May 15, 2005
2005 Kirtland's Warbler and northern Michigan specialty tours
Michigan Audubon Society (MAS) is pleased to announce its involvement in Kirtland’s Warbler tours for summer 2005. In cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MAS will be leading free tours to view the Kirtland’s Warbler from the Grayling, MI Holiday Inn between May 15 and July 4, 2005.
Tours depart daily at 7 AM and 11 AM, and give participants their best chance of seeing this highly endangered bird. More information is available here
Kirtland's Warbler from Surfbirds Galleries by Brandon Holden
In addition, MAS will also be leading specialty tours to three other excellent birding destinations in northern Michigan, including Tawas Point State Park, the Grayling area, and the Trout Lake area of the eastern Upper Peninsula. Top targets are Connecticut Warbler, Spruce Grouse, Least Bittern, Upland Sandpiper, Clay-colored Sparrow, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and possibly Black-backed Woodpecker and more. Tours depart Tuesday through Friday from the Grayling Holiday Inn between May 17 and July 1, 2005. MAS members will receive a $10 discount for reservations, and non-member participants will receive a $15 savings toward an MAS membership or a $5 discount toward a subscription to Michigan Birds and Natural History, Michigan’s ornithological journal. Details are available online here or by phone at the MAS office: 517-886-9144.
Posted by Surfbirds at 02:38 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2002
Senate OKs Broad Waiver for Pentagon on Migratory Birds
By Elizabeth Shogren, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Wednesday passed and sent to the president
compromise legislation designed to give the Defense Department a broad
exemption from the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects 850
species of birds from harmful practices.
The bill, which passed the House on Tuesday, is only a partial victory for the Pentagon, which had sought exemptions from eight landmark environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Nonetheless, environmentalists and their supporters in Congress were outraged at the migratory bird waiver.
"The provision, which was inserted at the Bush administration's request, will effectively give the Defense Department license to bomb and destroy at will the natural habitats of migratory birds, endangering more than 1 million birds and curtailing the enjoyment of more than 50 million bird enthusiasts in this country," said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.).
The measure was inserted into the $393-billion defense authorization bill, which approves funds for a variety of military programs, during a conference committee meeting, in which a small group of Senate and House members hammered out the differences between their two versions of the bill. The House version contained an exemption; the Senate's did not.
The provision passed Wednesday would give the Defense Department an interim exemption from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and would direct the Interior secretary within a year to come up with regulations permanently exempting military readiness activities from the law. The provision also would require the military to take appropriate actions to avoid unnecessarily killing or harming migratory birds, and to monitor the effect of the exemption on birds.
Members of Congress who supported the military's requests for exemptions were angered that Congress had given the military so little of what it had asked for, especially at a time when it is poised to put American forces in harm's way.
"The secretary of Defense submitted eight ideas; we enacted half of one," said Rep. James V. Hansen (R-Utah), chairman of the House Resources Committee.
Hansen said that because the migratory bird provision would shift responsibility to the Interior secretary, rather than writing the exemption into law, delays and lawsuits would be likely to keep the military from getting what it wants.
"That is going to open up a can of worms and is clearly not going to be sufficient even over the short term," Hansen added.
The Pentagon and its supporters in Congress argued that environmental laws have been inhibiting training at bases across the country and on the waters offshore.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act had caused the Pentagon a particular headache since March, when a U.S. district court in Washington held that the military must comply with the act.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental organization, had sued the Defense Department because the Navy conducts bombing exercises on Farallon de Medinilla, a 200-acre island in the middle of the Pacific that is part of the Northern Mariana Islands. Many birds are killed during those exercises, including some protected by the act, such as the Micronesian megapode, which is on the endangered species list; great frigatebirds; and three types of boobys -- masked, red-footed and brown.
The judge ordered the Defense Department to stop the bombing until it came into compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. During the case, a government lawyer argued that bird lovers benefit when the military kills birds because "bird watchers get more enjoyment spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common one."
Judge Emmet G. Sullivan reprimanded the government for that argument. "There is absolutely no support in the law for the view that environmentalists should get enjoyment out of the destruction of natural resources," he said.
Peter Galvin, the California and Pacific director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said his organization would try to fight the exemption through the courts and in Congress. He blamed the Bush administration for creating a climate that encouraged such actions.
"The current administration's attitude toward environmental law is summed up by their submission in the case that environmentalists and birders should enjoy bombing because it makes birds rarer," Galvin said.
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
90 Day Comment Period on Cerulean Warbler
The U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (USFWS) has opened a 90-day comment period to allow the general public to provide information on listing the cerulean warbler as "threatened" on the Endangered Species List. This is a positive step towards getting this songbird the protections it needs to survive! The comment period will close on January 21, 2003.
