Not that I disagree about Northern Goshawk, but to put things in perspective in terms of *national* protection of a declining species, for the past 40 years Golden-winged Warblers have declined an average of 2.8% per year nationally according to Breeding Bird Survey data, and that rate is accelerating. They’ve completely disappeared from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and are now restricted to a fraction of their former range in Wisconsin and Michigan. Minnesota has more remaining than any other state, but even here they’re virtually entirely restricted to the central part of the state west of Duluth and Minneapolis. From1994–2003, in the US Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3, which contains Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, they’ve declined by 9 percent annually, and they’ve declined 11.3% annually in Ontario.
Best, Laura Erickson On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 9:41 PM, Shawn Conrad <[email protected]> wrote: > Not to be too cynical, but Golden-winged Warblers are pretty common in > northern Minnesota. There is no shortage of the aspen regeneration they > nest in. In fact, aspen regeneration, lowland brush, and abandoned fields > are undoubtedly more abundant now than in presettlement times. (This does > not diminish the effects of cowbirds and hybridization mentioned in Jim's > article.) I find it hard to believe that a relatively rare species like > Northern Goshawk which relies on large tracts of mature to old forest cannot > get protection under the ESA, but a logging-friendly species like > Golden-winged Warbler that is easy to find within its range is up for > consideration. > > I'm not saying that Golden-winged Warbler isn't an important species (I love > them!) or that their local abundance necessarily correlates to a stable > population. What I AM saying is that they (and other early-successional > forest species) do not need the habitat protection afforded by ESA listing > like old-growth dependent species do, nor should political / industry > palatability be a factor in determining what species are listed for > protection. > > Shawn Conrad > > On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 8:48 PM, Jim <[email protected]> wrote: > >> The Golden-winged Warbler, with 40 percent of its world population breeding >> in Minnesota, is being considered for 'threatened' or 'endangered' status, >> according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For more information, go to >> www.startribune.com/blogs/wingnut >> >> Jim Williams >> Wayzata >> >> ---- >> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >> > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. —Rachel Carson Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
