Laura Bies
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From the Bird Banding Lab -
We announce with regret, the passing of Mary Gustafson in November of 2022. Mary worked in the BBL for just over ten years and for a few of those years held the position of Acting Chief. Mary began working for the BBL in 1995 as a biologist. Initially, she handled auxiliary marking, banding schedule editing (biological data), band procurement as well as coordinating special authorizations to band hummingbirds. When Mary came to the BBL, she already had extensive banding experience, including work at Ontario’s Long Point and New Jersey’s Cape May bird observatories. Mary was very passionate about her profession; mainly a passerine and hummingbird bander, she was an integral part of the BBL staff. When the BBL shifted from a hierarchical to relational database, Mary’s contributions were an essential part of those re-engineering efforts. Mary left the BBL in late August of 2005 for a position with the State of Texas and to become a professional bird guide in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Her excitement and enthusiasm for birding and avian science was clear in every position she held, including those of president of the Lower Rio Grande Valley RBA, editor of South Texas’ e-Bird, and committee member for the Texas Bird Records and American Birding Association Checklist, among many other important roles in the ornithological scientific community. Certainly, Mary will be sorely and forever missed by the BBL team, the ornithological community, and her friends and family.
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a proposal to remove the Word Stork (Mycteria americana) from the list of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.
Wood Storks, the only stork species that breeds in the United States, were first listed as endangered in 1984, when there were fewer than 5,000 breeding pairs. The population has now increased to more than 10,000 breeding pairs and expanded its range to include 107 known active breeding sites in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Learn more from the USFWS’ press release below.
Comments on the proposal can be submitted through April 17.
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USFWS PRESS RELEASE
Interior Department Applauds Proposed Delisting of the Wood Stork Species expands population range as agency celebrates 50 years of Endangered Species Act
Feb 14, 2023
Media Contacts:Renee Bodine
WASHINGTON – Achieving a major conservation milestone following decades of conservation and large-scale restoration work, the Department of the Interior today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the wood stork from the federal list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. Wood storks (Mycteria americana) are the only species of stork breeding in the United States.
The announcement comes as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) turns 50 years old in 2023. Throughout the year, the Department will celebrate the importance of the ESA in preventing the extinction of imperiled species, promoting the recovery of wildlife and conserving the habitats upon which they depend.
The Endangered Species Act provides a critical safety net for fish, wildlife and plants and has prevented the extinction of hundreds of imperiled species, as well as promoted the recovery of many others, and conserved the habitats upon which they depend,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “The proposed delisting of the wood stork is a significant milestone and a testament to the hard work by federal agencies, state and local governments, Tribes, conservation organizations, and private citizens in protecting and restoring our most at-risk species.”
“The wood stork is recovering as a result of protecting its habitat at a large scale,” said Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz. “This iconic species has rebounded because dedicated partners in the Southeast have worked tirelessly to restore ecosystems, such as the Everglades, that support it.”
The wood stork faced extinction when listed in 1984 under the Endangered Species Act. The population decreased from 20,000 nesting pairs to less than 5,000 pairs, primarily nesting in south Florida’s Everglades and Big Cypress ecosystems. Today, the wood stork breeding population has doubled to 10,000 or more nesting pairs and increased its range, including the coastal plains of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. These long-legged wading birds more than tripled their number of nesting colonies from 29 to 99 in their expanded range. They’ve adapted to new nesting areas, moving north into coastal salt marshes, old, flooded rice fields, floodplain forest wetlands, and human-created wetlands.
If the wood stork is delisted, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Clean Water Act, and state environmental regulations will continue to protect this species and the wetland habitats it depends upon. The ESA requires the Service to implement a post-delisting monitoring plan for a minimum of five years to ensure the species remains stable.
In addition, this proposed delisting reinforces the importance of restoration programs in the Everglades and Big Cypress ecosystems (Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan) and other ecosystem restoration efforts throughout the Southeast. The CERP enacted by Congress in 2000 remains among the highest national conservation priorities for the Service. Delisting the wood stork would not change the Service’s focus on the Everglades restoration, as CERP will continue to focus on restoration that can support robust wood stork breeding within the Everglades and Big Cypress ecosystems.
Additionally, through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the Department of the Interior is implementing a more than $2 billion downpayment to restore ecosystems, invest in habitat connectivity for aquatic species and conserve at-risk and listed species. Investments through these two historic laws will lead to better outdoor spaces and habitats for people and wildlife for generations to come.
The ESA has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction. Thus far, more than 100 species of plants and animals have been delisted based on recovery or reclassified from endangered to threatened based on improved conservation status, and hundreds more species are stable or improving thanks to the collaborative actions of Tribes, federal agencies, state and local governments, conservation organizations and private citizens. These efforts exemplify President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative, a challenge to pursue a locally led and voluntary, nationwide effort to conserve, connect, and restore the lands, waters, and wildlife upon which we all depend.
For more information on this proposed delisting, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions.
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About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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James “Jim” Baird, President of the Association of Field Ornithologists (then the Northeast Bird Banding Association) from 1967 to 1971, passed away at the age of 97 on January 23rd, 2023. Read more about his life at AFO's blog.
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From the Institute for Bird Populations:
Dave DeSante, the founder of IBP, the MAPS program and other important bird research initiatives, passed away on October 18, 2022 at age 80. Dave passed suddenly and peacefully while doing one of his favorite things- pursuing a sighting of a vagrant bird, which in this case was an ultra-rare Willow Warbler that showed up in Marin County. Dave was a true visionary whose passion and drive inspired all of us at IBP – and many others – to study and conserve bird populations. He also had a huge and loving spirit, and touched many of our lives in more personal ways. We will miss him greatly.
