BOSTON - A new study called Shifting Skies says climate change is affecting migratory birds that live in or pass through Massachusetts and New England. The report by the National Wildlife Federation says that of 305 species tracked, 177 have shifted their winter habitats northward by 35 miles on average over the past four decades. This can throw off their feeding patterns and lead to population decline or extinction, according to Dr. Hector Galbraith, staff scientist at the NWF.

"No longer can you drive to the top of Mount Greylock in Western Massachusetts and hope to see a Bicknell's thrush or blackpoll warbler," he declared. "They're gone."

Rising sea levels and extreme storms also threaten marshlands and coastal wetlands that are home to birds such as saltmarsh sparrows and piping plovers.

Dr. Jeff Wells, senior scientist at the Boreal Bird Initiative, said a two-week difference in arrival time at a bird species' New England habitat - promoted by warming climate - can make a crucial difference.

"When birds are arriving back, they're trying to time their arrival so that when they hatch their young they'll be right at the peak of insect abundance in order to make sure their young have food," he said. "And they're arriving a little bit too late."

According to Dr. Pam Hunt, senior scientist at New Hampshire Audubon, rising sea levels threaten New England's seabirds.

"And as sea level rises, those beaches where the species nest are going to be reduced and, in the more intense storms, they will potentially get fully washed out to sea or the islands where they nest will be over-washed, and that could either kill the birds directly or destroy the habitat," she warned.

Carol Oldham, Northeast regional coordinator for the Federation, said political leaders need to be pressed on a rapid response to climate change, and that New England's senators could lead the way if they wanted to.

"We have two independent senators in our region in Senator King and Senator Sanders, as well as some of the more climate- clean air- and conservation-minded Republican voices in Senators Collins and Ayotte."

The report recommends a halt to investing in "dirty" energy including tar-sands pipelines; curbing carbon pollution; and moving to clean-energy alternatives.




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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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A coalition of conservation groups has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for refusing to relist wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

Helena-based Alliance for the Wild Rockies is part of the suit. The Alliance sued to successfully overturn the wolf's delisting in 2012 but the move fell victim to congressional funding bill negotiations.

Mike Garrity, executive director of the alliance, said the wolves clearly qualify to be protected under the Act and hunting is driving down their numbers, which could cause problems for the animals.

"As their numbers decline, they are at greater risk for inbreeding," Garrity pointed out. "Once inbreeding sets in, the population is sunk."

Livestock and cattle owners argued wolves are a threat to their flocks and herds and want their numbers reduced. The suit was filed in federal District Court in Missoula.

Beyond keeping a robust population of wolves on Montana's lands and helping their species thrive, Garrity noted wolves can also help reduce the population of diseased animals.

"We're starting to have disease in deer, such as Chronic Wasting Disease," Garrity explained. "Predators like wolves are really good at focusing on the sick animals, so that's an excellent way to control Chronic Wasting Disease."

Garrity added wolf management policies in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, all of which allow aggressive hunting of the animals, fail to protect wolves and all native species for future generations, the primary mandate of the Endangered Species Act.