GREENWICH, Connecticut – North America has lost three billion birds since 1970, and a new report shows how Connecticut, a major stopover for migrating birds, may play a role in reversing the trend.
The Connecticut Audubon Society’s annual State of the Birds of Connecticut report features 37 species of birds in the state with rapidly declining populations, including semipalmated sandpipers and wood thrushes.
Patrick Comins, executive director of the Connecticut Audubon Society, known for sandpipers in particular, migratory birds make a critical stop along the New England shores to eat and prepare for a 10-day non-stop trip to North America South.
“While we like to think of conservation as something that happens in the Arctic or in South America,” Comins remarked. “Maybe the weak link on this is here on our coast in Connecticut, that these birds are not getting the fuel they need to continue these long migratory journeys.”
Semipalmated sandpipers have declined by almost 80% since the 1980s, due to habitat loss and competition with other species. Comins pointed out that with state and federal support, the acquisition and restoration of land in the Long Island Strait could protect migratory birds in Connecticut.
Conservation groups have argued that efforts to save endangered and threatened species would not be where they are today without groundbreaking legislation like the Endangered Species Act and, more recently, the Great American Outdoors Act. .
As Congress debated another option, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, Comins argued that an increase in federal funds could mean a future in which bird species are protected.
“We are at an important turning point, where we still have abundant and amazing wildlife and natural resources, even in this most developed corridor in the United States,” observed Comins. “Wise decisions can now ensure that we preserve what makes our region amazing.”
The Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works considered the bill in a hearing on Wednesday. If passed, Connecticut could receive about $ 12 million a year for wildlife conservation. The state is home to more than 400 species of conservation concern.
Comins added that the report was shared with the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
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MADISON, Wisconsin – The Department of Natural Resources wants Wisconsinites to weigh in on its efforts to fight chronic wasting disease.
The still-fatal disease that affects the brains of some deer, elk and moose first appeared in Wisconsin nearly 20 years ago. Since then, said Tom Hauge, who chairs the wildlife task force for environmental advocacy group Wisconsin’s Green Fire, MDC cases have risen from around 200 in 2002 to an all-time high of nearly 1. 600 last year.
“What we have seen is a steady increase in the distribution of the disease in the state,” he said, “as well as the number of deer carrying the chronic wasting disease.”
The DNR will hold a virtual public meeting at 9 a.m. on Friday to give its opinion on the state’s efforts to combat CWD. A link to register for the session can be found on the MNR website.
Wisconsin wrapped up its nine-day kite hunting season last week. Part of MNR’s monitoring efforts for the CWD urge hunters to submit samples to the department before consuming venison. Public health officials have advised against eating deer meat that tested positive for CWD.
Amanda Kamps, DNR wildlife health conservation specialist, said the number of CWD infections could change as these tests arrive.
“We still collect all the samples and put them into our database, sending them in for testing,” she said. “We’re still looking for a lot of test results from the nine-day white-tailed deer season.”
So far this year, MNR has diagnosed nearly 500 cases of chronic wasting disease in wild deer.
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HELENA, Mont. – To honor the steps taken by the Biden administration towards closer ties with tribal nations, conservation groups are calling on it to re-list the gray wolf on the endangered species list.
More than 60 groups want the federal government to manage the species alongside tribal nations.
The Gray Wolf was deregistered under the Trump administration.
Rain, author of “The Wolf Treaty” and director of the film “Family,” which explores the ancient connection between humans and wolves, said that delisting under President Donald Trump was illegal because the administration had failed. not consulted the tribal nations.
“People need to understand that government-to-government consultation from federal agencies to tribes is not optional. It is mandatory. It is the law,” Rain said.
Rain is concerned about President Joe Biden’s appointment as head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Martha Williams – who led the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks until 2020 – has not recognized this requirement as a fact . The Trump administration has argued that the protections are no longer needed because the Gray Wolves have successfully recovered.
Last week, the Biden administration hosted the White House Tribal Nations Summit for the first time since 2016. At the meeting, Biden released a memorandum of understanding on indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and decision-making federal.
Rain pointed out that the administration can view “The Wolf’s Treaty” as an embodiment of this knowledge. It has been signed by over 700 tribes and first nations in the United States and Canada.
“The ‘wolf treaty’ has been described as a model for 21st century wolf management, and the ‘wolf treaty’ itself is heavily based on indigenous traditional ecological knowledge,” Rain added.
In Montana, new wolf hunting regulations could reduce the wolf population by 85%. There are approximately 1,200 gray wolves in Montana, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
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GOLETA, Calif .– The Western Monarch appears to be retreating from the brink of extinction – with more than 100,000 counted so far in the Western Monarch’s 25th annual Thanksgiving count.
This week, more than 100 butterfly enthusiasts crawl through the groves early each morning, counting the iconic orange and black Western Monarch, and they find large clusters from Los Angeles to Santa Cruz.
Emma Pelton, a conservation biologist with the Xerces Society, said it was not clear whether the rebound was due to natural variability or something else.
“They move and migrate over areas so large that it’s hard to know exactly what weather conditions or environmental factors have affected things in a given location,” she said, “but we think it’s is a good example of resilience “.
People who spot a large group of monarchs are encouraged to report it on the iNaturalist app, so scientists can go check it out. Gardeners can also help the species by reducing pesticide use and planting butterfly-favorite flowering bushes, such as the native narrow-leaved milkweed and other flowers that bloom year-round.
While it’s good news that the numbers are on the rise, Pelton warned they are still dangerously low – representing a drop of over 90% from the number of monarchs that wintered in California in the 1980s. .
“We would really like to see 500,000 butterflies,” she said. “We would love to see a million butterflies, which is more of the historic size we saw in the ’90s not so long ago.”
The Biden administration’s new infrastructure bill, passed last week, spends $ 10 million over five years on projects to benefit monarchs by planting native flowers, adopting land management practices favorable to the monarchs. pollinators and removing non-native vegetation.
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