More info at https://birdpop.org/pages/rememberingDaveDeSante.php
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it will delay the implementation of the rule listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) under the Endangered Species Act. The agency will use the 60-day delay to ensure that livestock grazing plans and other voluntary protection measures are in place. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday, January 24.
Under the rule, the southern distinct Lesser Prairie Chicken population in eastern New Mexico and the southwestern Texas Panhandle will be listed as an endangered species. The northern distinct population in the northeastern Texas Panhandle, southeastern Colorado, south-central Kansas and western Oklahoma will be listed as a threatened species.
Under the final rule, a provision for the threatened population section allows FWS to exempt certain agricultural activities, livestock grazing and controlled fires from a provision barring incidentally killing, harming or harassing prairie chickens, if those engaging in such activities commit to certain conservation practices. However, according to the agency’s announcement this week, so far only one entity has developed an applicable livestock grazing plan. The USFWS is working to put more conservation agreements in place before the rule goes into effect on March 24.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The Ornithological Council recently reached out to the Secretary of the Interior, to think the department for reversing its moratorium on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. In late 2019, the Department grounded all Chinese-made drones. Then, in early 2020, the Secretary of the Interior extended that decision to all drone use by the Department and its agencies, in the name of national security.
The Ornithological Council has long support the use of drones in wildlife research, management, and conservation. In late 2017, the Ornithological Council asked the Office of the Solicitor to advise the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, other federal agencies, and the state agencies that the use of drones for wildlife research is not subject to the Airborne Hunting Act. It also asked that if the Solicitor determines that the use of drones to study wildlife is subject to the AHA, then the Solicitor should address the need for federal permits because there are few, if any, state laws pertaining to drone use for wildlife research and monitoring.
Then, in early 2018, the OC filed a petition for rulemaking, asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue permits for the use of drones to study wildlife. That petition for rulemaking proposed the changes necessary for the USFWS to issue permits under the AHA, since, if the Solicitor determines that the use of drones for wildlife research is covered by the AHA, permits would be needed.
Now that the drone ban has been lifted, the Ornithological Council supports the development of regulations supporting the appropriate use of drones in wildlife research, management, and conservation.
Read the recent letter to DOI here.
More background on the use of drones to research birds is available here.
The OC’s fact sheet on drones is available here.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has released A Framework for Federal Scientific Integrity Policy and Practice, a new policy with a goal of strengthening scientific integrity policies and practices across the federal government.
The new policy builds on a report released a year ago, Protecting the Integrity of Government Science, and was developed with input from federal agencies and other sectors, including academia, the scientific community, public interest groups, and industry. It includes a consistent definition of scientific integrity for all federal agencies and a model scientific integrity policy to guide agencies as they build and update their policies. Under the new policy, all federal agencies are required to designate a scientific integrity official. Those agencies that fund, conduct, or oversee research must designate a chief science officer. It also establishes the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Scientific Integrity to oversee implementation of the framework, and evaluate agencies’ progress.
Read the full Framework here.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The Department of the Interior has reversed its moratorium on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. In late 2019, the Department grounded all Chinese-made drones. Then, in early 2020, the Secretary of the Interior extended that decision to all drone use by the Department and its agencies, in the name of national security.
The Ornithological Council has long support the use of drones in wildlife research, management, and conservation. In late 2017, the Ornithological Council asked the Office of the Solicitor to advise the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, other federal agencies, and the state agencies that the use of drones for wildlife research is not subject to the Airborne Hunting Act. It also asked that if the Solicitor determines that the use of drones to study wildlife is subject to the AHA, then the Solicitor should address the need for federal permits because there are few, if any, state laws pertaining to drone use for wildlife research and monitoring.
Then, in early 2018, the OC filed a petition for rulemaking, asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue permits for the use of drones to study wildlife. That petition for rulemaking proposed the changes necessary for the USFWS to issue permits under the AHA, since, if the Solicitor determines that the use of drones for wildlife research is covered by the AHA, permits would be needed.
Now that the drone ban has been lifted, the Ornithological Council supports the development of regulations supporting the appropriate use of drones in wildlife research, management, and conservation.
More background on the use of drones to research birds is available here.
The OC’s fact sheet on drones is available here.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
A new report from the Acopian Center for Ornithology at Muhlenberg College examines the cost of including bird-safe glass in new construction and helps to alleviate the concern in the building community that bird-safe glass is cost prohibitive.
According to the report, bird-safe glass could be installed in a new $8 million 9-story office building for about $30,000, or four-tenths of one percent (0.38%) of the total cost of the building.
Every year, hundreds of millions of birds die from accidentally flying into glass buildings and windows. But new types of glass now make this easily preventable. The new report provides actionable evidence that building code reforms requiring bird safe glass in new commercial construction allow policy makers to fulfill their responsibility to protect migrating birds and meet the environmental protection objectives of local ordinances without hurting the construction industry.
Twenty communities now have bird-safe building standards or are in the process of developing them. These include large cities such as New York, San Francisco and Toronto.
This report is based on five decades of research by Dr. Daniel Klem, Ornithological Council board member and Sarkis Acopian Professor of Ornithology and director of the Acopian Center for Ornithology, Muhlenberg College, and author of Solid Air | Invisible Killer: Saving Billions of Birds from Windows.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is updating the list of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by both adding and removing species, to reflect changes in taxonomy and accepted use, as well as new evidence regarding the natural occurrence or absence of species in the United States or U.S. territories. The proposal would add 16 species and remove three, bringing the total number of species protected by the MBTA to 1,106. Names changes would affect 30 other listings.
