Endangered Birds Depend on Healthy Forests

Plans are underway at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service to revamp the Northwest Forest Plan. Due to the continued logging of old-growth and mature forests in Washington, Oregon and northern California, and the lack of a clear climate policy for National Forests, we are concerned a plan revision may reduce protections needed for recovering the endangered Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet, and tackling climate change.

The federal land management policies under the Northwest Forest Plan mark a rare climate change success story, halting the massive carbon emissions caused by old-growth logging and sequestering carbon in the protected reserves. It is critical that any update to the Northwest Forest Plan continue this effective climate policy and include greater protections for the Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet populations, which continue to be in decline.

The conservation of these species is intertwined with the vitality of mature and old-growth forests in this region that store and sequester carbon and fight climate change.

Take action now by urging the USDA to strengthen protections for mature and old-growth forests in the Northwest Forest Plan!

For more about the challenges facing the Northern Spotted Owl, read here.

Seabirds to Benefit from U.N. High Seas Treaty

Seabirds are among the many species that will benefit from the recently adopted High Seas Treaty. If ratified, this historic United Nations treaty will lead to the conservation of over two-thirds of the ocean. By creating this legal framework, there is a stronger incentive than ever for nations to manage our shared ocean resources for sustainability.

Language for the treaty was initially finalized in March 2023 before being adopted unanimously by the United Nations’ 193 members on June 19, 2023. The treaty will go into effect 120 days after at least 60 member states sign on.

The foundation of the treaty is the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of the high seas, the ocean beyond national jurisdictions, as defined by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS was passed in 1994 and is the current international law governing high seas activities. The High Seas Treaty builds upon UNCLOS, creating an international entity that can better coordinate conservation, information sharing, and sustainable use of the high seas.

Seabirds are the most threatened bird group, with about 30 percent threatened with extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. 15 of the world’s 22 Albatross species, who spend the majority of their lives on the high seas, are considered Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. Invasive species on breeding islands, fisheries bycatch, and climate change are the top three threats facing seabirds, all of which are multinational issues. The High Seas Treaty would improve sharing of marine technology, bolster marine protected areas, and require environmental impact assessments on commercial activities. All of these actions have the potential to improve conditions for seabirds.

Continue reading here.