For Immediate UseContact: Garrison Frost
September 24, 2007(323) 951-9620

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Western Snowy Plover recovery plan is an important step in the right direction

Voluntary cooperation without regulatory support or funding will not stave off declines in threatened coastal bird, says Audubon California.

Sacramento, CA – The long-awaited recovery plan from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for the Pacific coast population of the Western Snowy Plover is an important step in the right direction, according to Audubon California, the leading advocate for bird conservation in the state. Of particular concern, however, are the lack of a funding mechanism for recovery programs and a proposed additional regulation that is not yet part of the plan, but may ultimately weaken the Western Snowy Plover’s current protections.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has indicated that it will be pursuing issuance of a “4(d) rule” that as originally proposed would undermine the conservation protection that the Western Snowy Plover currently enjoys. For its part, Audubon California is hoping that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will revise its earlier proposal and ensure that the final rule has some teeth.

“This recovery plan is full of good intentions, but without funding for ongoing recovery programs or regulatory protections, it is unlikely to provide the help that this important threatened species deserves,” said Glenn Olson, executive director of Audubon California. “We are long past the point with this species where cooperation and volunteerism alone can make a difference. We need a plan with some teeth.”

The Western Snowy Plover is a sparrow-sized shorebird that breeds and winters on sandy beaches from Washington to Baja California, Mexico. The vast majority of its population is in California, and the high summer use of the state’s beaches and nearby coastal development has devastated the bird’s breeding populations.

Audubon has been a leading advocate for the Western Snowy Plover since the 1970s, and was instrumental in getting the Pacific coast population listed as a “threatened” species in 1993. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2006 denied several requests to delist the Pacific coast Western Snowy Plover, noting that while the species had made significant progress, its numbers were still well below its historical breeding population.

“The Pacific coast population of the Western Snowy Plover could well become a conservation success story, but only if the plan is backed up with regulatory protections and a firm commitment from the local, state and federal agencies overseeing the recovery effort,” added Olson. “We will continue to look for a strong commitment from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on this.”

About Audubon California

Audubon California is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. With more than 50,000 members in California and an affiliated 48 local Audubon chapters, Audubon California is a field program of Audubon. This relationship links Audubon California to a national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engaging millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation.

More information is available at www.ca.audubon.org.