Red-cockaded Woodpecker downlisted from endangered to threatened

[Laura Bies]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently downlisted the red-cockaded woodpecker from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker was first listed as an endangered species in 1973, and since then has benefitted from collaborative conservation efforts between the Department of the Interior, federal and state partners, Tribes, the private sector, and private landowners. The USFWS also finalized a 4(d) rule, which continues the same prohibitions for red-cockaded woodpeckers as an endangered species and includes exceptions for routine law enforcement activities and habitat management and provides species-specific exceptions for beneficial management practices. The rule applies throughout the species’ range, on both public and private lands.

The rule will go into effect on November 25. Read the final rule here. Read the press release from USFWS here.

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