Recovery of red-cockaded woodpeckers in the southeast prompts change of status from endangered to threatened

WASHINGTON (AP) — The red-cockaded woodpecker, an iconic bird of southeastern forests, has recovered enough of its population to be moved from endangered species to the threatened species list, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday.

“The delisting of the red-cockaded woodpecker marks an important milestone in our nation’s commitment to protecting biodiversity,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

At one point in the 1970s, the red-cockaded woodpecker population was down to 1,470 clusters, or groups of nests, wildlife officials said. There are an estimated 7,800 clusters today.

“It’s a magnificent bird with an unusual communal nesting structure,” said Will Harlan of the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. “All nests often cluster on the same tree, and the birds stick together as a family unit.”

Red-cockaded woodpeckers are habitat specialists, nesting only in mature longleaf pine forests and in cavities of living trees that have been partially hollowed out by a fungus.

Longleaf pine forests once covered much of the Atlantic and Gulf coast regions from New Jersey to Texas, but logging and development in the region have reduced that proportion to just 3% of this original habitat today, Harlan said.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers were one of the first species designated “endangered” in the United States in 1970, and the birds were given full protection with the passage of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Since then, habitat restoration and conservation on both public and private lands have helped the species partially recover. Georgetown ecologist Emily Williams said managed efforts to move birds from rook areas to reestablish populations in other forests have also helped the species.

“The news is exciting because this is a conservation success story in many ways,” he said. “But caution is still needed to ensure the species thrives.”

In most cases, “taking” (meaning harassing, hunting, or harming) woodpeckers or their habitat will still be prohibited. However, the change in status also allows for the possibility of some new exceptions to these protections.

“The species still has a long road to full recovery,” said Ramona McGee, senior attorney and wildlife program leader at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Removing protections for endangered species could now reverse past gains.”

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