New ESA Rules Put Endangered Birds at Risk
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just released three new Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules that substantially weaken protections for listed species. For example, the new rules add economic criteria to the listing process, making it more difficult to protect species on the basis of the best available science. “Just this decade, seven new populations of birds were listed under the ESA. If the decision-making process for these species allowed economic considerations, it is quite possible that some of them – such as the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red Knot, and Gunnison Sage-Grouse – would not have been granted ESA protection,” said Steve Holmer, American Bird Conservancy's (ABC) Vice President for Policy. Ask your members of Congress to support a strong ESA!

Agency Prioritizing Oil and Gas Development in Sage-Grouse Habitat
The National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and The Wilderness Society released a report finding that the Administration has failed to prioritize oil and gas leasing and drilling outside sage-grouse habitat, despite a formal directive to do so. “The 2015 federal sage-grouse plans were a major factor in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision not to list the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act. The Administration has now abandoned one of the key commitments in the plans, which was for the Bureau of Land Management to prioritize oil and gas leasing and development outside of sage-grouse habitat,” said Nada Culver the Vice President of Public Lands and Senior Policy Counsel for the National Audubon Society. Read Audubon press release here!

Audubon Releases Comprehensive Grasslands & Birds Plan
The National Audubon Society just published its North American Grasslands & Birds Report, a comprehensive analysis of land-use threats and climate change vulnerabilities facing grassland birds dependent on the tallgrass, mixed grass, and shortgrass prairies in the United States and Canada. It also details the importance of wintering habitat in the Chihuahuan grasslands in northern Mexico. Iconic prairie birds such as Bobolinks, Western Meadowlarks, Baird’s Sparrows, Horned Larks, and Endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chickens will be affected unless action is taken. Read the Birding Wire release!

Are Caterpillars Part Of The Cure For Ailing Cerulean Warblers?
Birds, like all animals, depend on a healthy environment for food. But as humans alter the natural landscape, traditional food and feeding dynamics have changed, creating new challenges for vulnerable bird populations. To help these birds, American Bird Conservancy partners with government agencies, other conservation groups, private landowners, and industry representatives to ensure carefully managed habitats — and thus food supplies — are available. In this, the first of our three-part series on efforts to increase natural food sources for birds, we look at how conservationists and foresters in Appalachia and beyond are helping Cerulean Warblers and other birds rebound by restoring a primary source of sustenance: caterpillars.