Invasive owls could be shot in Sonoma County under federal plan [Video]

“I think the writing (on the wall) is pretty clear, with the long history of us watching this happen from north to south,” Bown said.

Already, said Brendan O’Neil, natural resources manager and senior environmental scientist for the California State Parks Sonoma-Mendocino District, “I see them all the time.”

“Nobody wants to vilify the barred owl for what it naturally does. It’s survival instinct to do what it’s doing,” O’Neil said. “At the same time, I don’t know that it’s acceptable to lose an iconic species.”

It’s a grim and emotionally fraught subject, particularly given the commitment those promoting the plan have made to wildlife preservation.

“It was extremely challenging for all of us involved in this last decade,” Moran, with Fish and Wildlife Service, said. “We are conservation biology professionals. We enter this field to conserve and protect and restore, and we find ourselves at a place where, if …