New Rule To Help Protect Endangered birds at Cape Hatteras

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

The National Park Service has published the final rule on the contentious issue of off-road vehicle use at North Carolina's Cape Hatteras National Seashore following a seven-year process which had prompted a lawsuit from several conservation organizations.

Decision Awaited in Landmark Trial Over Toronto's Worst Bird Killing Buildings

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

Many of the 48 million Americans who enjoy bird watching will have a strong interest in the pending verdict in an unprecedented lawsuit in Toronto, Canada. One of the deadliest threats to birds worldwide - building collisions - has, in a sense, been put on trial.

ABC Asks Gov. to Curb Bird Deaths From Mining Claim Markers

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

American Bird Conservancy today called on federal government to take action to eliminate the massive avian mortality threat posed by the continued use of uncapped metal or PVC mining claim marker pipes on public lands in the West.

Birds to Benefit from Snake Ban

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has banned the importation and interstate transportation of four nonnative constrictor snakes. Release of snakes into the wild is threatening birds and other animals in the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems across the United States.

Endangered Bird Produces a Chick in U.S. for Second Time

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

For the second time ever recorded, an endangered Short-tailed Albatross has nested in the United States and produced a chick. The recent discovery of the nest and chick on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands follows the fledging of the first U.S.-born chick last year at the same site by the same parents.

Modern Day Birding Record Set in DC in 2011 Big Year Event

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

Jason Berry, a researcher at American Bird Conservancy has broken the modern day record for the number of bird species seen in Washington, D.C. in a single year.

Two New Studies Find Winning Conservation Formula in Peru

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

A new study published in the journal Ecological Economics has found that, contrary to some critical earlier studies, community conservation programs, when done properly, can produce demonstrable changes in local community behavior and lead to improved environmental conservation. A second study has also found that ecotourism in Peru is providing numerous opportunities for the advancement of conservation programs.

Precedent-Setting Proposed Permit May Offer New Protections for Hawaiian Seabirds

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposal to regulate the killing of seabirds by vessels in the Hawaiian swordfish fishery. The action is important because it marks the first time the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, America's foremost law protecting migratory bird species, has been invoked to protect seabirds in federal waters.

New Gulf of Mexico Shark Study Makes Surprising Discovery

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

Researchers at Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, who have been conducting a two year study focusing on the diets of Tiger Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico, have made a surprising discovery: not only are the sharks feeding on fish and other marine organisms, they are also feeding on land-based birds, such as woodpeckers, tanagers, meadowlarks, catbirds, kingbirds, and swallows.

Bird Conservation Group Responds to Proposed Eagle Take Permit

04 Feb 2012 06:48:36 Z

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering an application from West Butte Wind Power LLC for a permit under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The permit would allow for the incidental take of a limited number of Golden Eagles at their proposed facility in central Oregon. This application is the first of its kind for a wind project; historically, many industry developers have ignored permitting altogether and built wind farms at sites with little or no regard for the potential impacts on eagles, resulting in the deaths of possibly thousands of these birds in recent decades.