DEVELOPING A TOOL FOR SPATIALLY PRIORITIZING BARRED OWL MANAGEMENT |
| Brendan K Hobart; University of Wisconsin-Madison; bkhobart@wisc.edu; H. Anu Kramer, M. Zach Peery, Gavin M. Jones, Connor M. Wood, John J. Keane, Katherine Fitzgerald, Robin R. Bown, Damon B. Lesmeister |
| The invasion of barred owls (Strix varia) in the western U.S. is a well-documented threat to biodiversity. The US Fish & Wildlife Service recently developed the Barred Owl Management Strategy, which aims “to reduce barred owl populations to improve the survival and recovery of northern spotted owls (S. occidentalis caurina) and to prevent declines in California spotted owls (S. o. occidentalis) from barred owl competition.” The Strategy calls for delineating Focal Management Areas—landscapes in which barred owl populations can tractably be managed. Although the Strategy provides detailed recommendations, a quantitative prioritization tool may help interested parties conduct more focused, efficient, and cost-effective barred owl management. Thus, we are developing a flexible and spatially explicit decision support tool to help end-users prioritize landscapes for barred owl management. We have produced the first version of this tool and are working with various research and management groups to refine and revise the tool, which is based in the program Zonation. For those involved in barred owl management, our tool represents an important step towards decision making and resource allocation. More broadly, our work highlights the value of coproduction in applied wildlife science and provides a template for producing meaningful outputs. |
| Studies in Exotic Species Management | | |
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