FILE - A female barred owl sits on a branch in the wooded hills, Dec. 13, 2017, outside Philomath, Ore. To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan to deploy trained shooters into dense West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)