The proposal would:
(1) Add 11 species based on new distributional records documenting their occurrence in the United States or U.S. territories:
- Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus)
- Dark-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus melacoryphus)
- Hooded Crane (Grus monacha)
- Northern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes halli)
- Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus)
- Pallas's Gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus)
- Inca Tern (Larosterna inca)
- Small-billed Elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris)
- Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler (Helopsaltes certhiola)
- Blue-and-white Swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca)
- Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni)
(2) Add five species because of recent taxonomic changes in which taxa formerly treated as conspecific have been determined to be distinct species:
- Mexican Duck (Anas diazi) — formerly considered conspecific with Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
- Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus) — formerly named Mew Gull and considered conspecific with Larus canus, which now has the English name of Common Gull and remains on the list based on prior occurrences of the Common Gull taxon in the United States
- Puerto Rican Mango (Anthracothorax aurulentus) — formerly considered conspecific with Antillean Mango (Anthracothorax dominicus)
- Asian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus) — formerly considered conspecific with Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus)
- Chihuahuan Meadowlark (Sturnella lilianae) — formerly considered conspecific with Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella manga)
(3) Remove three species based on revised taxonomic treatments, either because a species is taxonomically merged with another species, either on or off the list; a species previously on the list is taxonomically split into multiple species and the new species is not known to occur within the United States or U.S. territories; or the species is considered extinct:
- Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus) is lumped with American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
- Antillean Mango (Anthracothorax dominicus)
- Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus)
(4) Revise the common (English) names of eight species and revise the scientific names of 22 species to conform to the most recent nomenclatural treatment. See the table in the agency's proposal here for the list of species.
Comments can be submitted on the proposal through February 10, 2023.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The Ornithological Council submitted comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the agency’s recent proposal to change to its process for issuing permits for the incidental take of bald and golden eagles. The agency first announced its plans to streamline the permitting process in September 2021.
The proposed rule would create general permits for four activities: wind-energy generation projects, power line infrastructure, disturbance of breeding bald eagles, and bald eagle nest take. Those whose activities fall into one of those categories would be required to register with the USFWS and self-certify compliance with permit conditions. Individual permits will be available for any project that does not qualify for one of the proposed general permits.
The Ornithological Council’s comments support the development of a new permitting scheme, but offered a number of comments and suggestions for the agency to consider as it moves toward finalizing the rule. While the proposal would eliminate the need for independent third party monitoring, the OC’s comments expressed concerned about a permitting scheme that would rely solely on permittees performing regular monitoring and self-reporting eagle deaths. We believe that independent monitoring is essential and that the cost should be borne by the permittee. Monitors should be qualified biologists who are trained in a standard methodology that has been peer-reviewed and field-tested.
The comments also encouraged that permit conditions should provide that all carcasses and bird parts must be collected and preserved according to established protocols. All carcasses and parts that are not needed by the USFWS for law enforcement purposes or for the National Eagle repository, or by Tribes, should be offered to museums and ornithologists for research.
The OC also encouraged the agency to put in place standard permits conditions that would allow systematic monitoring at their project sites by USFWS staff or contractors. Further, permit conditions should encourage access for researchers to study the effects of their projects on all migrator birds, not just eagles. Some wind energy facilities may cause substantial avian mortality, and access for research can be difficult to secure. A better understanding of avian mortality and the behavioral changes associated with wind turbines, would benefit the agency, the permit holder, and the birds themselves.
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits any take of bald eagles and golden eagles, except as permitted by federal regulations. Pursuant to regulations, “take” is defined as to pursue, shoot, shoot at, kill, capture, trap, molest, or disturb (50 CFR 22.3). Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to issue regulations that permit the taking of eagles for various purposes, as long as such take is compatible with the preservation of the eagle.
The USFWS also published rules regarding eagle incidental take in 2009, revising them in 2016.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
Proceedings from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Institute for Laboratory Animal Research’s workshop on “Discussing and Understanding Animal Welfare Challenges in Research and Education on Wildlife, Non-Model Animal Species, and Biodiversity,” held in February 2022, are now available online. That workshop brought together regulators and the regulated community to discuss and understand challenges related to wildlife, non-model species, and biodiversity in research and education.
Ornithological Council Executive Director Laura Bies was part of the planning committee for the virtual workshop. Discussion topics during the two-day online workshop included perspectives on animal welfare considerations; laws, regulations, and permits associated with fish and wildlife; wild animal population concerns; the role of veterinarians in wildlife research; restraint and handling of animals in the field; and transition of wild animals to captive settings.
Recordings from the workshop, as well as PDFs of each speakers’ presentation, are also available at the workshop website.
Dr. William Bowerman, chair of the OC, was selected earlier this year to serve on the new ILAR Standing Committee on Animal Care and Use. That committee will be undertaking a revision or expansion of The Guide to the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and the February workshop was organized to inform those efforts. The Guide to the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals is published by ILR and is widely applied to research conducted or funded by the federal government. That guidance document is a suitable standard for biomedical research, but it has little information relevant to wildlife research beyond general principles and is therefore not well suited to wildlife work, particularly fieldwork. Through the virtual workshop and other efforts, the OC is partnering with ILAR to assist them in broadening their guidance to better include the realities of wildlife research.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The Ornithological Council submitted comments to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regarding its recent proposal to restructure the fees the agency charges for quarantine services, import/export permits, and other veterinary services.
In general, the OC supports the development of a permit fee system that will cover the costs to the agency of management the permitting system and that can be adjusted annually as those costs change. Our comments did encourage APHIS to consider extending the duration of import/export permits from one year to three years, reducing the workload for ornithologists who must apply for these permits each year, and for the APHIS staff who must review and approve these permits.
Comments can be submitted to APHIS through Dec. 2.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended the comment period on its proposal for changes to its process for issuing permits for the incidental take of bald and golden eagles. The agency first announced its plans to streamline the permitting process in September 2021. Comments are now due December 29.
