FYI - Virtual rally in support of the federal Bird Banding Lab and other projects of teh USGS Ecosystems Mission division, which DOGE has set to end as soon as this week, TODAY at noon. More info from Scott Weidensaul, see below.
---------- Forwarded message --------- From: *Jonathan Doherty* <[email protected]> Date: Thu, May 22, 2025 at 8:16 AM Subject: [NHBirds] Fwd: URGENT CALL TO ACTION - Tell your people. Call your representatives. Raise your voice. Take action. To: <[email protected]> This is an important call to action about something that affects all of us who value birds. Take it from Scott Weidensaul via his email below. The US Bird Banding Program is slated for elimination as early as this week. A virtual rally organized by some of the nation’s biggest conservation organizations is scheduled for Noon today (Thursday). Link to register is in Scott’s email below. Thanks, Jonathan Doherty Hopkinton NH > *Subject:*Tell your people. Call your representatives. Raise your > voice. Take action. > From: SCOTT WEIDENSAUL > Subject: The federal Bird Banding Lab needs your support, now > As some of you may be aware, there are reports that the federal Bird > Banding Lab, which runs the entire U.S. bird banding program, has been > slated by DOGE for elimination as soon as this week, along with the > rest of the vital Ecosystems Mission Area at USGS. The U.S. Geological > Survey Ecosystems Mission Area is responsible for many of the programs > that serve millions of birders, hunters, anglers, gardeners, > biologists, ecologists, and wildlife enthusiasts around the > country–and importantly, the wildlife we treasure. > The consequences of such a move on birds and bird conservation would > be incalculable. The BBL is the only source for bands and the federal > permits that allow us to do the work we do; the loss of the banding > lab would mean, frankly, an end to nearly 30 years of Northern > Saw-whet Owl research. But the ramifications go far beyond one species > of small owl. Without it, we will lose the backbone of environmental > and ecological monitoring in the United States. This includes research > that enables states to set hunting seasons, allows conservationists to > understand and respond to declines in birds, bees and other wildlife, > and tracks dangerous wildlife diseases and environmental pollutants > that impact people and biodiversity. For example, most of the birds > banded in North America are waterfowl, and banding and band return > data are central to properly managing our waterfowl populations by > setting scientifically defensible hunting seasons and bag limits. No > data, and wildlife managers are working half-blind. > A serious concern is that defenders of the BBL manage to salvage the > waterfowl management aspects of its work, but that the nongame banding > and research is done away with. This has cross-border consequences > since the BBL single-sources all the bird bands used in North America, > so nongame banding in Canada overseen by the Canadian Wildlife Service > would also cease if those elements of its work are eliminated. > On Friday "Field and Stream" magazine - hardly a left-leaning > publication - reported that the cuts could come as early as this > Friday, with EMA staff told to draft plans for disposing of vehicles > and supplies. The BBL has already seen significant cuts to its already > small staff from long-serving employees who took early retirement offers. > What can you do? There will be a virtual rally to support the EMA this > Thursday, May 22, at noon, organized by some of the largest and most > important conservation NGOs and professional societies, including the > National Wildlife Federation, American Bird Conservancy, Ecological > Society of America, the Xerces Society, and the Wildlife Society. The > response has been huge; when I signed up this morning to attend the > confirmation indicated some 1.5 million Americans have said they will > take part. The link is: > https://www.mobilize.us/nwf/event/790009/ > I don't care if you're red, blue or purple, this is a critical moment > for bird conservation. The birds need you voice and your involvement. > Thanks, and hope to see you online Thursday. > Scott -- To Change your e-mail delivery settings (digest, daily, no mail) visit: https://groups.google.com/group/nhbirds/subscribe?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NHBirds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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