The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service today advised the public that it is seeking to designate more than 540,000 acres of critical habitat for the western population of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Last year, the Service proposed listing the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, a move that Audubon California supports.

Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that identifies geographic areas containing features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species, and which may require special management considerations or protection. Designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge or preserve, and has no impact on private landowners taking actions on their land that do not require federal funding or permits.