Crazy. So they are basically trying to stop a natural evolution of a species.
From Wikipaedia:
“The Spotted Owl is similar in appearance to the Barred Owl but has cross-shaped markings on the underparts, whereas the Barred Owl is alternately barred on the breast and streaked on the belly. Barred Owls are larger and grayer than Spotted Owls. In recent years the California and Northern subspecies of Spotted Owl have been displaced by Barred Owls, which are more aggressive, have a broader diet and occur in more varied habitats.[2] Though the two species may hybridize in areas where displacement is occurring, they are quite genetically distinct, for example, differing 13.9% in certain gene sequences”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_Owl
IOW 86.1% of their genes are the same.