Rare Northwest Songbird May Win More Protection
Responding to a Center suit, a federal judge ruled Monday that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was wrong to protect streaked horned larks as merely threatened, instead of endangered. They've suffered massive declines across their range in Oregon and Washington.
The Service must now reconsider. Meanwhile the 1,100 surviving songbirds keep their threatened status.
"I'm relieved," said Noah Greenwald, our endangered species director. "If the Fish and Wildlife Service follows the science, these unique birds will finally get the full protection they need so badly."
Read more in The Oregonian.
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