Golden-cheeked warbler may be downlisted to ‘threatened’ status

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken the initial step to downlist the Hill Country’s golden-cheeked warbler from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. According to a news release from USFWS, there will be a lengthy process before the bird’s official status is changed. The much-cherished songbird was listed as endangered in 1990.

In 2017, the Texas General Land Office, with legal assistance from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, sued the USFWS saying the federal agency should have given more credence to the land office’s petition seeking to remove the bird from the endangered species list. The Save Our Springs Alliance was an intervenor in the lawsuit on the USFWS side.

The land office filed two petitions asking USFWS to remove the warbler from the endangered species list. However, the service found the petitions “not-substantial.” Sandra Gladish, public affairs specialist for USFWS, told the Austin Monitor, “The Service previously published two ‘not-substantial’ 90-day findings that were challenged in court. A not substantial 90-day finding means there was not enough information submitted in the petition to suggest that the species should be delisted.”

However, U.S. District Judge David Ezra disagreed, ruling that the service “did not apply the correct standard when evaluating the petition.” As a result, USFWS said it was currently reevaluating the information found within the petition and will publish a new 90-day finding in a separate notice.

The Fish & Wildlife Service has also been conducting a five-year status review for the golden-cheeked warbler. That review “recommends to the Secretary of the Interior downlisting of the species from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act,” according to USFWS.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told the Monitor via email, “I am thrilled with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommendation to downlist the Golden Cheek Warbler from endangered to threatened following a thorough review of the evidence. This ruling will ensure that Texas property owners can make decisions for their own land without the federal government impeding with an unjustified Endangered Species Act classification.”

However, in a press release, the Save Our Springs Alliance and Earthjustice disagreed with the idea that the warbler’s status should be changed, citing loss of habitat over the past 10 years.

Victoria Rose, staff attorney for SOS, said, “We are dismayed at the service’s decision to downlist the warbler against a grim backdrop of threats from habitat destruction and climate change throughout the warbler’s range, but we are looking ahead to fighting for continued protections for Texas’ most iconic song bird.”

“This decision is out of step with the best available science and may worsen conditions for the golden-cheeked warbler,” said Sharmeen Morrison, attorney with Earthjustice’s Biodiversity Defense Program. “The warbler lost almost a third of its habitat over a recent 10-year period, and the service’s decision could open the door to even more habitat loss due to development. We will continue to advocate for the warbler to receive the Endangered Species Act protections it needs to survive.”

The Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 to protect the habitats of the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo. The vireo has been removed from the endangered list “due to recovery,” according to USFWS.

According to the USFWS, “In the breeding range, the neotropical migratory bird (the warbler) nests exclusively in the mature juniper-oak woodlands of Central Texas. It then migrates south for the winter to the pine-oak forests in the highlands of southern Mexico and Central America.”

During the comprehensive five-year status review, “the Service evaluated the golden-cheeked warbler’s current needs, conditions, and threats, in addition to modeling future scenarios. This comprehensive assessment of the species indicated that the golden-cheeked warbler is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range (the definition of an endangered species in the ESA) but is instead in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future throughout its range (the definition of a threatened species in the ESA).

“The five-year review concluded that the golden-cheeked warbler’s condition merits a potential change in listing status, due in part to decades of ongoing research that better clarifies our understanding of the species and its habitat conditions, and habitat conservation. While these efforts are encouraging, the review confirmed that the species and its habitat currently face ongoing threats from urbanization, drought, and wildfire, among other stressors, and will continue to do so into the future. Although the five-year status review recommends downlisting the golden-cheeked warbler to threatened status, at present, the species is still listed as endangered.”

Ryan Shannon, senior attorney in the endangered species program for the Center for Biological Diversity, said, “This is not in and of itself a delisting proposal.” He noted that the species still does face threats from urbanization, fire and drought, but especially from urbanization. He said the change in category must be backed up with a full scientific review. It could be done as quickly as 90 days, but some of these procedures drag on for years. The proposed rule must be published in the federal register and then people and organizations will have the opportunity to comment.

“I’m sure the incoming administration will receive heavy political pressure” to delist the warbler or downgrade its status. But that can backfire, he said.

In the past, he said, the group has worked with local groups like Travis Audubon, adding, “and we will certainly advocate for its continued protection.”

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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