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width="100%"></applet><tt><i></i>New York Times<br>
editorial<br>
April 1, 2009<br>
<br>
State of the Birds<br>
<br>
<br>
Ken Salazar, the secretary of the interior, released a new, nationwide<br>
survey last month that assesses the state of bird populations in
America.<br>
The news is grievous. Over all, a third of the bird species in this
country<br>
are endangered, threatened or in serious decline.<br>
<br>
<br>
There is special concern for grassland birds — whose habitat has been<br>
vanishing steadily for decades — for birds in Hawaii, where a variety of<br>
species face a variety of threats, and for coastal species. The good
news<br>
is that wherever nature is allowed to recover, especially in the case of<br>
wetland birds, it shows its usual resilience.<br>
<br>
<br>
But there is no glossing over these staggering losses, and there is no<br>
dismissing what they mean. There is nothing accidental or inevitable
about<br>
the vanishing of these birds. However unintentional, it is the direct<br>
result of human activity — of development, of global warming, of air and<br>
water pollution and of our failure to set aside the habitat these birds<br>
need to flourish. Every threatened species reveals some aspect of our
lives<br>
that could be adjusted.<br>
<br>
<br>
The survey also shows that where humans have made an effort — as with<br>
migratory waterfowl and with endangered species like the peregrine
falcon —<br>
good things have happened, with some species recovering even as others<br>
declined. This in turn argues that the programs now in place to protect<br>
habitat should not only be spared the budgetary wrecking ball but also<br>
expanded — most conspicuously those managed by the Agriculture
Department<br>
that seek to preserve wetlands and prairie grasslands as well as the<br>
Interior Department’s Land and Water Conservation Fund.<br>
<br>
<br>
The remarkable recovery of ducks and geese and other wetland species —<br>
thanks to strong conservation efforts — should remind us of what is<br>
possible. The only other outcome is too grim to consider — a landscape<br>
steadily emptying of birds.<br>
<br>
<br>
David_Barna@nps.gov<br>
infozone<br>
1.94.5<br>
<br>
</tt>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Clare Fritzsche
Volunteer Administration
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Channel Islands National Park
Office schedule week of March 30:
MON: 12-4pm, Santa Barbara (805) 966-7107 x366
TUE: 8am-4pm, Santa Barbara (805) 966-7107 x366
WED: 8am-12pm & 1:30-4pm, Santa Barbara (805) 966-7107 x366
THU: 9:30am-2:30pm, Oxnard (805) 382-6149 x105
FRI: 8am-4pm, Santa Barbara (805) 966-7107 x366
Cellular: (805) 729-0127
Santa Barbara FAX: (805) 568-1582
</pre>
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