisp fall evening.

Not long ago I got the urge to bake a whole mess of scones featuring fresh strawberries. I’ll share that recipe in my next post. In the meantime we need to get the strawberries de-juiced so they can be mixed into the scone batter. Scones are one of those slightly touchy pastries. The dough needs to be just moist enough to hold together, but too much liquid and you don’t have a scone you have a mess. Fresh off the vine strawberries can bring too much liquid to an otherwise perfect scone batter. You could use home or commercially dehydrated strawberries but I really wanted to keep as much of the peak of season flavor as possible. This brought me to roasting.

In my ears, roasted strawberries sounds fancy and sophisticated. Once I figured out the process I was delighted by their rustic simplicity. The result is a caramelized strawberry flavor minus most of the moisture that is just perfect for folding into a scone, muffin, pancake, or most other pastry.

Give roasting strawberries a try while they are still fresh and affordable, then stay tuned for the scone recipe!

Roasted Strawberries

2 pounds of fresh strawberries – washed & dried, stems removed, cut into 3/4 inch pieces (probably quarters or 1/8th depending on the size of your berries)

1. Lay the berries in a single layer on a parchment or silicone baking mat lined cookie sheet.

2. Bake the berries at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes. I prefer a lower temperature for a longer time to really concentrate the flavor of the berries.

3. Most of the liquid will leak out of the berries and puddle up around them. (Once the berries have cooled you can peel up the juice and enjoy it as a faux fruit leather.)

4. Scoop the roasted berries into a sealed container and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake with them. The chilled roasted strawberries should keep for a couple of days. 2 lbs of fresh berries should leave you with about 1 cup after roasting.

Grief & Loss Evening, Aug 1

Join C.E.D.A.R. and the Family Services Mental Wellness Team for an evening of

support and learning about grief and loss for adults, children and the community.

Grief & Loss

Thursday August 1st, 2013

Dinner at 5:00 PM, Presentation 5:30-7:30

Administration Room 162

Changes approved in Cobell payments to heirs

Special Master Authorizes Additional Procedures For Payment Of Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Funds To Class Members’ Heirs

SEATTLE, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The following statement is being issued by The Garden City Group, Inc. (GCG) regarding the Cobell v. Salazar Settlement.

Changes have been approved in the way payments can be distributed for deceased Class Members in the Cobell v. Salazar Settlement. The changes now allow the use of added procedures for payment to the heirs of deceased Class Members. In December 2012, the Court appointed the Honorable Richard A. Levie (Ret.) as Special Master. In orders issued on July 16, 2013, the Special Master authorized GCG to use additional payment procedures. GCG will now be allowed to use federal probate orders, and in some states, small estate procedures to distribute to the heirs of deceased Class Members. This is authorized when no state or tribal probate order, no probated will, and no legally-appointed executor or administrator exists.

Since December 2012, and in accordance with Orders of the District Court, GCG has worked hard to distribute settlement funds to the estates or heirs of deceased Class Members based on state and tribal probate orders. However, these probate orders do not exist in many cases and it can be costly and time consuming to start state or tribal probate proceedings. Given these difficulties, Counsel for the Cobell Class filed motions to allow GCG to use additional procedures to help with the distribution of settlement funds.

In certain states, GCG is now allowed to distribute funds to the heirs of deceased Class Members based on state small estate procedures. The states are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

In some cases, the Special Master’s orders allow GCG to use federal or Bureau of Indian Affairs probate orders as a guide for finding and getting funds to heirs of Class Members. Because using a federal probate order may lead to different results than state or tribal probate law, federal probate orders can only be used when no other approved documents have been given to GCG.

Copies of the Special Master’s orders can be found at www.IndianTrust.com. Individuals are strongly encouraged to contact GCG at 1-800-961-6109; or by email at info@indiantrust.com. They are encouraged to provide copies of state, tribal or federal probate orders for deceased Class Members. This will help GCG make distributions. Copies of these documents can be mailed to GCG at: Indian Trust Settlement, P.O. Box 9577, Dublin, Ohio 43017-4877.

Cobell v. Salazar is a class action filed in 1996 against the government for mismanaging their individual trust lands and the money from those lands. The action was led by the late Elouise Cobell and the class is currently represented by David Smith and Bill Dorris of the law firm of Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton LLP. After years of intense litigation, a $3.4 billion settlement was reached in 2009. It was approved by Congress in 2010 and held to be fair by Judge Hogan in 2011. All of the appeals were dismissed or withdrawn by late November 2012. The government has since funded the Settlement.

More information on the Settlement can be found at the website: www.IndianTrust.com.

Feds advance plan to kill 3,603 barred owls in Pacific Northwes

A barred owl is seen near Index, Wash. The federal government is considering killing some of the owls in the Pacific Northwest to aid the smaller northern spotted owl in the area. (Barton Glasser / Associated Press)

By John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO — Federal wildlife officials have moved one step closer to their plan to play referee in a habitat supremacy contest that has pitted two species of owl against one another in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a final environmental review of an experiment planned in three states to see if killing barred owls will assist the northern spotted owls, which are threatened with extinction after a major loss of territory since the 1970s.

The agency’s preferred course of action calls for killing 3,603 barred owls in four study areas in Oregon, Washington and Northern California over the next four years. At a cost of $3 million, the plan requires a special permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibits killing non-game birds.

“It’s a fair assessment to say that going after the barred owls is the plan we’d prefer to pursue,” Robin Bown, a federal wildlife biologist, told the Los Angeles Times.

The agency began evaluating alternatives in 2009, gathering public comment and consulting ethicists, focus groups and conduction scientific studies.

It will issue a final decision on the plan in 30 days.

Animal activists have blasted the federal plan, saying the government should stay out of the fray and let the more dominant bird prevail, as nature intended.

The northern spotted owl is at the center of an ongoing battle between woodcutters and environmentalists across the Pacific Northwest. Because of its dwindling numbers, the little bird is listed as a threatened species by the federal government and in Washington, Oregon and California, Bown said.

On Tuesday, the timber industry criticized the barred owl harvest.

“Shooting a few isolated areas of barred owl isn’t going to help us as forest managers, nor is it going to help the forest be protected from wildfires, and catastrophic wildfire is one of the big impediments to spotted owl recovery,” Tom Partin, president of the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, told the Associated Press.

Bown disagreed.

“To people who say to me that we should leave those owls alone, my response is that ‘So you’re accepting the extinction of the spotted owl? That’s OK?’”

Bown told The Times there have been several mischaracterizations of the federal plan.

“We’re not sending public hunters into the woods to declare open season on the barred owl. This is a controlled experiment, using folks who are trained and skilled at animal removal. Our goal in this experiment is twofold: Will moving barred owls help the spotted owl population to recover? And can we use removal of barred owls as a management tool?”

Unless barred owls are brought under control, the spotted owl in coming decades might disappear from Washington’s northern Cascade Range and Oregon’s Coast Range, where the barred owl incursion has been greatest, Bown said.

“In our projected study areas, the removal would represent a very small percentage of the barred owls,” she said. “We’re also taking steps to mitigate habitat threats to the spotted owls, such as large-scale fires and timber harvests.”

Barred owls are bigger and more aggressive than the northern spotted variety. Native to the East Coast, they began working their way across the Great Plains in the early 1900s, driven west by human development. By the 1970s, the species had spread to the West Coast, where their numbers have multiplied.

In some areas of their range, northern spotted owls are outnumbered 5-to-1 by barred owls.

“While some people just feel we should leave things alone, we want to take a small step at a resolution with this experiment,” Bown told The Times.

“After all, humans had a hand in getting the barred owl here in the northwest.”