Standing five feet tall and with a wingspan of nearly eight feet, the charismatic Whooping Crane is the tallest bird in North America. It also looms large as a conservation symbol. More than 800 Whooping Cranes survive in North America today—a monumental increase from a low of 16 in the 1940’s, when the population plummeted […]
Tag: audubon
Trump rule could kill “billions of birds” and devastate endangered species, former wildlife chief says
BUTTE, Mont. — At a former open pit copper mine filled with billions of gallons of toxic water, sirens and loud pops from propane cannons echo off the granite walls to scare away birds so they don’t land. After several thousand migrating snow geese perished in the Berkeley Pit’s acidic, metal-laden waters in 2016, its […]
With Monitoring Limited, Someone Drove Through a Snowy Plover Nesting Site
While surveying for new Snowy Plover nests on a California beach in late March, Cynthia Hartley was horrified to discover fresh tire tracks and shredded sand inside of a fenced-off nesting area. It was immediately clear to her what happened: Someone drove an ATV into the off-limits dunes for a joy ride. Amid the crisscrossed […]
Amid Global Pandemic, Federal Government Pushes Ahead on Fossil Fuel Leasing and Bird-Protection Rollbacks
There are new signs each day that the COVID-19 pandemic is fundamentally altering public life in America. Many schools will be closed for the rest of the academic year. Several states have postponed presidential primaries. State and federal courts have put trials on hold. But the coronavirus crisis is not stopping the U.S. Department of […]
Federal Court Rules Against Massive Old-Growth Rainforest Logging Plan in Alaska
JUNEAU, AK – A federal judge rejected yesterday an enormous commercial timber harvest and road-building plan for Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest of Southeast Alaska. The judge ruled that project approval violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which sets standards for public engagement on federal projects that will alter the […]
Audubon Calls for More Resources and Attention (not Less) for Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed a 9 percent decrease in designated habitat for the western distinct population of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo) (Coccyzus americanus) even though it is found in only a fraction of its former range in the American West. Listed as a Threatened Species under the […]
California Pioneers a New Way to Manage Fish for Birds
This month marks the beginning of a sea change for California’s fisheries and the birds that rely on them. On March 1, the state of California finalized a new set of regulations protecting Pacific herring, a critical forage fish for waterbirds on the Pacific Flyway. Forage fish are tiny, numerous fish that serve as food […]
Spring is for the Birds and Birders!
As days get longer and temperatures begin to climb, birds and birders are anxiously waiting for that annual bliss that comes with the change in seasons. Yes—you know what I am talking about: Spring Migration. While some species are already on the move, we’re waiting for that burst of northward movement from the bulk of […]