The USFWS also published rules regarding eagle incidental take in 2009, revising them in 2016.
The proposed rule would create general permits for four activities: wind-energy generation projects, power line infrastructure, disturbance of breeding bald eagles, and bald eagle nest take. Those whose activities fall into one of those categories would be required to register with the USFWS and self-certify compliance with permit conditions. Individual permits will be available for any project that does not qualify for one of the proposed general permits.
According to the USFWS, bald eagle populations have continued to grow in recent years, leading to increasing interactions with human activities and infrastructure and there a higher demand for permits authorizing the disturbance take and nest take of bald eagles. The permitting process currently in use places an extensive administrative burden on the public and the agency. A goal of the agency’s 2016 rule was to increase compliance and improve consistency and efficiency relating to permitting golden eagle take at wind-energy projects. However, although participation in the permit program by wind energy projects has increased since 2016, it is well below the agency’s expectations and there is continued take golden eagles that is not being offset be conservation actions.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized its proposal to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) under the Endangered Species Act, in two distinct population segments. One population (in northeast Texas Panhandle, southeast Colorado, south-central Kansas and western Oklahoma) will be listed as threatened and another as endangered (in eastern New Mexico and the southwest Texas Panhandle).
The final rule also provides an exemption from the ESA provisions preventing ‘take’ of the threatened population for agricultural activities and controlled burns, in exchange for commitments by the landowners to perform conservation activities.
The Lesser Prairie-Chicken was first listed as threatened under the ESA in 2014 but was removed from the list two years later after a legal challenge. This removal was itself the subject of another legal challenge, brought by conservation organizations, which resulted in a settlement that required the agency to develop a new listing decision. That proposal was published in June and is finalized in last week’s rule.
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USFWS Press Release
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lists the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Under the Endangered Species Act
Nov 17, 2022
Media Contacts: Aislinn Maestas
Following a rigorous review of the best available scientific and commercial information regarding the past, present and future threats, as well as ongoing conservation efforts, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is listing two Distinct Population Segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Southern DPS of the lesser prairie-chicken is being listed as endangered. The Northern DPS of the lesser prairie-chicken is being listed as threatened. The Service is also finalizing a section 4(d) rule designed to conserve the Northern DPS of lesser prairie-chicken while allowing greater flexibility for landowners and land managers.
“The lesser prairie-chicken’s decline is a sign our native grasslands and prairies are in peril. These habitats support a diversity of wildlife and are valued for water quality, climate resilience, grazing, hunting and recreation,” said the Service’s Southwest Regional Director Amy Lueders. “The Service continues to work with stakeholders to develop voluntary conservation agreements that will protect the lesser prairie-chicken and the native grasslands on which it depends while assuring that oil and gas and renewable energy development, ranching, agriculture and other activities continue.”
The lesser prairie-chicken serves as an indicator for healthy grasslands and prairies – needing large, unfragmented parcels of intact native grasslands to maintain self-sustaining populations. This makes them an important measure of the overall health of America’s grasslands, a treasured and storied landscape.
While historical estimates suggest lesser prairie-chickens once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions, across nearly 100 million acres, populations have declined drastically due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Lesser prairie-chicken habitat has diminished across its historical range by about 90 percent. Aerial survey results from 2012 through 2022 estimate a five-year average lesser prairie-chicken population of 32,210 across the five-state region. Their decline reflects the larger decline in the vitality and resilience in shinnery oak, sand sagebrush and mixed- and short-grass prairie ecosystems.
For more than two decades, the Service and its partners have been working together to conserve this iconic species and its habitat. Together we have developed a suite of conservation tools and plans, including Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA) and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP), across the lesser-prairie-chicken's five-state range to protect the species and provide certainty for industry and landowners.
To date, millions of acres have been enrolled in these plans. For example, since 2010 the Natural Resources Conservation Service has worked with nearly 900 landowners to implement conservation actions on approximately 1.6 million acres through the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative, and landowners currently have enrolled more than 1.8 million acres across the range of the lesser prairie-chicken in the Conservation Reserve Program administered by Farm Services Agency. Ranchers have been leaders in voluntary conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken, having enrolled approximately 3 million acres of land in Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA) in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
Recognizing the importance of proper grazing management, as part of the 4(d) rule for the Northern DPS, the Service has crafted an exception for those producers who are following a prescribed grazing plan developed by a qualified party that has been approved by the Service. Additionally, the Service has worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to ensure that landowners receiving technical and financial assistance to implement land management efforts under the Working Lands for Wildlife Framework receive ESA predictability.
The Service understands the vital role that managed grazing plays in maintaining grasslands and looks forward to continuing to work with partners and landowners to promote sustainable grazing practices. However, there remain long-term challenges in conserving the lesser prairie-chicken. Voluntary conservation efforts have helped conserve key habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken but have not demonstrated an ability to offset the threats and reverse the trends of habitat loss and fragmentation facing the lesser prairie-chicken.
A thorough review of past, present, and future threats to the lesser prairie-chicken, as well as an analysis of ongoing conservation efforts, finds the Southern DPS is in danger of extinction, and the Northern DPS is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. The Southern DPS (see map) encompasses lesser prairie-chicken populations in eastern New Mexico and across the southwest Texas Panhandle. Habitat in this DPS is comprised largely of shinnery oak prairie. The Northern DPS encompasses lesser prairie-chicken populations in southeastern Colorado, southcentral to western Kansas, western Oklahoma and the northeast Texas Panhandle. Habitat in this DPS includes short-grass, mixed-grass and sand sagebrush ecoregions.
