Natural History Wanderings

Audubon reports

In 2019, groups representing mining and other industries petitioned for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to remove Endangered Species Act protections from the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, part of a coordinated attempt to chip away at the 1973 law species by species. In response to these efforts, nearly 25,000 Audubon advocates submitted comments to the USFWS urging them to continue protecting the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

We are happy to report that the USFWS announced their finding on the petition to remove the distinct population segment (DPS) of the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The USFWS notice states, “After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that it is not warranted at this time to delist the DPS of the western yellow-billed cuckoo.”