SEATTLE - Monday marks the 100th anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeon. Folks in the bird world and the conservation world are taking notice.

In the 1800s, there were perhaps 5 billion passenger pigeons in North America, known for migrating and nesting in giant flocks that made them easy prey for hunters. They were a food source, but Trina Bayard, bird conservation director for Audubon Washington, said traveling in great numbers also made them bad news for farmers.

"They were hunted in every way imaginable," she said. "They were also caught and trapped. They were burned out of their trees. They were poisoned with whiskey-soaked corn. So, the hunting was quite intense on these birds."

For some, Bayard noted, this anniversary also is a reason to urge protection of other species that may face extinction - and for the Endangered Species Act that protects them.

"Passenger pigeons are a very powerful reminder of our ability to exhaust seemingly limitless resources," she said. "From an endangered-species perspective, they're an example of how close to the edge species that are already listed as endangered or threatened really are."

A bill making it more difficult for the public to hold agencies accountable when they fail to comply with the ESA recently passed the U.S. House. Its supporters say they want to curb the numbers of plant and animal species that qualify as "endangered."

Ya-Wei "Jake" Li, director of endangered-species conservation for the group Defenders of Wildlife, said hundreds of species across the nation could disappear if the ESA is not protected.

"There are about 1,500 species in the U.S. that are threatened or endangered with extinction," he said, "and about 95 percent of these species are threatened by habitat loss, and many of the same factors that actually caused the passenger pigeon to go extinct."

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, has one of slightly more than 1,500 specimens of passenger pigeons left in the world. This Saturday through Monday, museum visitors can take part in Fold the Flock, a worldwide event to create at least 1 million origami paper replicas of the passenger pigeon.

Monday marks the date that the last bird, named "Martha" for Martha Washington, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

More information on the passenger pigeon is online at defendersblog.org.


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An environmental group is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Arkansas mudalia snail under the Endangered Species Act.

In Arkansas and Missouri, including along the North Fork River, mudalia are critically endangered freshwater snails.

Trisha Sharma, legal fellow at the Center for Biological Diversity, emphasized the need to save the snail from vanishing entirely. She said freshwater mollusks are the most endangered group of animals in North America, and snails are the most endangered mollusks.

"We've already lost more than 70 species of freshwater snails," Sharma pointed out. "The Endangered Species Act has a very high success rate. So if we can get it listed and protected under the ESA, it's highly likely that the species will survive and be able to continue playing its important role in the ecosystems where it's found."

Sharma noted areas where the Arkansas mudalia can be found have decreased by 90% and the main threat to the species is habitat degradation, primarily from dam construction and operation along the rivers.

Sharma emphasized mudalia is also threatened by habitat loss from grazing, logging and mining. She added climate change is also expected to threaten the species.

"Part of what can make a species more resilient to climate impacts is its ability to disperse as its habitat becomes unsuitable, and to essentially relocate to areas where it can survive," Sharma explained. "But snails have a pretty narrow set of habitat requirements and very limited dispersal capabilities."

Sharma said freshwater snails play a crucial role in managing nutrients by consuming detritus and plant matter, preventing their decay and subsequent disruption of water quality, and snails are vital for food webs, converting unusable food sources into usable ones for birds and turtles.


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Today is Earth Day, and one initiative in southern Arizona is helping build public gardens providing beneficial habitat for pollinators, from Monarch butterflies to bees and bats.

Emily Bishton, founder and coordinator of the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project, said the human population depends on these animals and insects, as many of our foods and plant-based products require pollination. But human activity and climate change have put pollinators in jeopardy and Bishton wants to increase awareness of how crucial they are.

"The best chance you have for attracting and nurturing pollinators is with the species that they've co-evolved with," Bishton explained. "They will instinctively know that is food for them, or a place they can lay their eggs. They also are more likely to be able to put up with the way our climate is now and the way it is changing."

Bishton pointed out one focus of the project is to get Arizonans to plant more native species like milkweed, which is especially critical for Monarch butterflies. She would also like people to reconsider the use of pesticides since they do kill pests but also other beneficial insects. She suggested contacting a local county extension service or master-gardener program for alternative methods.

Madian Romero, technical assistant supervisor for the Caviglia-Arivaca Library, has been responsible for getting teenagers in the area to participate in the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project. They not only help build garden spaces around town but grow their knowledge behind the importance of pollinators, as well as community building.

"The teens, they've come up with ideas on how to fundraise for the projects," Romero emphasized. "Each business that agrees to have a garden, it can be free."

Romero added the project has also been a character-building exercise for the young people of Arivaca, and hopes it is an experience they will cherish.

The state Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University are looking for volunteers to help create a new Bumble Bee Atlas.

Bees are an important part of the ecosystem, and scientists are figuring out their habitats to help them thrive.

Iowa is home to at least 14 species of bumble bees that help pollinate native wildflowers and flowering crops in farm fields and backyard gardens.

Iowa State University University Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and plant pathologist Matt O'Neal said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently listed several bee species as endangered.

"And that includes the Rusty Patch bumble bee," said O'Neal, "20% of what it used to be, and that includes parts of Iowa. There is also evidence that other bumble species are in decline and so, this survey will give us a chance to see where those bees are and how abundant they are."

With that information, O'Neal said scientists can work to protect the bees' habitats and create Iowa's Bumble Bee Atlas.

It's part of a larger project to map the bees and foster bee development nationwide. Sign up online to volunteer.

The national project is part of a collaboration with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Some 900 people have volunteered for the national atlas project, and counted more than 20,000 bumble bees - which O'Neal said face several major threats.

"Pesticide exposure, parasite and pathogens," said O'Neal, "and then the last 'P,' and probably the most important, is poor forage."

The researchers will work to alleviate those threats by knowing where the bees are.

Volunteers have discovered species thought to be gone from their states, contributed to new field guides, and improved scientists' understanding of bumble bee populations across the country.




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