The 4(d) rule for the Northern DPS provides that farmers can continue their routine agriculture activities on existing cultivated lands. In addition, it recognizes the importance of proper grazing management and includes an exception for those producers who are following a prescribed grazing plan developed by a qualified party that has been approved by the FWS. Lastly, the 4(d) rule also provides an exception for implementation of prescribed burning for grassland management.
The Service’s peer-reviewed Species Status Assessment (SSA) evaluates the lesser prairie chicken’s current condition, provides a biological risk assessment, and incorporates the effects of both the threats and conservation efforts impacting the species. It also examines its biological status under varying plausible future conditions, incorporating the implications of future threats and conservation actions. As summarized in the SSA, habitat loss and fragmentation are expected to continue, resulting in continued declines across the species’ range even when accounting for ongoing and future conservation efforts.
As part of the SSA analysis, the Service estimated that of the approximately 21-million-acre analysis area, about 4 million (or 18%) of those acres are potentially lesser prairie-chicken habitat. Therefore, the Service expects minimal impact on development across large portions of the range due to the ability to avoid and minimize impacts to the species when industry considers lesser prairie-chickens early in their planning process as part of their project siting decisions.
“We have worked to ensure there are extensive options available for streamlined ESA compliance for all industries across the entire estimated occupied range of the lesser prairie-chicken,” said Lueders. “Moving forward, we welcome the opportunity to work with any other interested parties to develop additional options to fit their needs while providing regulatory certainty.”
The Service has determined that the designation of critical habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken is prudent but not determinable at this time. We will work with states and other partners to acquire the complex information needed to make a critical habitat determination.
The final rule to list the two Distinct Population Segments of the lesser prairie-chicken and the final 4(d) rule will publish in the Federal Register on November 25thand will become effective 60 days after publication. The final rule and supporting information are available online at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket Nos. FWS-R2-ES-2021-0015.
For more information, please visit our Lesser Prairie-Chicken Conservation page and read our Frequently Asked Questions.
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About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
USDA APHIS has released an updated dashboard to track avian influenza virus (AIV) monitoring in wild bird populations. See the press release from APHIS below for more information.
Additional Resources:
Information on avian influenza from Birds Canada
APHIS webinar on AI in wild birds
Information on AI Surveillance from the National Wildlife Health Center
Map Showing Distribution of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 and H5N1 in North America
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USDA Press Release
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has developed a publicly available dashboard that displays the results from nation-wide avian influenza virus (AIV) monitoring in wild bird populations.
Wild bird samples are routinely collected by the APHIS’ Wildlife Services (WS) National Wildlife Disease Program and screened for AIV at laboratories that are part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. Wild bird H5 and H7 AIVs can spillover into domestic poultry where they can exist as low pathogenic viruses or can mutate to high pathogenicity. High pathogenicity viruses can cause high mortality in poultry and in some wild bird species. All H5 and H7 findings are confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
The dashboard may be found at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/maps/animal-health/wild-bird-avian-flu-surveillance
Data presented in the dashboard can identify increased AIV risk and can provide information to poultry producers, wildlife managers, and members of the public on AIV activity in their area.
Information displayed on the dashboard focuses on data collected by the WS National Wildlife Disease Program on multiple types of influenza viruses detected in wild birds under the annual surveillance plan.
Separately, reporting data that includes only Eurasian lineage high pathogenic AIV (HPAI) detections in 2022 and that consolidates information from APHIS and from other collaborators throughout the United States can be found here: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds.
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About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) have been added to the list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
USFWS first proposed listing the species in August 2021, as a result of a settlement agreement reached in a lawsuit brought by environmental organizations in 2011. Although the global population of Emperor Penguins is currently stable, climate change and the subsequent loss of sea ice threatens the species’ ability to survive.
Learn more in the press release from USFWS, below.
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USFWS Press Release
October 25, 2022
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Provides Endangered Species Act Protections for Emperor Penguin
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized protections for the emperor penguin, a flightless seabird endemic to Antarctica, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The emperor penguin is listed as a threatened species and includes a section 4(d) rule that tailors protections for the species. The impact of climate change on sea-ice habitat, where the species spends the majority of its life, is the primary threat to the penguin.
“This listing reflects the growing extinction crisis and highlights the importance of the ESA and efforts to conserve species before population declines become irreversible,” said Service Director Martha Williams. “Climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world and addressing it is a priority for the Administration. The listing of the emperor penguin serves as an alarm bell but also a call to action.”
Emperor penguins need sea ice to form breeding colonies, forage for food, and avoid predation. As carbon dioxide emissions rise, the Earth’s temperature will continue to increase, and the related reduction of sea ice could affect a variety of species, including emperor penguins, who rely on the ice for survival.
While emperor penguin populations appear to be currently stable, the Service has determined the species is in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future in a significant portion of its range. There are approximately 61 breeding colonies along the coastline of Antarctica, and the species’ population size is estimated to be between 270,000 - 280,000 breeding pairs or 625,000 - 650,000 individual birds.
However, according to the best available science, by 2050 their global population size will likely decrease by 26 percent (to approximately 185,000 breeding pairs) to 47 percent (to approximately 132,500 breeding pairs) under low and high carbon emissions scenarios, respectively.
The estimated decrease in population size is not equal across Antarctica. The Ross and Weddell Seas are strongholds for the species, and populations in these areas will most likely remain stable. However, emperor penguin colonies within the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean, and Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sectors are projected to decline by over 90 percent due to melting sea ice.
While this estimated decline is concerning, listing the emperor penguin as threatened under the ESA comes while there is still time to prevent the species from extinction.
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species. Adults may weigh up to 88 pounds and are as tall as 45 inches. Males and females are similar in plumage and size, although males are slightly larger than females.
