I am sending this again. It was blocked because of the graphic so I removed it. This article isnt so informative, but if you want to see the graphic (also not much), you could find it on the Duluth Tribune website. It would have been useful to include the FWS report website, but they did not.
_____ From: gordon andersson [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 11:00 PM To: '[email protected]' Subject: another state of birds report (USFWS) This is from the Duluth Tribune. The graphic references both the NAS study and a FWS study. You might find the full FWS report on their website. (Im sure Bob Russell is familiar with it.) _____ Published March 20 2009 Interior secretary highlights plight of Americas birds U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday threw the federal governments weight behind warnings that many of the nations wild bird species are declining. By: <http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/author/id/116/> John Myers, Duluth News Tribune <http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/image/id/31132/> RELATED CONTENT U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday threw the federal governments weight behind warnings that many of the nations wild bird species are declining. In the first-ever U.S. State of the Birds Report, Salazar cited population surveys from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey and National Audubon Society and other groups that show hundreds of bird species in decline. In the Northland, once-common species like red-headed woodpeckers, purple martins, indigo buntings and meadowlarks all have declined sharply over the past 40 years. This report is the canary in the coal mine for our nations bird species, Salazar said in a teleconference from the National Press Club in Washington, noting the U.S. nation is seeing disturbing downward population trends that should set off environmental alarm bells. Salazar and bird experts cited habitat destruction, urban sprawl, chemical contamination, climate change and domestic cats as just some of the big problems birds face in the U.S. Some migratory species also are affected by changes in faraway places, such as destruction of rain forests in Central and South America. John Flicker, president of the National Audubon Society, called the report an unprecedented scientific document that officially recognizes birds as a bellwether of the nations environmental health. Birds are sending us a wakeup call, Flicker said. But Salazar offered signs of hope, noting efforts to protect habitat for specific species have been successful. Pelicans, egrets, herons and some ducks have reversed downward trends over the past 20 years after increased efforts to protect wetland nesting areas. There is a way we can address these problems. Conservation can really work, he said. Experts urged Americans to plant native vegetation on their property to attract birds; avoid pesticides and other chemicals; take part in volunteer bird surveys; reduce their carbon footprint; and purchase a federal waterfowl stamp. The fact that many more bird species are declining than increasing isnt breaking news. In 2007, Audubon released an analysis of decades of national bird surveys that showed 20 species were down 50 percent over the past 40 years. Some were down 75 percent. The declining species include some hummingbirds, bitterns and whippoorwills. Common grosbeaks, once considered a menace because they were too common, have declined 78 percent since 1967. Other species that have declined include bobwhite quail (down 82 percent since 1967), boreal chickadee, common tern, loggerhead shrike, field sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, snow bunting, black-throated sparrow, lark sparrow, common grackle, American bittern, horned lark, little blue heron and ruffed grouse. Waterfowl hunters have watched as northern pintail and greater scaup, once common birds, have each declined more than 75 percent over the past 40 years because of habitat and food issues. Some species still are plentiful despite huge declines. The common grackle, which stood at about 200 million in 1967, is down to 73 million. Meanwhile, wild turkeys, cormorants, bald eagles and greater Canada geese all have exploded in number in recent years eagles and cormorants in large part because of the ban on the pesticide DDT that for decades ruined their eggs. Canada geese and turkeys have increased because of strict hunting regulations and relocation efforts funded by hunters. Robins, wrens, blue jays and crows also are thriving. ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
