[BCNnet] BCNet: Need assistance with info on eagles, cranes and Henslow's

Thu Jan 15 10:38:22 CST 2009

this is the response I received when I asked my colleague Doug Stotz
about this.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Douglas Stotz <dstotz at fieldmuseum.org>
Date: Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Subject: Fwd: IBET Changes in Illinois Endangered Species List (long,
no sightings)
To: Laurel Ross <lross at fieldmuseum.org>

Dear Laurel,

      Here is the post I sent to IBET.

Doug

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: douglas stotz <dfstotz at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Subject: IBET Changes in Illinois Endangered Species List (long, no sightings)
To: ilbirds <ilbirds at yahoogroups.com>

I wanted to respond to some recent posts on IBET about the
upcoming proposed changes to the birds on the state threatened and
endangered species lists. I am a member of the Technical Advisory Committee
for birds that makes recommendations to the Endangered Species Board as to
changes to the list. The committee consists of ornithologists from the
Nature Conservancy, Illinois Audubon Society, University of Illinois, the
Natural History Survey, and the Field Museum, as well as from IDNR. Data
was collected from sources including the Breeding Bird Survey, the BCN
census, the Meadowlark, Spring Bird Count, colonial bird censuses, the IDNR
database on endangered and threatened species, personal field work, and
communications from other observers in the state, and probably other sources
I am not thinking of right now.

Based on a thorough review of the data, we suggested 7 changes to the status
of birds on the list. We suggested adding Black-billed Cuckoo as
threatened, increasing the status of Common Moorhen and Loggerhead Shrike to
endangered from threatened, decreasing the status of Mississippi Kite to
threatened from endangered and removing three threatened species, Bald
Eagle, Sandhill Crane, and Henslow's Sparrow. Not terribly surprisingly the
concerns have expressed here on IBET have focused on the 3 species being
removed from the list and the downlisting of Mississippi Kite. Nobody has
complained about adding Black-billed Cuckoo (something I think long overdue,
personally). I will tell you about the data we used to support the removal
of the three species. I should say that although I am a member of the
committee, these are my own personal views based on the documentation I have
and my memmory of the discussions we had.

Bald Eagles were extinct as a breeding bird in Illinois with no known
nesting between 1943 and the 1970's. They have come roaring back with the
removal of DDT from the landscape, and now nest in most of the available
habitat in Illinois. There are breeding pairs up and down the Illinois, and
Mississippi Rivers and scattered pairs along other major rivers and around
some downstate reservoirs. There are now on the order of 100 breeding pairs
in the state, and nesting success of established pairs has been good. The
first breeding attempt within the Chicago city limits since the 1800s
occurred recently. Because of the dramatic recovery of Bald Eagle in the
lower 48 states it was recently removed from the federal endangered species
list. Bald Eagles besides being protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty
receive additional protection under the Bald Eagle Protection Act. So it
seems to me that removing it from the Illinois threatened species list
recognizes its recovery and does not materially affect its protection.

Sandhill Cranes are another species that were extinct as breeders in
Illinois. Populations in the upper Midwest began increasing in the 1960s,
and the first recent nesting in Illinois was documented in 1979. Since then
they have continued to increase and have moved from endangered in Illinois
to threatened and now finally probably to be removed from the list. The
species currently breeds in most of northern Illinois and every year it is
found in new areas, although the stronghold is clearly the western Lake
Co.-McHenry Co. lake district. I don't have an estimate of the current
number of breeding pairs, but it is certainly several hundred. The
Wisconsin population also continues to increase, and additional birds are
likely added to the Illinois population from there. Surveys of wetland
birds from northeastern Illinois show an annual increase of 33% in breeding
populations over the last twenty-five years. It and Mute Swan are the only
two among 12 wetland species analyzed that show increases. The other
species surveyed include the rails, Common Moorhen, American Coot,
Yellow-headed Blackbird, Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe,
Black Tern and Least Bittern. So wetland birds are doing poorly as
reflected by the fact that 4 of these species are on the threatened or
endangered lists, but Sandhill Crane is a success story. The one issue that
I would say concerns me about Sandhill Crane is that it is a potentially
huntable species. If it is delisted and the population continues to
increase a hunting season could be implemented somewhere down the line. Once
it is hunted, relisting the species if it started to decline would be very
difficult.