Females lay one egg each breeding season, which males incubate on their feet for two months while females go to sea to feed. Once the egg hatches, males and females alternate between chick rearing duties and food gathering until the chick can regulate its temperature, and then both adults forage simultaneously to provide enough food for their growing chick. Chicks depart the colony after about 150 days, returning at four years of age to breed for the first time at age five.
To allow for further conservation of the species, the emperor penguin listing includes a section 4(d) rule that streamlines ESA compliance by providing exceptions for activities permitted by the National Science Foundation under the Antarctic Conservation Act.
The final rule to list the emperor penguin as threatened under the ESA will publish in the Federal Register Oct. 26, 2022, and will be effective 30 days after publication. More information on the final rule is available at www.regulations.gov by searching under docket number FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0043.
The Service uses the best available science to make ESA listing determinations and is required to list imperiled species as endangered or threatened regardless of their country of origin. The ESA provides numerous benefits to foreign species, primarily by prohibiting activities such as import, export, take, interstate commerce and foreign commerce. By regulating these activities, the United States helps conserve imperiled species across the world.
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About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act (H.R. 9135) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Ron Kind and Maria Elvira Salazar. The bill would amend and improve the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, which provides matching grants for bird habitat conservation and other activities in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, federal grants are matched three to one by partner organizations. The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act would reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grants Program for the next five years and would lower the cost share ratio to two to one, with the goal of making the NMBCA’s competitive grants more accessible to smaller conservation organizations. The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act would also increase the annual funding that is authorized for the program, from $6.5 million to more than $20 million.
A similar bill was introduced earlier this year in the Senate.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The 2022 U.S. State of the Birds report was released last week, finding increases in waterfowl populations thanks to investments in wetland conservation. Unfortunately, the data also show birds in the United States are declining overall in every other habitat.
The report, published by 33 science and conservation organizations and agencies, presents data on changes in bird populations across habitats of the United States in the past five decades. Key findings include:
● More than half of U.S. bird species are declining.
● U.S. grassland birds are among the fastest declining with a 34% loss since 1970.
● Waterbirds and ducks in the U.S. have increased by 18% and 34% respectively during the same period.
● 70 newly identified Tipping Point species have each lost 50% or more of their populations in the past 50 years, and are on a track to lose another half in the next 50 years if nothing changes
In addition to summaries of trends, the report also highlights conservation opportunities and successes in each biome, as examples of how actions that benefit birds create healthier environments for people and all life that depends on these shared habitats.
The report is available at stateofthebirds.org. Also available for download is supplemental material consisting of population trend analyses for 266 species used in the trends summaries for status of birds by habitat.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
USDA APHIS has released a proposal to revise its user fees for import/exports permits, quarantine fees, and other services offered by the agency. Those fees were last set 10 years ago, based on data from 2009. Under the new process, fees will be set yearly, based on a new standard methodology, as explained in the APHIS’ Federal Register notice.
APHIS does not receive Congressionally-appropriated funds to cover the cost of the veterinary diagnostics or import/export related services for animals, animal products and byproducts, birds, germplasm, organisms, and vectors that it provides; those activities are funded by the user fees paid for those services. Previously, those fees were set for five years at a time, through a series of different rules. This proposal would allow the agency to streamline that approach and reduce the amount of rule making involved in setting fees. A notice would be released each year when the fees are adjusted. Permits would continue to be one year in duration.
Comments will be accepted on the proposal through December 2.
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USDA Press Release
USDA Seeks Public Comment on a Proposal to Amend Veterinary Services’ User Fee Regulations
Contact: APHISPress@usda.gov
WASHINGTON, September 30, 2022 – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is inviting public comments on a proposal to introduce a notice-based process for revising user fees for certain veterinary services. The proposed rule would update fee rates yearly using a notice-based process, rather than the current, lengthy rulemaking process. APHIS relies on user fees to cover services including veterinary diagnostic services, such as disease testing as well as certain import- and export-related services, including inspections and application processing, among others.
Under the proposed notice-based process, APHIS would publish a notice in the Federal Register listing the proposed fees and invite public comment. The notice would include justification for any changes and describe cost-saving measures taken by the agency. When the comment period ends, APHIS would review and address any public comments and publish a subsequent notice providing the final rates. APHIS would publish the updated fee rates on the user fees web page. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and Food Safety Inspection Service has recently implemented similar noticed-based processes.
The proposed change would streamline the process and reduce the time it takes to update user fee rates, ensuring APHIS has sufficient funds to cover current customer needs using appropriate rates. It would also increase transparency by publishing annual notices that would include justifications for all fees and any changes. The proposed rule only addresses the process for setting fees and would not change them.
This proposed rule may be viewed in today’s Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2022-21030/process-for-establishing-rates-for-veterinary-services-user-fees. Beginning Monday, October 3, 2022, members of the public may submit comments at www.regulations.gov. All comments must be received by December 2, 2022.
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About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released its proposal for changes to its process for issuing permits for the incidental take of bald and golden eagles. The agency first announced its plans to streamline the permitting process in September 2021.
The USFWS also published rules regarding eagle incidental take in 2009, revising them in 2016.
The proposed rule would create general permits for four activities: wind-energy generation projects, power line infrastructure, disturbance of breeding bald eagles, and bald eagle nest take. Those whose activities fall into one of those categories would be required to register with the USFWS and self-certify compliance with permit conditions. Individual permits will be available for any project that does not qualify for one of the proposed general permits.
According to the USFWS, bald eagle populations have continued to grow in recent years, leading to increasing interactions with human activities and infrastructure and there a higher demand for permits authorizing the disturbance take and nest take of bald eagles. The permitting process currently in use places an extensive administrative burden on the public and the agency. A goal of the agency’s 2016 rule was to increase compliance and improve consistency and efficiency relating to permitting golden eagle take at wind-energy projects. However, although participation in the permit program by wind energy projects has increased since 2016, it is well below the agency’s expectations and there is continued take golden eagles that is not being offset be conservation actions.
