[tn-bird] Re: Cerulean Warbler Conservation?
- From: John Devereux Joslin <jdjoslin@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2002 12:03:05 -0500
Nell,
I am forwarding your message to the following with an appeal that they
work separately or together to address this critical issue:
1) Bob Ford, an avid birder who now works for Fish and Wildlife and used to
work for The Nature Conservancy in Tenn and the Tenn. Conservation League
2)Marty Marina of the Tenn. Conservation League who is particularly concerned
about Cerulean Warblers near Royal Blue
3) Melinda Welton
4) Troy Ettel, our state ornithologist with TWRA
5) Bob Hatcher
6) Chuck Nicholson, president of TOS and Cerulean Warbler expert
7) Dr. David Beuhler, wildlife professor at UT-K
8) Steven Alexander, US Fish & Wildlife in Cookeville, TN
9) David McKinney, TWRA
10) Lee Russell, Jenny Freeman, Jimmy Groton, and Frank Hensley of Tenn
Citizens for Wilderness Planning
11) Jim Evans of TWRA
12) Chris Welsh, Ron Hoff, and David Trently of KTOS
13)Warren Webb, wildlife specialist with OR National Lab and AFORR
--Dev Joslin
Jimi Moore wrote:
> TN-birders and all interested in the fate of the Cerulean Warbler:
>
> I found this forward on Carolinabirds list. Since the Cerulean is
> presently fighting for their breeding habitat in the Cumberlands (mainly
> Campbell/Anderson and Scott counties), I thought I would pass this along
> to TN birders. (There are a few other areas in the state they are found
> also, but I am only mentioning "local" counties where I've done Cerulean
> surveys.) Some of these stats are quite alarming.
> Logging has continued relentlessly this year just outside the
> boundaries of Royal Blue WMA in Campbell County near Caryville with
> selective cutting of the larger trees which is the Cerulean's preferred
> habitat . This is the location where I've seen the largest
> concentrations of birds. It began late last winter continuing throughout
> the nesting season and this winter. Destruction to the understory areas
> where many other species of Wood Warblers and other "Forest bird species"
> nest is also a concern. Acres and acres are gone.
> Moving here from NC 3 1/2 years ago, this area was a delight to me
> as I
> viewed what I felt to be phenomenal numbers of these blue gems. I have
> only seen Ceruleans in 2 areas in NC where the numbers are very low- The
> Roanoke River Basin near the NE. corner of NC where numbers are few, and
> along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville where I spent the entire day
> once (much of it laying on my back) looking in the tall tops of Tulip
> Poplar before finally seeing my life Cerulean. Three years ago in the
> Cumberlands within a few miles of Caryville, TN- (N. of Knoxville) I
> have encountered as many as 50+ males in a day many with eye-level views.
> Alarmingly in just two short years, several forest patches where I
> marked the Ceruleans locations are already devastated, including the area
> I saw my very "first" Cerulean in TN. Sad.
> I am thankful to those who have put in their time and efforts to do
> what is needed to bring some protection to this gorgeous species.
> Tn- birders, lets do what we can to bring this threat of loss to a
> standstill!!
> The forward follows.
>
> Nell Moore
> jimimoore@xxxxxxxx
> Campbell County, TN
> Subject: (fwd) Cerulean conservation
> Forwarded from Derb Carter of the Southern Environmental Law Center
> http://www.southernenvironment.org/
>
> ------- Forwarded message follows -------
> A coalition of 28 national, regional and local conservation organizations
>
> notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) today that the agency
> has violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to respond
> appropriately to the coalition's petition to list the Cerulean Warbler as
>
> a threatened species. The groups, including the National Audubon
> Society, say the agency has failed to initiate the steps required under
> the law to respond to the petition filed in October 2000. The Act
> requires that before filing a lawsuit, citizens must give the agency 60
> days notice, which the coalition did in a letter sent today.
>
> The Cerulean Warbler is one of the fastest disappearing songbirds in the
> country. The bird, known for its brilliant blue plumage and distinctive
> song, has declined an average of 4% a year throughout its eastern U.S.
> range, for a total loss of 70% over the last three decades. Experts
> attribute this dramatic decline to the destruction and fragmentation of
> large native forests in the U.S., which the Cerulean needs to reproduce
> in the summer, and deforestation in the Andean mountains of South
> America, where it spends the winter. In the U.S., the Cerulean's decline
>
> has been the worst in the core of its range in the Southeast and Midwest,
>
> where its population has plummeted by about 80%.
>
> "If the Fish and Wildlife Service would do what it is supposed to do
> under the law, we would be moving forward toward listing this songbird
> and protecting the forests it needs to survive," said Doug Ruley, an
> attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the
>
> coalition.
>
> "We are in real danger of losing this spectacular songbird forever," said
>
> Lois Schiffer, a senior vice-president of Audubon. "The Fish & Wildlife
> Service needs to act immediately so our children can hear its special
> song and see the bright blue color of this unique bird."
>
> Under the Endangered Species Act, the FWS is required to (1) determine
> within 90 days whether the citizens' petition presented substantial
> information indicating that the listing may be warranted, (2) if so,
> conduct a status review of the species, and (3) make a final
> determination concerning the listing within 12 months of the petition.
> The FWS has taken none of these steps since the conservation groups filed
>
> their petition to list the Cerulean.
>
> Ruley said the coalition did not take legal action sooner because the FWS
>
> undertook an informal consideration of the Cerulean's status that could
> have led to a listing decision. However, in a letter dated December 21,
> 2001, the FWS told the coalition that it would not proceed with a formal
> review process at this time.
>
> "For too long, FWS has shirked its duty to protect America's endangered
> wildlife. Our aim is to propel this bureaucratic juggernaut toward
> positive action," said Marty Bergoffen, an attorney with the Southern
> Appalachian Biodiversity Project, one of the petitioners.
>
> The FWS letter questioned the use of Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data to
> determine the extent of the Cerulean's decline, even though the BBS has
> been widely recognized for many years as the primary source for
> determining avian population trends. In the Cerulean's case, the BBS
> data is confirmed by multiple independent sources that indicate a drastic
>
> decline in populations, especially in the core of the bird's range. The
> FWS also claimed that it lacked information about threats to the bird,
> even though the FWS is directly involved in studies of destructive
> activities, such as mountaintop removal mining, in several of the
> remaining forests that retain concentrations of this songbird.
>
> "They're playing Catch 22 with the Cerulean," said Ruley. "We know this
> songbird has declined precipitously, that we've lost much of its forest
> habitat here and in South America, and that the remaining forests face
> significant threats. To the extent more information would be helpful, a
> listing is the best way to insure that the needed research occurs."
>
> The FWS letter indicated the agency will seek funding in FY2002 to
> prepare a 90-day finding and, based on the outcome, the full status
> review as required under the Act. However, "moving forward as required
> under the law should be a certainty, not a maybe," said Ruley.
> "Protection under the Endangered Species Act is the Cerulean's best
> chance to survive," added Schiffer.
>
> If the FWS does not meet the terms of the Act as outlined in the notice
> filed by the groups today, the coalition may go to court after 60 days to
>
> enforce the law. Joining the National Audubon Society in seeking
> protection for the Cerulean Warbler are the Sierra Club, the Wilderness
> Society, Defenders of Wildlife, and 24 local, state and regional
> conservation groups from 15 states.
>
> ------- End of forwarded message -------
>
> --
> Charles W. "Will" Cook listowner w 919-660-7423
> http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook cwcook@xxxxxxxx
> Biology Dept., Duke Univ., Box 90340, Durham, NC 27708
>
>
>
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
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