Henslow's Sparrow is an interesting one. It is a species that continues to
do poorly nationally, but has clearly been increasing in Illinois as more
and more land is being managed for grasslands. The committee developed a
recovery goal for this species (with the plan to do so for all species). It
required that Henslow's have breeding populations in 40+ counties and at
least 10 protected sites with 20 or more breeding pairs. Most recent data
showed Henslow's in 46 counties and at least a dozen populations of 20+
pairs on protected land. These protected large populations include at least
five with more than 100 pairs. These protected populations are scattered
around the state including Cook, Will, DuPage, Grundy, Iroquois, Cass,
Perry, Jasper and Marion Cos. (Do you know where all these counties are?). One
concern that has been raised is that the species seems to have done well in
lands under CRP (Conservation Reserve Program), and with increasing corn
prices and questions about the long-term continuation of that program
(although such questions have existed for as long as I can remember), maybe
those populations will be lost. However studies of the effects of changes
in CRP enrollment in Illinois on Henslow's Sparrow look like they would not
affect the Henslow's population here. My response would be that even if CRP
went away and we lost all of that habitat, we have a large and secure
population of Henslow's Sparrow in the state. It is no longer threatened.
Okay, I have gone on far too long, I would finish by saying that while I
understand people's worry about such changes (although remember that all of
these species remain protected by other laws, in particular the migratory
bird treaty act), I really believe they are justified by the data. Changes
are always happening in the landscape, and some species including these
three are responding favorably to these changes. Leaving these species on
the list would weaken the list as an ally in trying to conserve our
biodiversity by making it seem like you can never get anything off the list
no matter how well it is doing and by diverting attention and resources from
species that really there is a concern about, like the big suite of
declining wetland species.

Doug Stotz

--
Douglas Stotz
Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist
Environmental and Conservation Programs
Field Museum of Natural History
1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60605

Phone: (312)-665-7438
Fax: (312)-665-7433
e-mail: dstotz at fieldmuseum.org

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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--
Douglas Stotz

Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist
Field Museum of Natural History
1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60605
dstotz at fieldmuseum.org
tel: 312-665-7438
fax: 312-665-7433

-- 
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
—Albert Einstein

Laurel M. Ross, Urban Conservation Director
Environmental and Conservation Programs
The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
312 665 7432
773 218 0850 (cell)

On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 9:52 PM,  <Birdchris at aol.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm developing a position for Sierra Club on proposals by the Illinois
> Endangered Species Board to remove the Bald Eagle, Henslow's Sparrow and
> Sandhill Crane from the state Threatened Species list. The hearing is in
> Springfield on Jan. 23. Information, including the Board's reasons for
> de-listing these species is included at the web site listed in the meeting
> announcement below.
>
> Essentially, the Endangered Species Board says these three species are
> stable and thriving and should be removed from the Threatened list. If they
> are removed, they will lose the special protections they get now to increase
> the species' numbers. The Board will not provide the evidence they said was
> used by the Endangered Species Techincal Advisory Committee on birds to
> review the status of these three species. I can't find anything online about
> the background data.
>
> My emotions and intuition tell me that this is bad move by the Endangered
> Species Board, but I need scientific proof one way or the other. Geoff and I
> have been poring over Bohlen's Birds of Illinois, the latest Illinois
> Breeding Bird Atlas, Ridgeway for historical context, Birds of North
> America, and Meadowlark sightings.
>
> If you have other sources, personal expertise or know someone who can help,
> please get in touch ASAP. I would like to have my comments ready by Friday
> or Saturday.
>
> Thanks very much in advance,
> Christine Williamson
> Chicago/Cook
> birdchris at aol.com
>
>
> Interested Parties
>
> The Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board (ESPB) will hold a public
> hearing at noon on January 23, 2009 at the Illinois Department of Natural
> Resouces (IDNR) headquarters to take public comment on proposed changes to
> the Illinois List of Threatened and Endangered Species resulting from the
> required 5-year review.   Information about the public hearing can be viewed
> at the ESPB webpage on the IDNR website at
> http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm .
>
> Additional information currently available on the ESPB webpage includes the
> current List of Treatened and Endangered Species that was approved in 2004
> and a notice for calendar year 2009 meetings.  For ease of reference, the
> ESPB also plans to post meeting agendas and minutes to the site sometime in
> the near future.  Please note that the ESPB has been without staff for some
> time and currently is operating with reduced staffing, so we ask for your
> patience as we address updates to the webpage and respond to queries for
> other information.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Anne Mankowski
> Director
> Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board
> One Natural Resources Way
> Springfield, IL 62702-1271
> phone:  (217) 785-8687
> fax:  (217) 785-2438
> email:  anne.mankowski at illinois.gov
>
>
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-- 
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
—Albert Einstein

Laurel M. Ross, Urban Conservation Director
Environmental and Conservation Programs
The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
312 665 7432
773 218 0850 (cell)