One of nature’s most interesting seabirds, the Marbled Murrelet will remain protected as a threatened species. The bird was first listed in 1992 and survived an attempt by the Bush Administration to take it off the list in 2004.
Today’s decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could have a major impact on the continuing fight over old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. That’s because even though the bird spends much of its life in the ocean, it nests in old growth forests along the coast. The decision says logging of the bird’s nesting habitat is the major reason its numbers have declined 34% from 2001 to 2008 in Oregon, Washington and Northern California.
Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Environmental groups praised the decision as a victory for science over politics, and called on the Obama Administration to do more to protect old growth areas. Kristen Boyles, an attorney for Earthjustice, says the ruling will benefit other species. She says, ““Protecting murrelet forests also helps recover salmon and spotted owl populations, clean our air from excess carbon, and prevent pollution from entering drinking water sources for communities all up and down the coast.”
Timber groups haven’t given up on trying to delist the Marbled Murrelet. They’ve got a petition to delist before Fish and Wildlife. Despite today’s announcement, the feds haven’t decided how they’ll rule on the petition.