The cerulean warbler - a small woodland songbird known for its bright blue plumage and distinctive song - was once common in eastern forests. But over the last 30 years, the species has declined more than 70%, and 80% in the core of its range! Cerulean warblers range across eastern North America, from the Great Plains, north to Minnesota, east to Massachusetts, and south to Louisiana. It breeds primarily in the Ohio and Mississippi River basins - and spends winter months in the Andes Mountains of South America.
Unfortunately, due to habitat destruction in both its breeding and wintering ranges, primarily because of development, logging, roadbuilding and, more recently, mountaintop removal mining, the cerulean warbler has become one of the fastest disappearing birds in the United States!
Now the general public has until January 21, 2003 to provide additional information to the USFWS as to why the cerulean warbler should be included as "threatened" on the Endangered Species List. Such listing will provide the species protections under the Endangered Species Act and an earnest effort at recovering the species can begin. If you have information on present or threatened destruction or modification of cerulean warbler habitat, or other information illustrating the need to protect the species, please do not miss this opportunity to share it with the USFWS! Be sure to submit your comment by the January 21 deadline! Comments and any supporting materials should be directed to: Field Supervisor, Ecological Services Field
Office, U.S. Fish
Wildlife Service, 608 East Cherry Street, Room 200,
Columbia, MO 65201, or FAX: 314-876-1914.
For more information on the
process, log onto the USFWS website at:
http://midwest.fws.gov/Endangered/birds/cerw_find.html
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2002
Audubon WatchList 2002
New York, NY, Wednesday, October 23, 2002- Despite the exciting recovery of Endangered birds like the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, more than one-quarter of America's birds are in trouble or decline, according to the National Audubon Society. In a report released today, entitled "WatchList 2002", Audubon identifies 201 species that show either significantly decreasing numbers or restricted range, or are under other threats.
"Audubon WatchList 2002 is a warning system that shows us where to focus our attention and resources if we want to help the survival of a vast number of bird species," says Frank Gill, Audubon's chief ornithologist and senior vice president for science, and author of the comprehensive reference, Birds of North America. "It is also a powerful tool that policy-makers, businesses, and the general public can use now to take positive conservation action."
Based on a stoplight model, WatchList places selected bird species in green, yellow, or red categories, depending on the danger they face. A centerpiece of conservation efforts at Audubon, the WatchList aims to halt the declines of America's birds and to rebuild their populations to healthy, green-light status.
WatchList serves to underscore some disturbing trends; since 1970, many songbird species have declined by as much as 50 percent or more. The California Thrasher and the southeast's Painted Bunting both show declines in excess of 50 percent, while the Cerulean Warbler of the eastern U.S. has declined by more than 70 percent and the Henslow's Sparrow from the Midwest has dangerously dropped by 80 percent. The Hawaiian 'Akikiki from Kauai has dropped from about 6,800 birds in the early 70's to only 1,000 individuals today.
Ironically, these declines come at a time when bird watching is hitting an all-time high in popularity; the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment tallies 71 million Americans participating in 2001, up 250 percent from 1982, making birding the fastest-growing outdoor activity in the U.S. And, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Americans spent $40 billion on wildlife watching in 2001, up steadily from $30 billion in 1996 and $21 billion in 1991.
"WatchList is preventative medicine," continued Gill. "It will be used first and foremost to enlist federal, state, and local governments to focus their resources towards protecting these birds before they become endangered or threatened - when they would demand more serious action and major taxpayer support to recover."
Audubon WatchList is a unique project that filters information on bird populations compiled by field scientists in the U.S. and overseas. The final product recognizes three levels of concern:
RED - Species in this category of global conservation concern are declining rapidly, have very small populations or limited ranges, and face major conservation threats. Audubon identifies several red-listed species as probable candidates for inclusion on the Federal Endangered or Threatened Species Lists.
YELLOW: Category includes the majority of species identified. Yellow-list birds are declining, but at slower rates than those in the red category. These typically are birds of national conservation concern, and those that can be saved most cost-effectively.
GREEN: species in this category are not declining, have unknown trends, or have very large population sizes. These species are not included on the Audubon WatchList.
For the first time in 2002, the Audubon WatchList includes birds of Hawaii and Puerto Rico, in addition to the birds of mainland North America.
"The reasons for identifying species on the WatchList is not entirely
altruistic," concluded Gill. "Like the proverbial canary in the coalmine, birds are primary indicators of environmental health, and what hurts birds also hurts the people who share the same space. We should in no way take WatchList birds for granted; we should rather listen to what their declines are telling us about the ecosystems we both inhabit."
Methodology used in the WatchList was developed in conjunction with Partners in Flight, a coalition of North American ornithological groups of which Audubon is a leading member. Bird Life International developed global methodology; Audubon is the U.S. partner designate for BLI.
Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based Audubon nature centers and chapters, environmental education programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.
Contact: John Bianchi
212-979-3026
jbianchi@audubon.org
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)