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For Immediate Release
Red Knot Emergency Listing Petition Denied
Bush Administration Says No to Protecting Bird Forecasted to go Extinct in 5 Years
Washington , DC - The Bush administration has declined an emergency request from Defenders of Wildlife and others to provide Endangered Species Act protections for the red knot. This despite the fact that the bird has seen a 90% drop in its population over the last ten years and is forecasted by scientists to go extinct as soon as 2010.
"The Bush administration has ignored the clear and compelling science showing that emergency listing is desperately needed to protect the red knot," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, Executive Vice President and Former Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "If the bird is not awarded protection under the Endangered Species Act, it will likely disappear from New Jersey’s shores in a matter of years."
Defenders slammed the reasoning behind the Service’s denial of the petition, which included the assertion that an emergency listing was not needed since the bird "seemed to have a relatively good year" and that steps were already being taken or pending that will help the bird’s numbers.
"No biologist worth their degree would suggest a species is on the path to recovery based on one year’s population count," said Clark. "The number of red knots on the Delaware Bay has declined consistently for the last seven years and they are at their lowest point in the 20-year period of the survey. The population is now so small that something as simple as bad weather conditions on its breeding grounds could significantly impact the remaining birds.
"It is monumentally irresponsible to use data from one field season to suggest the bird is secure. Their decision is a political one, pure and simple," added Clark.
The red knot, a shorebird, makes a remarkable migratory journey each spring, with some of the population flying from as far away as the tip of South America to the Arctic, making just a few stops along the way. The last stop on their migration is the Delaware Bay. This final stopover is thought to be the most important staging area and the last major refueling spot before completing a nonstop journey to their Arctic breeding grounds. While at the Bay, the famished birds feast on horseshoe crab eggs to fuel up to complete the remainder of their journey and successfully breed. But, in recent years, this primary food source has rapidly disappeared due to the greatly increased harvest of horseshoe crabs beginning in the 1990s.
"Many of the measures the Fish and Wildlife Service says are helping the bird have actually not had any real positive impact on the bird’s continuing decline and future actions are unlikely to preclude the need for listing," added Caroline Kennedy, Director of field Conservation Programs for Defenders. "There is no guarantee that a moratorium on horseshoe crab egg harvests will be passed, which means every season the Red Knot goes without federal protection is another season closer to extinction."
"The Bush administration’s actions make one wonder just how close to extinction an animal must be before it will act," said Clark. "This species is literally disappearing before our eyes and still the Bush administration refuses to take any steps to save it."
Clark pointed to a statement about the red knot Secretary Norton made to the Washington Post last June where she said that, "We have, on occasion when a species is in a very serious situation, taken some emergency action." (WP, June 10, 2005)
"If they won’t save the red knot, which literally stands at the brink, what will they save?" asked Clark.
Defenders continues to work to bring the red knot under the protections of the Endangered Species Act.
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Defenders of Wildlife is recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 490,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
