Defenders of Wildlife Blog

©USFWS

Chris Haney, Ph.D., Defenders of Wildlife Chief Scientist 

For such a relatively small bird, the robin-sized red knot (Calidris canutus) has an extraordinary migration journey. Each year it travels more than 9,000 miles from breeding grounds high in the Canadian Arctic down to remote Tierra del Fuego in South America, where it spends the winter. To survive the trip, these shorebirds must be strong, healthy and resilient.

Horseshoe crab (©Spakattacks/Flickr)

But the red knot is struggling to overcome catastrophic population loss. Over the past ten years, the North American Atlantic population of the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) has plummeted by 80 percent. Numbers of red knots have crashed by as much as 54 percent on their wintering grounds in two years alone. In New Jersey, where red knots stop to rest and eat before continuing their north-bound journey, they have been declining at a rate of 17.9 percent annually. So what is responsible for the species’ alarming decline?

Commercial over-harvesting of the prehistoric horseshoe crab is a key culprit. Red knots must concentrate in huge numbers at traditional stop-over sites to refuel during their migration, because a single non-stop flight can cover as much as 5,000 miles. Delaware Bay is a key staging area during spring migration, where knots come to feed on eggs of the once-numerous spawning crabs. Some estimates place nearly 90 percent of the entire North American Atlantic population of the red knot on the bay during a single day in May.

When red knots descend on Delaware Bay this spring, famished from their marathon flight from South America, they might find slim pickings instead of their expected feast of eggs from horseshoe crabs. Superstorm Sandy last fall scoured away much of the sand that crabs need for spawning. Restoring beaches is a top priority for wildlife groups who wish to repair massive damage to the dunes, beaches and salt marshes along the Eastern Seaboard.

(©Jan van de Kam)

Aided by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and others, two feet of new sand covers stretches of beach along swaths as much as 5,000 feet long and 10-15 feet wide. Arriving in 20-cubic-yard dump trucks, one load at a time, enough sand has been dumped to cover about 1,000 cubic yards a day. Sand was targeted for spreading on the most well-known and crucial spots for both the horseshoe crabs and red knot.

This beach replenishment is hoped to provide just enough space for throngs of horseshoe crabs as they crawl out of the bay. Each spawning female will lay up to 100,000 eggs.

Despite the restored habitat, problems for the red knot are not over. Beach restoration will complement other measures, namely a continued closure of the commercial fishery for horseshoe crabs. But with its conservation plight now so well-known and supported, perhaps tide and time are turning for this remarkable shorebird.

Wetlands in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (©USFWS)

Isabel Ricker, Landscape Conservation Coordinator

A few months ago we told you about an important milestone being reached in the battle to preserve the wilderness and wetland integrity of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This occurred when the Fish and Wildlife Service released its final environmental impact statement (EIS) recommending against building a $30 million road through the refuge. When a federal agency issues a final EIS, it has to wait at least 30 days before it can finalize its recommendation and begin its implementation. When the Service issued the Izembek EIS, the final decision rested in the hands of then-Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, but he subsequently retired from office without resolving the dispute over the proposed Izembek road.

So where do things stand at this point with regards to that road? Despite having fallen off the political radar screen in recent weeks, the future of this incredible wildlife refuge remains as uncertain as ever. And for that we can thank Congressional politics playing out as usual.

The problem stemmed from Salazar’s retirement and the need for the Senate to confirm his proposed successor, Sally Jewell. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska threatened to block Jewell’s nomination unless the Department reversed the Service’s recommendation against the Izembek road. So at the last moment before a vote on her nomination, an unfortunate deal was struck by the Department which agreed to seek further public comment from the supporters of the road. The deal between Senator Murkowski and Interior will likely delay a final decision on Izembek for many months, but it does not bind or force the Department to ultimately approve the road. So the fate of Izembek now rests in Sally Jewell’s hands.

Many species of birds, especially the Pacific black brant, rely on Izembek’s protected habitat (©Ryan Hagerty/USFWS)

Izembek was established in 1960 to protect some of the most distinctive and important wetlands in the world, and is home to an abundance of wildlife, including 98% of the world’s population of Pacific black brant (a sea bird), as well as grizzly bear, caribou, and salmon. The proposed road would bisect refuge and designated wilderness lands in order to connect the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay, crossing sensitive wetlands as well as steep slopes prone to avalanches. Numerous studies – by the federal government, the state of Alaska and wildlife experts – have concluded since the 1980s that a road through Izembek would permanently and significantly damage the wilderness and wildlife habitat value of the refuge. Furthermore, the road would set a dangerous precedent of sacrificing our nation’s protected wilderness national wildlife refuges for indefensible development projects.

