Subject: EIGHTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MIGRATORY BIRD DAY (fwd)
Date: Apr 20 15:15:50 2000
From: Deborah Wisti-Peterson - nyneve at u.washington.edu



hello tweets.

some good news to make this sunny day even more enjoyable ....

regards,

Deborah Wisti-Peterson email:nyneve at u.washington.edu
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
Visit me on the web: http://students.washington.edu/~nyneve/
<><><>Graduate School: it's not just a job, it's an indenture!<><><>


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 14:37:29 -0400
Subject: EIGHTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MIGRATORY BIRD DAY

============================================================April 13, 2000 Chris Tollefson 202-219-8104


EIGHTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MIGRATORY BIRD DAY CELEBRATES SUCCESS OF
PEREGRINE FALCON RECOVERY


With the onset of spring comes the annual migration of millions of birds
from winter habitat in southern climes to breeding grounds and summer
habitat across the United States and Canada. To celebrate this crucial
migration journey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will join dozens of
other state and federal agencies, conservation organizations and thousands
of individuals in the U.S., Mexico and Canada in observing the 8th annual
International Migratory Bird Day on May 13.

International Migratory Bird Day, observed with hundreds of festivals, bird
walks and educational presentations across the country, is designed not
only to celebrate migratory birds and their importance in the natural
world, but also to help people understand how birds contribute to the
quality of everyone's lives.

By creating bird-friendly habitat in our back yards and communities,
citizens can make their own environment more livable. Parks, greenways and
landscaped open spaces - habitat that attracts and nurtures migratory birds
- are also a vital component of community life. That habitat can also make
an important contribution to the survival of declining bird species.

"What we do for migratory birds, even in our cities, has the potential to
doom a species or to save it from extinction. As communities keep growing
and expanding, it is important to the health of their environment that they
preserve vital open spaces close to home. It's good for the birds, good
for the environment, and good for the people," said Service Director Jamie
Rappaport Clark.

Birding festivals will be held May 13 and other days throughout the month
at dozens of National Wildlife Refuges, national parks and forests, as well
as city and state parks, National Audubon sanctuaries and other nature
reserves. Many of these events can be found in a registry on the
International Migratory Bird Day web
site at http://birds.fws.gov/imbd.html. Additional information on migratory
bird management issues can be
found on the Service's home page at http://www.fws.gov.

Clark pointed to the successful recovery of the peregrine falcon, which
this year's migratory bird day celebrates, as an example of how
partnerships among citizens, wildlife agencies and conservation
organizations can make a difference for birds.

In 1970, the Service listed the peregrine falcon as endangered under the
Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969, the predecessor of the current
law, when the population in the eastern United States had completely
disappeared and populations in the west had declined by as much as 80 to 90
percent below historical levels. By 1975, the population reached an
all-time low of 324 nesting pairs in North America.

The banning of DDT made the recovery of the peregrine falcon possible. But
the protections provided by the Endangered Species Act and the
extraordinary partnership efforts of the Service and state wildlife
agencies, universities, private ornithological groups, and falcon
enthusiasts accelerated the pace of recovery through captive breeding
programs, reintroduction efforts and the protection of nest sites during
the breeding season. Currently, there are at least 1,650 peregrine breeding
pairs in the United States and Canada, well above the overall recovery goal
of 631 pairs.

Overall, government and private raptor experts have reintroduced more than
6,000 falcons into the wild since 1974. Some of the reintroductions took
place in urban areas after researchers discovered that the falcons have
successfully adapted to nesting on skyscrapers where they can hunt pigeons
and starlings.

Though an international effort to protect other migratory birds has made
progress over the past several decades, serious challenges remain. Many
species are in decline due to environmental contaminants, habitat loss,
collisions with man-made objects, and predation from domestic cats.

During the past 30 years, populations of dozens of neotropical migratory
birds and other landbirds have declined at rates exceeding 2 percent per
year. These losses are not restricted to just one or two groups; warblers,
tanagers, sparrows, shorebirds, seabirds, raptors and wading birds all have
been affected.

Recognizing the need to take cooperative action to protect migratory birds,
Partners in Flight, an international coalition that includes the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, other federal and state wildlife agencies,
conservation groups, academic institutions and corporations has dedicated
itself to reversing declines in migratory bird populations. International
Migratory Bird Day is the hallmark event of Partners in Flight.

"International Migratory Bird Day recognizes conservation partnerships like
those that made the peregrine's recovery possible. No one agency, group or
individual can reverse the decline of a migratory bird species alone, which
is why efforts like Partners in Flight are so important," Clark said.

Individual actions are crucial to migratory bird conservation. For example,
homeowners can make their property safer and more attractive for birds by
reducing and carefully monitoring the pesticides they apply to lawns and
shrubs, by planting trees and bushes that provide habitat and natural food,
and by keeping cats indoors whenever possible and locating bird feeders
away from heavy cover so that cats cannot surprise unsuspecting birds.
Other suggestions and helpful tips can be found on the International
Migratory Bird Day web site or on the Service home page.

Aside from their environmental importance, bird-related activities are also
some of America's most popular pastimes. In fact, bird watching is one of
the fastest growing recreational activities in the U.S., outpacing golf and
rivaling gardening in terms of the number of particpants. In 1996, more
than 63 million people went bird watching, fed birds, or went on trips to
watch birds and other wildlife. All told, in 1996 people spent an estimated
$29 billion to observe and photograph birds and other wildlife.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System which encompasses more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands
of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66
national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological
services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws,
administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations,
restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife
habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their
conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that
distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and
hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

-FWS-


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News releases are also available on the World Wide Web at
http://news.fws.gov

Questions concerning a particular news release or item of
information should be directed to the person listed as the
contact. General comments or observations concerning the
content of the information should be directed to Mitch Snow (Mitch_Snow at fws.gov) in the Office of Public Affairs.

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