Service and Partners Celebrate Remarkable Conservation Victory as Once Critically Imperiled Songbird Declared Saved from Threat of Extinction
Kirtland’s warbler populations continue to soar; prompting proposal by Service to remove it from Endangered Species Act
Amidst catastrophic population declines leaving fewer than 200 known pairs in existence in the early 1970s, the Kirtland's warbler seemed to be rapidly heading towards extinction. But after decades of partnership efforts among federal and state agencies, industry and conservation groups, this songbird has rebounded, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now proposing to remove the Kirtland's warbler from the list of endangered and threatened species. The proposal opens a 90-day public comment period that will help inform a final decision.
“Kirtland’s warblers were once on the brink of extinction and one of America’s rarest birds, but today they represent the power of partnership to recover imperiled wildlife,” said Tom Melius, Midwest Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Without a doubt, this bird’s recovery is the result of cooperation among states, local residents, federal agencies and conservation groups. This dedicated conservation community is committed to addressing the needs of the Kirtland’s warbler into the future.”
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Kirtland's Warbler
For this Missouri bat ambassador, conservation begins at home
Dave Murphy doesn’t remember the first time he seriously thought about bats. Maybe it was the memories of bats occasionally entering the old farmhouse and flying around inside. “I don’t remember us ever killing one, just catching it and putting it outside.”
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Indiana Bat
Eureka! Mussel discovery made in a tub
Tucked away just off the shore of Lake Pepin in Minnesota, the Center for Aquatic Mollusk Programs (CAMP) facility operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is staffed and equipped for an overarching mission: conserving native mussels. Tubs, tanks and tubes fill the research facility with the sound of running water.
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Freshwater Mussels
Whooping crane chicks expected to head north
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership members are awaiting the return to Wisconsin of 16 young whooping cranes and hoping the coming breeding season exceeds the promising results achieved last year. The 2017 cranes represented a mix of birds hatched in the wild, birds hatched in captivity and raised by adult cranes.
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Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership
South Korean documentarians learn from Ecological Service staff – it’s the bee’s knees!
A documentary film crew from Chuncheon Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, one of the leading South Korean television and radio network companies, were in the United States for only a few days, but traveled from coast to coast to interview key subjects for their documentary about bees.
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Rusty patched bumble bee
Eastern prairie fringed orchid recovery efforts continue in Illinois
The eastern prairie fringed orchid, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, depends on its annual seed set to maintain its population. Year after year, the species’ population at the Lone Grove Forest Preserve in Kane County, Illinois, lacked viable seed production even though flowering plants were abundant.
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Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid
Kirtland's warblers find Wisconsin a good place to nest
The 2017 Kirtland’s warbler nesting season marked the 10th year anniversary of the return of endangered Kirtland’s to Wisconsin. From only 11 Kirtland’s and three nests found in Adams County in 2007 to 53 individuals and 20 total nests among Adams, Marinette and Bayfield counties in 2017.
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Kirtland's Warbler
Purple cat’s paw pounces back
Not long ago, purple cat’s paw pearlymussels were thought to be functionally extinct. When the species was listed as endangered in 1990, only a few individuals could be found, and they were too old to reproduce. Then, in 1994, a small population of the species was discovered in Killbuck Creek in Ohio.
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Purple Cat's Paw Pearlymussel
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