Endangered Species Updates

Reprinted from the American Bird Conservancy

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Proposed for ESA Listing:  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed recently proposed that a suite of 49 Hawaiian species be listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Among the bees, shrimp, and plants put forward for protection is one bird species: the Hawaiian population of the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, a small seabird believed to have dwindled to only 240 known pairs. In this ecosystem-based approach, FWS is proposing to list the petrel along with dozens of other species that share the bird's important and heavily impacted habitats: the coastal, dry cliff, and wet cliff ecosystems of Hawai‘i. Read our opinion on ABC’s “Bird Calls” blog.

Elfin-woods Warbler Proposed for Listing: The Elfin-woods Warbler inhabits two small forest areas in Puerto Rico and is currently at risk throughout its range due to threats including sun coffee production. In addition, other natural or manmade factors, such as restricted distribution and lack of connectivity, genetic drift, hurricanes, and climate change, are considered threats.  We support this the proposed listing.

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Loses ESA Protection:  A federal court in Texas recently stripped the Lesser Prairie-Chicken of Endangered Species Act protection. At ABC we believe that the long-term decline of the species suggests the need to continue the significant private conservation efforts being undertaken by agencies and landowners, and caution against changes in ESA protection until a sustained range-wide recovery of the species is achieved.While there are recent encouraging signs, the species is vulnerable to drought conditions, and populations fluctuate significantly over time. Additional impacts from industrial developments could tip the balance since the species' recovery is still precarious.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker Translocation to Great Dismal Swamp: Biologists from several agencies and organizations have come together to make preparations for a historic woodpecker translocation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, North Carolina Department of Transportation, The Nature Conservancy, The Center for Conservation Biology, and J. Carter & Associates have all joined forces in a coordinated effort to move Red-cockaded Woodpeckers to the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The effort has been years in the making and will attempt to establish a new population of the federally endangered woodpecker on the refuge.  For more, see The Center for Conservation Biology’s newsletter.