BY MAY 19- YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED TO PROTECT BIRDS & WILDLIFE
IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION
By Charlotte Persons
Can you write a short paragraph about why we need to continue to protect wildlife in danger of extinction?
Two weeks ago the Trump administration published in the Federal Register proposed changes to environmental regulations that will gut protections in two iconic pieces of legislation – the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). At this time there is no opportunity for comments on the former, but comments are due on May 19 for changes to the ESA.
YOU can help prevent the new rule from taking effect.
Send your comment on the Endangered Species Act by 11:59 EDT (8:59 pm here) on May 19.
https://www.regulations.gov/document/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001/comment
NOTE: Your comment MUST be in your own words. If it resembles talking points too closely, it will be lumped in with other comments and all will be counted as one comment. The number of separate comments will count when the proposed language changes are challenged in the courts.
Overall, it is best to draw on your personal experience. Unless you have real expertise, don’t get into the technical details. Here are some ideas for your letter:
–Tell your experience in local wildlife refuges or preserves for threatened species
–Describe how the beauty of a particular threatened bird moved you
–Explain how much you love seeing an endangered species or migratory bird in their habitat
–Describe your experience with how developers have been able to work well with environmental groups and local jurisdictions under the current laws
–Describe actions you have personally taken to protect threatened species, such as building Western Bluebird houses or banding Purple Martins
–Explain how much it means to you that particular species will be enjoyed by the next generation
Proposed Changes to the Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act, originally enacted in 1973, protects species that are close to extinction. These range from often over-looked plants and animals important to local ecosystems, such as our local Oregon Spotted Frog, to well-known species such as American redwoods.
The administration has proposed a new rule that rescinds the current definition of “harm” to a species listed as endangered or threatened. The new definition does not include protection for the habitat for that species. As birders, we certainly understand the importance of habitat for the existence of birds.
How Current Environmental Regulations Work
This proposed change means in that many existing or potential actions will not happen—actions that developers take to protect species near extinction. For example, development that we know kills flying species—like skyscrapers and large-scale projects that use wind and solar to generate electricity—would take place without any planning to avoid the killing of migratory birds or wildlife threatened with extinction. In addition, the two most important threats to all birds is habitat loss and climate change. But with this new definition of “take”, development would happen with no efforts to avoid destroying habitat.
The current regulations for the Endangered Species Act does NOT shut down projects when it is not possible to avoid killing wildlife threatened with extinction. Instead, developers pay for “mitigation” for the number of “unintentional take” of threatened species over the life of the project—a number calculated using the best available science. This mitigation must be actions that will help protect or sustain the species. This is what the 2020 Thurston County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) provides for development on soils that can support Mazama Pocket Gophers. Developers pay into a county fund that mitigates for take of the gophers by the county protecting more land where the gophers are present.
For more on how the Endangered Species Act works, see https://www.alleghenyfront.org/amendments-endangered-species-act-wildlife/
A Local Project Under the Endangered Species Act
A local example of how the current regulations protect migratory and endangered species is the Skookumchuk Wind Project on the border of Thurston and Lewis Counties. South Sound Bird Alliance (SSBA) helped negotiate and still monitors the actions taken to protect Marbled Murrelet and Golden Eagles. For wildlife with very small populations (less than 3,000 Marbled Murrelet in Washington), even seemingly tiny numbers of steady kills could help push the birds to extinction in our region.
To prevent unintentional take, the Southern Power Company shuts down a few of the thirty plus windmills in the early dawn and evening hours during the three months when Marbled Murrelets are flying inland to breed in nearby old-growth forests. The company also detects the presence of migrating Golden Eagles near turbines and temporarily curtails their operation. These measures have proven effective in the seven years of operation – the company’s on-the-ground monitoring for kills has found only one Golden Eagle.