The damage from the road is not being exaggerated. In the final EIS for the project, which was released earlier this year, the Service determined that the road would require the construction of eight bridges, 19 culverts and 254 stream crossings. Despite this unambiguous assessment by the Service, proponents of the road continued to push for its approval, saying that the road is a public health necessity for King Cove. Ironically, the village of King Cove had previously been provided with a $9 million all-weather hovercraft to cross the bay in medical emergencies to the air strip at Cold Bay, but the community ultimately gave the hovercraft away.

The hovercraft that they no longer wanted was able to reach Cold Bay in 20 minutes in a medical emergency. By contrast, the proposed road would take more than two hours to travel, even in the best of weather conditions. The hovercraft had a 100% success rate with 30 medical evacuations, while the road would be impassable for much of the year due to frequent icing, high winds, blizzards and other inclement weather. Pete Mjos, the region’s former U.S. Public Health Service director, has said that attempting to travel on the proposed road during the region’s extreme winter storms would be “foolish beyond reason” and “would clearly jeopardize life.”

The Aighleen Pinnacles in Izembek NWR (©John Sarvis/USFWS)

The best estimates suggest that between past efforts to enhance medical services to King Cove and the construction of the proposed road, the final bill to the American taxpayer would be close to $75 million, an extraordinary expense in a time of federal budget austerity. Two weeks ago, Defenders of Wildlife CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark and former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Post that details the decades-long history of King Cove’s pork-barrel projects and the environmental consequences of this road.

Secretary of the Interior Jewell will face many tough decisions in her new position, but the Izembek road should not be one of them. While Izembek may be politically challenging to decide, from an economic and environmental perspective, it is easy and self-evident – the road must be rejected. We urge the new secretary to make the right decision – the honest and responsible decision – and preserve this iconic wilderness wildlife refuge. Both American taxpayers and the Izembek wildlife will thank her.

Letts Lake, Mendocino National Forest (©Pamela Flick/Defenders)

Pamela Flick, California Representative

From the thundering rapids of Cache Creek to the snow-capped peak of Snow Mountain, northern California’s somewhat undiscovered Berryessa Snow Mountain region is home to iconic wildlife, including the rare and elusive Pacific fisher, thriving elk herds and one of our state’s largest wintering populations of bald eagles. Visitors from nearby Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Area encounter scenic vistas and a wide variety of rare species found nowhere else on Earth, thanks to the region’s distinctive geology.

Indeed, this rich landscape provides habitat for so many plants and animals – among them some of the most unique butterflies and dragonflies in the state – that it has been identified as a “biodiversity hotspot.” The lands between Lake Berryessa and Snow Mountain make up one of the largest tracts of relatively undisturbed public lands in the state, providing invaluable space for wildlife to roam. Spanning nearly 100 miles in length from north to south, and ranging from near sea level to over 7,000 feet in elevation, this landscape includes habitats at such a wide variety of altitudes and latitudes that it also presents an important opportunity for species to adapt as the climate continues to change.

Building on overwhelming support from a wide array of stakeholders – from business owners to local elected officials, wildlife enthusiasts to mountain bikers – Representatives Mike Thompson, John Garamendi, Jared Huffman, Anna Eshoo and Ami Bera, along with Senator Barbara Boxer, recently introduced the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Act (H.R. 1025/S. 483) “to conserve, protect and enhance for the benefit of present and future generations the ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources of the lands.” These bills would designate nearly 350,000 acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as a National Conservation Area.

Fishers, an elusive and imperiled species, make their home in the Berryessa Snow Mountain region.

With nearby metropolitan areas expected to gain millions of new residents within the next decade, roads and development threaten to fragment this largely unbroken expanse and limit wildlife movement. The impacts of poorly managed recreation can also threaten important habitat. Protecting the Berryessa Snow Mountain region will safeguard the natural beauty, sensitive areas and the plants and animals that make their homes in this unique landscape. Protection will also secure existing recreation opportunities like hiking, boating, camping and horseback riding, while providing well-managed recreation experiences for residents and visitors alike.

