The federal government plans to kill 450,000 barred owls over 30 years to protect the northern spotted owl — while simultaneously narrowing the definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act to allow old-growth forest logging that will destroy the spotted owl's habitat.

Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for Humane Economy, joins Corinna Bellizzi to expose the timber industry logic behind both moves. Together, they explain what's happening to wild horses and wolves on America's public lands, and share what 35 years of animal protection work has taught Wayne about how a slippery slope can lead to environmental devastation. We must act to protect America's open spaces and wild habitats.

• 00:00 — Introduction: The Spotted Owl, the Barred Owl, and the Question of Whose Fault It Is
• 04:00 — The 14-Mile Zone of Life: How Much Room Do We Actually Share?
• 06:00 — The Northern Spotted Owl: History, Habitat, and the Timber Wars
• 10:00 — The Barred Owl Is Not Invasive: The Range-Expansion Argument
• 14:00 — Human Beings Crossed the Bering Land Bridge: Applying the Same Logic
• 18:00 — The Plan to Shoot 450,000 Owls: Why It Won't Work
• 20:00 — The Endangered Species Act: How the Definition of Harm Is Being Gutted
• 23:00 — The One Big Beautiful Bill and the 60% Timber Increase
• 27:00 — Old Growth Redwoods, Carbon, and the True Cost of Logging
• 30:00 — The Lawsuit and What Comes Next
• 32:00 — Wild Horses: 80,000 vs. 4.3 Million Cattle
• 36:00 — Wolves: Delisted for Politics, Hunted by Snowmobile
• 37:00 — Fertility Control as a Humane Alternative
• 39:00 — Why Every Animal Sequesters Carbon
• 40:00 — The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Its Origins
• 44:00 — The Environmental Groups That Got This Wrong
• 47:00 — Direct Mail, Organizational Efficiency, and the 95% Program Model
• 50:00 — What Animal Wellness Action Has Actually Accomplished
• 53:00 — Wildfires, Forest Management, and Fossil Fuels
• 57:00 — The Colorado River and the Water Crisis
• 01:00:00 — What You Can Do: Congress, Donations, and Showing Up
• 01:02:00 — Closing: Inspired and Enraged Resources
  • Wayne Pacelle on LinkedIn
  • Animal Wellness Action — animalwellnessaction.org
  • Center for Humane Economy — humaneeconomy.org
  • Wayne Pacelle on X
  • Wayne Pacelle on Instagram
  • The Bond — Wayne Pacelle
  • The Humane Economy — Wayne Pacelle
  • Action Alert: Barred Owl Kill Plan
  • Action Alert: Endangered Species Act Definition of Harm
  • Donate to Animal Wellness Action
  • Aldo Leopold — A Sand County Almanac
  • Bill McKibben on Ezra Klein Show

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