Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana urged his colleagues to block a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls, calling the proposal an overreach of federal authority and a misuse of taxpayer money.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Kennedy questioned the government’s role in intervening in natural ecosystems. “I know the bureaucrats at the Department of the Interior. I realize this: They’re smarter and more virtuous than you and I are. I get that. But who appointed them, God?” he said.
Kennedy criticized the Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to kill about 453,000 barred owls to protect the northern spotted owl, a species in long-term decline. He said the plan ignores the natural process of habitat expansion. “Barred owls are expanding their habitat because the forests in the east have been cut down. That’s called adaptive range expansion,” he said. “It’s a naturally occurring ecological phenomenon.”
He argued that the proposal would disrupt ecosystems rather than preserve them. “Ecosystems are like markets. They regulate themselves. Trying to change nature is like trying to have a federal government direct a free enterprise system. It won’t work. It never has. And it never will,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy introduced Senate Joint Resolution 69, which seeks congressional disapproval of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Record of Decision for the Barred Owl Management Strategy” for Washington, Oregon, and California. The measure, filed July 24, 2025, and placed on the Senate calendar Oct. 15, would nullify the rule under the Congressional Review Act if passed.
The Fish and Wildlife plan, issued Sept. 6, 2024, aims to reduce barred owl populations to aid recovery of the spotted owl. Agency officials have said the species compete for habitat, contributing to the spotted owl’s decline.
Kennedy said the plan would cost about $1.35 billion and require ongoing culling to maintain population levels. “They will kill 453,000 of them, dead as Jimmy Hoffa. Give me a break,” he said. “Life is hard. But it’s a lot harder when you’re stupid. Don’t do it. Pass my resolution, and let’s stop this.”
The resolution, co-sponsored by Sens. Rand Paul, Marsha Blackburn, Katie Britt, Rick Scott, and James Lankford, awaits further Senate consideration.