Permanent protection for the Berryessa Snow Mountain region isn’t just good for the environment and wildlife, it’s also good for the economy. The outdoor recreation industry supports more than 400,000 California jobs and generates $46 billion (yes, that’s billion with a b!) of economic activity in the Golden State every year. Protecting our special places encourages tourism, supports local businesses and creates desirable places to live and work. Riffing on the old adage, protect it and they will come!

From meeting with key decision-makers to hosting town hall meetings with our conservation partners to engage local community stakeholders, Defenders is committed to continuing our work to support permanent protection of the Berryessa Snow Mountain region to ensure that wildlife as well as future generations benefit from this unique and diverse landscape just as we do today.

©James Ownby

Mark Salvo, Federal Lands Policy Analyst

There are few birds in the American West that know how to party like sage-grouse. Oh sure, you’ve got your hummingbirds with their swooping and diving and your huge, gawky sandhill cranes with their flamboyant, noisy mating rituals. But for sheer spectacle, nothing beats the sage-grouse and now is the perfect time to see them strut their stuff because it’s mating season out West.

Sage-grouse dancing occurs from March to May. In early spring at dawn, and often at dusk, sage-grouse congregate on “leks”— ancestral strutting grounds to which the birds return year after year. To attract a hen, males jockey for position, fan their tail feathers and swell their breasts to reveal yellow air sacs, and then, just as quickly, deflate them to make an utterly unique “swish-swish-coooopoink!” sound that can be heard from over a mile away. Scientists aren’t certain what about this flamboyant display is attractive to females, but it works. Take a look:

Sage-grouse are the charismatic ambassador of the “Sagebrush Sea,” a term given to the vast sagebrush prairie that once sprawled across thirteen western states and three Canadian provinces. Lewis and Clark described the grouse in their journal as the “cock of the plains”, and nineteenth century travelers reported seeing huge flocks of sage-grouse that darkened the sky as they lifted from valley floors. Native Americans emulated sage-grouse in ceremonial dress and dance. Settlers hunted the bird for food, and even collected sage-grouse eggs in spring for table use. Centuries of westerners have admired sage-grouse as fellow dwellers of the high desert, and birders travel from around the world to see sage-grouse in the wild.

Unfortunately, like too many other iconic western wildlife species, sage-grouse are in trouble. Sagebrush grasslands are a heavily used landscape. Humans have plowed, sprayed, burned, drilled, developed, mined and grazed millions of acres of sagebrush habitat. The remaining habitat is fragmented and degraded by weeds, wildfire, juniper encroachment, utility corridors, roads and fences. Sage-grouse range has been reduced by almost half with the loss of sagebrush steppe and grouse populations have declined to just ten percent of their historic numbers.

Sage-grouse in the snow (© Alan St. John)

William Hornaday of the New York Zoological Society was among the first to express concern for sage-grouse in 1916, publishing a pamphlet titled “Save the Sage Grouse from Extinction: A Demand from Civilization to the Western States.” Conservationists have heeded his call and launched a west-wide campaign to protect the grouse and the Sagebrush Sea. After struggling for more than a decade, we finally got a break in 2011 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service committed to review sage-grouse for listing under the Endangered Species Act by 2015. The date certain for a range-wide sage-grouse listing decision has compelled a multitude of federal and state agencies and local entities to finally develop conservation strategies to protect and recover sage-grouse and their habitat.

Defenders of Wildlife is heavily engaged in these planning processes. We are analyzing thousands of pages of documents and working to improve federal and state conservation strategies. In Washington, DC, we are urging the Obama administration and Congressional representatives to strengthen conservation initiatives for sage-grouse, and out West we are diligently working to ensure that new development won’t harm the species.

But sometimes you’ve just got to make time to enjoy these spectacular birds. We invite you attend a show at a sage-grouse lek this spring. Dress warmly, bring binoculars and coffee, and be ready for fun. And then join Defenders to conserve sage-grouse so that they may continue to impress for generations to come.

© William R. Curtsinger / National Geographic Stock

Juan Carlos Cantu, Mexico Program Manager

Humans can regularly be seen on Mexico’s beaches, umbrella drink in hand. But we’re not the only ones who regularly hit the country’s beautiful sandy coastline. Literally, every sea turtle species on earth nests on Mexico’s beaches, save one that is only found in Australia. That’s why we’re known as the sea turtle capital of the world, and that’s why the way Mexico protects its sea turtles matters on a global scale.

