Thank-you, Judy Thurber, for publicizing the petition from Travis Audubon Society in Texas. Thank-you, David Diaz, for the link to Golden-cheeked Warbler biology. And thank-you, Jody Enck, for some background on the situation. I'll assume all info is honest and accurate, and I see no contradictions. Here's my understanding and interpretation:
Like the endangered Kirtland's Warbler which only nests in the middle of Michigan, the Golden-cheeked Warbler's breeding range is restricted to central Texas. Each species relies on a specialized habitat. Kirtland's Warbler uses stands of young Jack Pines, which must be renewed but are easily renewable. A few years after a forest fire or clear cut there is a big patch of good habitat. Kirtland's Warblers are limited in number and habitat, but with management for them and against cowbirds, I think they are stable (until climate change prevents Jack Pines from growing in the region of sandy soil, or their winter habitat is destroyed). The Golden-cheeked Warbler, on the other hand, is dependent on old growth juniper forest, which grows in a limited area of central Texas and would take many times longer to regrow or repair. When it gets cut down, it's gone, When the habitat gets broken up, the warblers are more vulnerable to cowbirds which parasitize the nests and to an increased array of nest predators including Blue Jays. Conserving Golden-cheeked Warblers is largely a matter of conserving existing tracts of habitat, unless one also wants to get into cowbird removal, which is a big effort. The study of government lands said there's 27,000 Golden-cheeked Warblers, but they have declined 25% in recent years. This is on land which is pretty well protected now, because of the bird's Endangered Species status. Without that status, it may lose that protection on much of that government land, especially considering who sets funding in the federal and state governments. Texas may decide the habitat is expendable on state lands. Military land may give the bird less priority. Even federal conservation land such as National Wildlife Refuges may have reduced funding devoted to helping this species if it is delisted. Another study looked at private lands and said that a few years ago there were about ten times as many Golden-cheeked Warblers on those private lands, but we don't know the trend. We don't know who sponsored the study, but we know there is pressure to reduce restrictions on those lands to open them up to lucrative development, thus the call to remove the bird from the Endangered Species list and its protections. Those patches of good habitat which exist now and harbor those birds will lose any protections and will be eaten away. That's the point of de-listing. Maybe someone can point me to more specific information or errors in my reasoning. Meanwhile, I think I get the general picture. I am comfortable with signing the petition. --Dave Nutter On Jul 10, 2015, at 07:26 AM, Jody W Enck <[email protected]> wrote: > Bottom line re Golden-cheeked Warblers is that there are two competing > estimates. The low estimate is from a survey of public lands (Department of > Defense -- Fort Hood, other federal lands and state lands). Another > estimate, although several years old at this point, surveyed private lands as > well as public lands and estimated 10x the number of breeding pairs as the > low estimate. This information has been published in peer-reviewed > scientific journals, and likely can be found using Google Scholar and > searching on Golden-cheeked warbler population estimates. > > Not trying to encourage or discourage anyone from signing the petition. Just > want folks to dig into the background to become more informed before deciding > what to do. > > Jody > > Jody W. Enck, PhD > Public Engagement in Science Program > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > 607-254-2471 > > From: Dave Nutter > Sent: Friday, July 10, 2015 4:47 AM > To: jwe4@cornell. edu > Cc: [email protected], CAYUGABIRDS-L, Judith Thurber > > So, Jody, what's the inside scoop on the population of Golden-cheeked > Warblers? Does Travis Audubon have it right or wrong? Should they be removed > from the Endangered Species list so that their habitat ceases to have > protection and is open to development? Were they wrongly placed on the list? > Has their situation greatly improved? Who hired your friend? What does he > tell the media? > --Dave Nutter > > On Jul 09, 2015, at 10:53 PM, Jody W Enck <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all, > Just a word of caution: petitions are easy to sign without knowing the > whole back-story. We’ve had this discussion several times before about > looking into as much information as possible before signing something that > may seem emotionally important without access to all the facts. As it turns > out, I had dinner last night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with the biologist who > did much of the population survey work on Golden-cheeked Warblers relatively > recently. He mentioned the moveon.org petition and how his phone has been > ringing off the hook from media inquiries. Please get as much information as > you can and become as informed as you can before just signing a petition. > > Thanks, > Jody > > Jody W. Enck, PhD > Public Engagement in Science Program > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > 607-254-2471 > > From: Judith Thurber > Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2015 9:59 PM > To: [email protected], CAYUGABIRDS-L > > > Do we promote this type of communication here? > Well, just in case: > > > > > https://www.change.org/p/united-states-fish-and-wildlife-service-reject-the-petition-submitted-june-29-2015-to-remove-the-golden-cheeked-warbler-from-the-list-of-endangered-species > > > > > Judy Thurber > Liverpool, NY > Sent from my iPad > -- > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
