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Possibly the most mysterious American seabird, the Kittlitz’s murrelet nests in remote, solitary places high in rugged coastal mountains and has always been difficult to spot — in fact, since the species’ discovery, scientists have documented only a few dozen of its nests. This bird is unique because of its intimate association with glaciers, but climate change and human activities are fast altering its icy habitat. Soon the elusive murrelet could disappear completely.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE
PROTECTION STATUS: Not listed; candidate only
PETITIONED: 2001
YEAR LISTED: Candidate 2004
RANGE: Alaska and the Russian Far East
THREATS: Global warming, oil spills, bycatch in commercial gillnet fisheries, disturbance by vessels, increased nest predation, and changing food resources
POPULATION TREND: Surveys conducted in areas containing the majority of Kittlitz’s murrelet numbers in Alaska show that populations have declined by 80 to 90 percent or more during the last 20 years.
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SAVING THE KITTLITZ'S MURRELET
The effects of climate change are dramatically apparent in Alaska and are hitting the Kittlitz’s murrelet especially hard. Rapidly rising temperatures are shrinking the seabird’s glacial habitat, and changes in the ocean are reducing the availability of the fish it eats. In addition, the species is directly affected by human activities like cruise-ship disturbances, which cause it to abandon feeding areas, and commercial gillnet fishing, which often kills birds as bycatch. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill had a catastrophic affect on the Kittlitz’s murrelet, destroying as much as 10 percent of the world population.
In 2001, the Center, the Coastal Coalition, Eyak Preservation Council, Lynn Canal Conservation, Inc., and the Sitka Conservation Society formally petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Kittlitz's murrelet as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The petition also requested that critical habitat be designated for the bird. But while the Service acknowledged the species’ peril, declaring that its sharp decline justified listing, the agency refused to grant the bird any protections by naming it a candidate species whose listing was “precluded.”
In 2005, the Center filed suit to force the Service to fully protect the Kittlitz’s murrelet — and 282 other imperiled candidate species — under the Endangered Species Act. We will continue to advocate for the protection of the Kittlitz’s murrelet, and we’re actively combating the global warming that threatens it through our Climate, Air, and Energy program.
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Contact: Kassie Siegel
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