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Secretary Salazar Releases 2010 State of The Birds Report on Climate Change

March 12, 2010
Secretary Salazar Releases 2010 State of The Birds Report on Climate Change

2010 State of the Birds Report on Climate Change

On March 11, 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released the 2010 State of the Birds Report on Climate Change. Speaking in Austin, Texas, Secretary Salazar stated that “For well over a century, migratory birds have faced stresses such as commercial hunting, loss of forests, the use of DDT and other pesticides, a loss of wetlands and other key habitat, the introduction of invasive species, and other impacts of human development. Now they are facing a new threat – climate change – that could dramatically alter their habitat and food supply and push many species towards extinction.”

The 2010 report, developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with the nation's leading conservation organizations, highlights the need for  a number of conservation efforts. These include reducing carbon emissions, protecting key bird habitats, ensuring stable food supplies, and the removal of invasive species that pose a threat to bird populations. 

Nearly a third of North America’s 800 bird species are endangered, threatened, or in significant decline.  The report emphasizes the importance of conservation efforts to protect not only threatened and endangered birds, but common birds as well. Among the species of special concern are oceanic and island bird species which will be hardest hit by a changing climate as they face rapidly changing marine ecosystems and the loss of breeding grounds as sea levels rise. Regionally, we will see western forest bird populations shift to higher elevations as precipitation patterns change, and as fire, insects, pests, and disease alter forest communities.  Long-distance migrants, especially aerial insect-eaters such as swifts and nightjars, may face multiple challenges such as timing migration with food resource availability throughout their migratory range. 

According to Klamath Bird Observatory Executive Director, John Alexander, “This second State of the Birds report again emphasizes a message of concern and optimism.  While climate change exacerbates our conservation challenges, it calls us to take action and manage for resilient and functioning ecosystems.  In Oregon and California birds serve as indicators of habitat conditions and natural processes, such as fire and flood, that are critical to the health of our forests and natural resources in a future of changing climates.  Bird conservation success stories have shown us that we can manage for healthy ecosystems.  While we work to reduce our carbon footprint we can also manage for the healthy landscapes on which we all depend.”

Local non-profit organization Klamath Bird Observatory, along with the American Bird Conservancy, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey worked in collaboration to produce this report as part of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative.

To learn more about the State of the Birds 2010 Report on Climate Change, visit www.stateofthebirds.org.