The global population of the Barred owl has been estimated at over 3 million adult individuals. The Barred owl’s population in the US and Canada is estimated to have a slightly positive yearly trend, which is likely due to a fast increase in population size over three generations.
Until the 20th century, Barred owls were residents of old, undisturbed forests in eastern North America. They were probably restricted from moving into northwestern boreal forests because of frequent forest fires. But fire suppression, as well as tree planting in the Great Plains, allowed Barred owls to spread northward and westward during the past century. They eventually expanded south along the West Coast as far as California, where they began competing with Spotted owls. Barred owls have displaced these slightly smaller and less aggressive owls, further threatening the already compromised Spotted owl population.
Barred owls are forest birds and tend to live in mature forests because they need large, dead trees for nest sites. These requirements make them sensitive to logging expansion. For this reason, the Barred owl is often used as an indicator species for managing old forests; an indicator species is an organism whose population size and range reflects the health of a particular ecosystem. These owls are also excellent at managing rodent populations in rural areas, making them an asset to agriculture.
Legal conservation efforts include particular conservation actions taken by organizations which make government policy to protect all species on earth. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Status is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. Barred owls are listed as “Least Concern,” which means the species is widespread and abundant in the wild.