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits any take of bald eagles and golden eagles, except as permitted by federal regulations. Pursuant to regulations, “take” is defined as to pursue, shoot, shoot at, kill, capture, trap, molest, or disturb (50 CFR 22.3). Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to issue regulations that permit the taking of eagles for various purposes, as long as such take is compatible with the preservation of the eagle.
The proposed rule will publish in the Federal Register on September 30, 2022, opening a 60-day public comment period until November 29, 2022.
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Press Release from USFWS
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Improvements To Incidental Take Permit Process for Bald and Golden Eagles
September 29, 2022
Contact: Vanessa Kauffman (703-358-2138, vanessa_kauffman@fws.gov)
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing improvements for how it processes permits for the incidental take of bald and golden eagles. The bald eagle’s recovery is one of the United States’ most important wildlife conservation success stories, yet the future of golden eagle populations remains uncertain. Under federal law, the Service must ensure that regulations for eagle permits are consistent with the goal of maintaining stable or increasing eagle populations.
“Preservation of bald and golden eagles is a key responsibility for the Service,” said Service Director Martha Williams. “This proposed rule is part of an open and transparent process where we can engage the public in a collaborative effort to help us conserve bald and golden eagles, while also creating a process to provide multiple pathways to obtain a permit.”
Human development and infrastructure continue to expand in the United States and at the same time, bald eagle populations are growing throughout their range. The Service’s purpose in proposing amendments to the permit process is to encourage more project proponents that may have an impact on eagles to obtain a permit and implement mitigation measures. This will improve the conservation of both bald eagles and golden eagles, incentivizing more projects to be in compliance with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) and implement mitigation measures.
The Service is proposing to create general permits for four activities under current regulations: wind-energy generation projects, power line infrastructure, disturbance of breeding bald eagles, and bald eagle nest take. Each general permit outlines eligibility criteria and mitigation requirements to avoid, minimize and compensate for impacts to eagles. Eligible activities would obtain a general permit by registering with the Service and certifying compliance with permit conditions without review by the Service. In addition, the Service is proposing to improve the specific permit process. Specific, or individual, permits require applicants to submit an application that is reviewed by the Service, which then works with the applicant to develop mitigation measures appropriate to the project. Any project that does not qualify for one of the proposed general permits would still be able to apply for a specific permit.
The Eagle Act prohibits the harm and possession of bald and golden eagles and their parts, nests or eggs, except pursuant to federal regulations. The Eagle Act also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to permit the taking of eagles for various purposes, provided the taking is compatible with the preservation of the bald eagle and the golden eagle.
Permits for the incidental, or unintentional, take of eagles were first established in 2009 and then revised in 2016 to authorize incidental take of bald eagles and golden eagles that results from a broad spectrum of activities, such as utility infrastructure, energy development, residential and commercial construction and resource recovery.
On Sept. 14, 2021, the Service published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking input from Tribal governments, the public and the regulated community on potential approaches for further expediting and simplifying the permit process authorizing incidental take of eagles. The Service is now publishing a proposed rule and draft environmental assessment with approaches to improve the eagle incidental take permitting program to make the permitting process more efficient and effective. Public input received through the ANPR process was considered in developing this proposal.
The proposed rule will publish in the Federal Register on September 30, 2022, opening a 60-day public comment period until November 29, 2022.
The notice will be available at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket Number: FWS-HQ-MB-2020-0023 and will include details on how to submit your comments. We will not accept hand-delivered, emailed or faxed comments. We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov.
More information can be found online at: https://www.fws.gov/program/eagle-management.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Arati Prabhakar as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She will also serve as the president’s top science advisor, a Cabinet-level position under the Biden Administration. Prabhakar was nominated for the position in June. She is the first woman and the first person of color to be the Senate-confirmed OSTP director.
Prabhakar has a Ph.D. in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology, and previously served as both the head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency during the Obama administration and as the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology under President Clinton.
The OSTP advises the President and other members of the executive on science issues, plays a role in coordinating scientific research across federal agencies, and leads initiatives on issues such as scientific integrity.
Prabhakar fills the position vacated by former OSTP Director Dr. Eric Lander, who resigned in February 2022, after reports of a toxic work environment.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
Cuba has requested the inclusion of the Cuban Grassquit (Tiaris canorus) and the Cuban bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra) in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The species covered by CITES are listed in three different Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need. Appendix III is for the least imperiled species under CITES, and contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade.
The import of an Appendix III species directly from the listing country requires a CITES Appendix III export permit issued by that country. The import of an Appendix III species directly from a non-listing country requires a CITES Certificate of Origin issued by the country of export. Learn more about import permit requirements in the Ornithological Council’s Guide to the Processes and Procedures for Importing Bird Products into the United State for Scientific Research and Display.
Read the CITES Notification to the Parties here.
Read USFWS’ guidance regarding permitting requirements for CITES Appendix III species here.
About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!
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This news and analysis are provided by the Ornithological Council, a consortium supported by ornithological societies. Join or renew your membership in your ornithological society if you value the services these societies provide to you, including OrnithologyExchange and the Ornithological Council.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to introduce a nonessential experimental population of Guam Kingfisher (Todiramphus cinnamominus), also known as Sihek, on Palmyra Atoll to promote the conservation and recovery of the species. Sihek are currently extinct in the wild and the captive population is at high risk of extinction, partly due to a recent moderate decline in reproductive output that is likely to have long-term negative consequences on the survival probability for this species.
