Precipitous Decline of Marbled Murrelet in Washington – How You Can Help
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- Last Updated: Saturday, 03 October 2015 12:46
The Marbled Murrelet is a robin-sized bird that was listed as threatened in 1992 under the Endangered Species Act. This bird spends most of its life on near-shore waters from northern California to Alaska. It flies inland to breed high in the canopy of old-growth forest within sixty miles of shore.
The NW Forest Plan was created in 1993 to protect breeding habitat for Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl. Without this plan there would now be no old-growth forest on state or federal lands; however, private landowners can cut any timber.
This August shocking news was published on the status of Marbled Murrelet after 20 years of the NW Forest Plan. The science report said:
- In Washington State the Plan has not been successful--the population of Marbled Murrelet has declined 48% since 2001.
- This decline in numbers is tied to decline in breeding habitat, mostly due to timber harvest of habitat on nonfederal lands. Marine conditions were not an important factor.
- The decrease in both habitat and numbers is the largest in SW Washington, where there is little federal forested land. To read the full report, go to “MAMU GTR” at the bottom of http://www.reo.gov/monitoring/reports/20yr-report/
At current rates of decline there will be no Marbled Murrelet in SW Washington within 15 years! If the SW Washington population disappears, the northern population of birds in Washington, Canada and Alaska will be genetically isolated from the southern population in Oregon and California. This genetic bottleneck could quickly lead to species extinction. The situation for Marbled Murrelets is critical.
BUT YOU CAN HELP THIS OCTOBER! To find out how, click the read more below.
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