Current Mexican law classifies all sea turtle species as endangered. But unfortunately this really only means turtles are protected from direct harvest—meaning they can’t be killed for their meat, skin, shell or eggs. Yet other factors pose serious dangers, including damage to and destruction of sea turtle habitat. Even nesting habitat, which is particularly important to the survival of these species, was not legally protected.

An endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle comes ashore to lay her eggs. (© Steven Price)

But not anymore, because in February, a new Mexican law (known as Official Norm-162) took effect, and it offers a whole slate of new protections for sea turtle nesting grounds in Mexico.

Previously, only the most important sea turtle nesting sites have been designated as sanctuaries and natural reserves, which allowed them some level of protection but left the majority of nesting habitat vulnerable.  But now, the new regulation extends habitat protections to all turtle nesting sites. Here are just some of the things that this new and unprecedented regulation has accomplished for sea turtle nesting habitat:

Protecting Native Habitat
The new regulation forbids the removal of native vegetation in the nesting habitat. When coastal vegetation is removed, especially from sand dunes, it allows increased erosion that could eventually destroy nesting beaches. In addition, some turtles like the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle even prefer to crawl up the beach all the way up to the vegetation to nest.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Hatchling (NPS)

Putting Out Artificial Lights
The regulation also addresses one of the main factors that disrupt nesting turtles: artificial lights from houses, hotels and roads. These light sources can not only disorient nesting females, but they can be lethal to emerging hatchlings. As they climb their way up from their sandy nest, newly-hatched turtles look for the subtle light reflecting off the surf and waves to orient themselves towards the sea. Artificial lighting can point them in the wrong direction and when you are that young, one wrong turn can force you to use up your limited energy stores, leading to an almost certain death. Even those that eventually make their way to the surf can be too exhausted to swim away, becoming easy pickings for fish and marine birds. For the first time in Mexico, this new regulation calls for moving, changing or eliminating any light sources that illuminates a nesting beach or creates a glow that could disorient the females or hatchlings. These changes won’t happen overnight, but authorities are already informing beachside homeowners and hotels of the new rules.

Off-Road Vehicles
The new regulation also helps address the use of heavy vehicles on the beach. Heavy vehicles may compact sand, destroy nests and eggs, create deep ruts that can become traps for nestlings and basically tear up nesting beaches. No more. From now on, vehicles on nesting beaches have to be less than 300 kg in weight and can only be used for patrolling and management of the nesting site.

In the U.S., sea turtle nesting grounds are often carefully protected. (© Robert S. Donovan)

Spectators
A less obviously threatening activity also outlawed by the new regulation is the release of newly hatched sea turtles. Many hotels near nesting beaches offer guests the opportunity to be part of the release of hatchlings into the sea. The problem is that they keep the hatchlings in confinement for many days until enough people sign up for the activity. So when they are released after being held in captivity, they are too weak to handle the surf or avoid predators. Hatchlings need to get into the water as soon as possible after hatching so they can use their limited energy to swim away. This tourism practice is now forbidden, and hatchlings have to be released immediately. Also for the first time, those who want to watch sea turtles laying their eggs during nesting season will have to follow strict rules.

All of these and many more regulations will help protect beaches, nests, female sea turtles, their eggs and hatchlings from now on. I am proud to say that Defenders of Wildlife played a key role in making this happen. We worked on this regulation for many years; in fact we were the ones who proposed its creation back in 2002. It took a decade of lobbying before we got the Environment Ministry to develop it, and Defenders is one of only four non-governmental organizations credited with helping to make these new protections a reality. It took a long time to get these regulations adopted but now when sea turtles hit Mexico’s beaches to nest, they will find it a safer place than ever.

Matt Clark, Southwest Representative 

Patagonia Mountains – rich habitat for wildlife in the southwest ©Matt Clark

If you are anything like me, you might get to feeling pessimistic sometimes because of all of the alarming news we hear about the growing extinction crisis, climate change and a plethora of other wildlife woes. The renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote, “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.” Since Leopold’s day, science has deepened our understanding of these ecological wounds and their consequences for wildlife – and has also revealed promising solutions.

Though most understand the damage done when a species’ habitat is destroyed, we often overlook the damage that comes from breaking the habitat into smaller pieces or crisscrossing it with roads and other barriers. When native habitats become too small, isolated and fragmented, they can’t support healthy wildlife populations.

