Deputy Secretary Praises Efforts, Seeks Additional Participants
Deputy Secretary of the Interior J. Steven Griles today praised a large group of landowners for the progress they have made in recovering endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers on private lands in South Carolina. The landowners have signed onto a state-wide Safe Harbor Agreement that encourages habitat improvements beneficial to the woodpecker, while relieving the regulatory burden often associated with the Endangered Species Act.
"I commend these landowners for taking the initiative to protect this endangered species and encouraging their friends and neighbors to participate, as well." said Griles. "The number of participants in South Carolina is growing every day and helping to put this species on the road to recovery. I encourage area landowners with long-needle pines on the properties to join this safe harbor conservation program."
The Deputy Secretary pointed out that in 1999 there were 67 groupings of the red-cockaded woodpecker in Norfolk Southern Corporation