Endemic to Guam, Sihek were common in the early 1900s but declined between 1950 and 2000, mostly due to predation by the brown treesnake. It was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act in 1984. The last remaining wild Sihek were taken into captivity between 1984 and 1986. Sihek were considered extinct in the wild by 1988.
The primary cause of the Sihek’s extinction in the wild was predation by the introduced brown treesnake, which likely arrived on Guam prior to 1950 as stowaways on shipping materials. Brown treesnakes are still present on Guam; that presence precludes consideration of Guam as a viable reintroduction site for Sihek for the foreseeable future.
The reintroduction would occur on Palmyra Atoll. The majority of the islands, waters, and the coral reefs surrounding Palmyra Atoll are owned by the United States and managed by the USFWS as Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. According to the USFWS, “the introduction of sihek to Palmyra Atoll is not intended to be a permanent introduction that would support a self- sustaining population; rather, it is intended to facilitate the gathering of information and analysis to optimize efforts for reestablishment of the species on Guam once brown treesnakes can be sufficiently controlled at a landscape scale.”
Section 10(j) of the ESA allows for the designation of reintroduced populations of listed species as experimental populations, giving the USFWS greater regulatory flexibility and discretion in managing the reintroduced species to encourage recovery in collaboration with partners, especially private landowners. The agency plans to introduce up to nine hatch-year Siheks in the first year, and fewer in subsequent years, to ultimately achieve a target of 10 breeding pairs.
Comments on the proposal are due 30 September.
About the Ornithological Council
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FWS proposes listing for two California Spotted Owl populations
in News From the Ornithological Council
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that they are accepting public comments and input on their new proposal to list two distinct subpopulations of the California Spotted Owl under the Endangered Species Act.
The proposal would list the southern/coastal population of Spotted Owls as endangered. The Sierra Nevada population would be listed as threatened, although a special rule accompanying the listing exempts the prohibition of take under the ESA for forest fuels management activities that reduce the risk of large-scale high-severity wildfire.
The listing proposal is a result of a legal settlement between the USFWS and a coalition of environment groups who sued the agency, challenging its 2019 decision not to protect the owl.
Comments will be accepted through April 24, 2023.
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USFWS PRESS RELEASE: Service seeks public comment on California spotted owl Endangered Species Act listing proposal
Feb 22, 2023
Media Contacts: Meghan Snow and Cal Robinson
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the California spotted owl is comprised of two geographically and genetically distinct population segments. The Service is proposing to list the Coastal-Southern California DPS as endangered and the Sierra Nevada DPS as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. As part of this proposed listing, the Service is including a 4(d) rule for the Sierra Nevada DPS that exempts the prohibition of take under the ESA for forest fuels management activities that reduce the risk of large-scale high-severity wildfire.
“Our goal is to help the California spotted owl recover across its range,” said Michael Fris, field supervisor of the Service’s Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. “Ongoing collaboration with a number of partners will result in positive conservation gains and put this species on the road to recovery.”
California spotted owls are distributed across California and Nevada. The owl requires forests that have multi-layered canopy cover, large trees and a mix of open and densely forested areas for nesting, foraging and roosting. The greatest ongoing threats to California spotted owls include habitat loss resulting from large-scale high-severity wildfires, competition and hybridization with non-native barred owls, tree mortality due to drought and beetle infestations, and temperature and precipitation changes related to climate change .
After reviewing the best available science, including information provided by species experts, the Service evaluated the condition of each DPS by assessing the owl’s occupancy of forests in its historical habitat, connectivity between territories, risk of population decline, and the number and severity of threats. The Coastal-Southern California DPS does not have a strong ability to withstand normal variations in environmental conditions, persist through catastrophic events, or adapt to new environmental conditions throughout its range, which led the Service to propose listing the DPS as endangered. The Sierra Nevada DPS has a reduced ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions due to habitat loss and fragmentation from wildfires. However, this DPS can still withstand normal variation in environmental conditions, and some parts of the population remain in stable condition, which led the Service to propose listing it as threatened with a 4(d) rule.
As large-scale high-severity wildfire is the biggest threat to California spotted owl, the Service worked with Sierra Pacific Industries and the U.S. Forest Service to develop coordinated, multi-party fire risk reduction efforts that include the removal of brush and select trees that fuel fires in owl habitat. Most of the land inhabited by California spotted owls is managed by the Forest Service and Sierra Pacific Industries. Implementation of their fire risk reduction plans could help improve California spotted owl habitat in the coming years.
Today’s announcement comes as the ESA turns 50 years old in 2023. Throughout the year, the Department of the Interior will celebrate the importance of the ESA in preventing the extinction of imperiled species, promoting the recovery of wildlife and conserving the habitats upon which they depend. The ESA has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction. Thus far, more than 100 species of plants and animals have been delisted based on recovery or reclassified from endangered to threatened based on improved conservation status, and hundreds more species are stable or improving thanks to the collaborative actions of Tribes, federal agencies, state and local governments, conservation organizations and private citizens.
The Service is seeking public comment on its proposal to list the Coastal-Southern DPS as endangered and Sierra Nevada DPS as threatened with a 4(d) rule. The documents will publish in the Federal Register on February 23, 2023. The publication will open a 60-day public comment period. The Service will consider comments from all interested parties received by April 24, 2023. The proposal and information on how to submit comments can be found on www.regulations.gov by searching under docket number FWS-R8-ES-2022-0166.
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About the Ornithological Council
The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists; these societies span the Western Hemisphere and the research conducted by their members spans the globe. Their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to science-based bird conservation and management. The Ornithological Council is financially supported by our member societies and the individual ornithologists who value our work. If the OC’s resources are valuable to you, please consider joining one of our member societies or donating directly at Birdnet.org. Thank you for your support!