Here in Defenders’ Southwest office, we’ve partnered with the Wildlands Network and a dozen or more of North America’s most respected conservation organizations to protect, connect and restore a contiguous network of lands along the spine of the Rocky Mountains and associated ranges, basins, plateaus, and deserts – all the way from Alaska’s Brooks Range to the Mexican Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico. These habitats need to be stitched back together so that wildlife can survive in a crowded world, and can shift their ranges as climate change rapidly alters the environment.

A family of javelina trapped at the border fence that cuts across their habitat (©Matt Clark)

To bring attention to wildlife corridor conservation, outdoor adventurer John Davis is biking, hiking and paddling along a 5,000-mile journey from Mexico to Canada, highlighting the need for wildlife habitat and corridor protection on a local and international scale – a journey dubbed TrekWest. Along the way, John is pointing out projects by organizations, private landowners and decision-makers that have helped to protect or restore vital habitats and corridors. I joined John Davis and our local conservation partners on the trail for the second regional leg of his continental journey. We guided John to important places in the Sky Islands Ecoregion – one of Defenders’ focal landscapes – to highlight promising projects that aim to maintain and restore habitat connectivity.

While TrekWest is mostly about highlighting solutions and successes, we were also compelled to show John some of the obstacles to wildlife in the Sky Islands. We brought John to see the antithesis of habitat connectivity: the 20-foot-tall border wall that Customs and Border Protection has constructed along vast swaths of the border with Mexico, straight through prime wildlife habitat. Defenders led the charge against this massive project at the time, but sadly the construction continued without public input and via the waiving of important laws. On previous trips to the border, I have witnessed the wall’s effects on wildlife. I photographed a family of javelina (wild pigs) cut off from the Mexican part of their range, and have seen deer and mountain lions similarly stymied. Some of the more rugged, north/south wildlife corridors that span the border do not yet have walls constructed across them, and we hope they will never be built.

Jaguars like these are just beginning to make their way back into Arizona – but disconnected habitats make it a challenge.

Another threat we could not sugar-coat for John is a number of mining proposals in the region. We visited the site of the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, just south of Tucson. If this open pit mine proceeds despite strong local opposition and legal challenges, it would destroy and fragment habitat for a wide range of species, including the jaguar. We also brought John to the Patagonia Mountains (a crucial, cross-border mountain range) and showed him the site of the proposed “Wildcat” silver mine. If constructed, this would be the second largest silver mine in the world – and like Rosemont, it would destroy thousands of acres of habitat and sever its connections for many wildlife species including the endangered jaguar, ocelot, and lesser long-nosed bat and the threatened Mexican spotted owl. Defenders is working with partner organizations such as Sky Island Alliance and the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance to prevent this mine from becoming the newest ecological wound to the region.

On the positive side, I helped to guide John on a hike to tour a local wildlife linkage that connects the Santa Catalina Mountains to the Tortolita Mountains. The connection between these two habitats was severed by urban development and a heavily traveled state highway (SR 77). The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, of which Defenders is an active member, has worked tirelessly with stakeholders to protect the threads of habitat that remain intact. The Coalition also helped convince the Regional Transportation Authority to build wildlife underpasses, and an ambitious overpass, to enable wildlife to pass safely across SR 77. Once built, these wildlife-dedicated structures will give deer, fox, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion and other wildlife a way to cross from one habitat to the next without putting themselves or drivers at risk.

The bridge over Davidson Canyon allows wildlife to cross under Interstate 10 (©Matt Clark)

Later, I met up with John and staff from Sky Island Alliance on a hike through Davidson Canyon, a crucial wildlife corridor that links the Rincon Mountains and Pima County’s Cienega Creek Natural Preserve with the Santa Rita Mountains. The canyon is particularly important because the highway’s bridge gives wildlife a place to safely cross beneath Interstate 10. We documented many tracks near the bridge left behind by roadrunner, opossum, fox, coyote, bobcat and cougar. Black bear have also been documented utilizing this corridor. Sky Island Alliance is working with the transportation department and the county to ensure that this corridor remains functional for the free-flow of wildlife movement. These are but a couple of shining examples of how we are collectively working together to ensure wildlife has room to roam.

I believe that the most important factor that has changed since Aldo Leopold’s time is that we are no longer alone as we face these ecological challenges. We are a part of a strong and growing network of well-informed, passionate people working together toward a common and noble cause: the conservation and restoration of our natural heritage. For me, connectivity conservation fuels the flame of hope. It is a way we can give wildlife a fighting chance to survive in an increasingly fragmented and warming world.