Will end of endangered status for red-cockaded woodpecker reduce role of Georgia military bases?

Some environmental groups, however, are worried that the federal government’s decision might be premature.

The red-cockaded woodpecker can be found in 11 southern states, from Georgia to Virginia to Texas. But that’s a smaller footprint from their habitat reach when Europeans first settled in the United States and the birds could be found as far north as New Jersey.  

“Decades of committed recovery work and collaboration drove this remarkable story of recovery,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a news release announcing the downlisting. “The Service worked closely with the Departments of Agriculture and Defense, private landowners, Tribes, state agencies, businesses, utilities and conservation groups to reach today’s announcement.”

But is the downlisting too much too soon?

“A downlisting that comes too early, that’s not based on the scientific recovery goals that were set out for the species sends the wrong message,” said Elizabeth Rasheed, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center that has been one of the leaders of opposition to the downlisting since the Fish and Wildlife Service first considered it in 2020. 

“It gives a signal that this bird is doing fine, (that) it’s OK for us to no longer be on top of managing these populations,” Rasheed said.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers are described by U.S. Fish and Wildlife as a “non-migratory bird species that lives in mature pine forests.” They create homes by pecking a hole or “cavity” into longleaf pine trees that are preferably 60 years old or older, an age that is harder and harder to find because many pine trees are harvested at about age 30. 

Federal land, including army bases in Georgia such as Fort Moore near Columbus and Fort Stewart near Savannah, have played prominent roles in efforts to preserve and grow habitat for the bird.

The rare birds have lost habitat to increasing hurricanes and tropical storms sparked by climate change, human encroachment and too few older trees. 

Tim Lowrimore, president and CEO of the Georgia Forestry Association, sees the status change as worthy of praise. It’s an example of what can happen when forest landowners are dedicated to wildlife conservation and land management, he said.  

“This milestone shows how modern practices on private lands create resilient and healthy forest ecosystems while providing society with essential, renewable forest products we depend on every day,” Lowrimore said in a statement. 

“The Georgia Forestry Association is grateful for our members’ commitment to initiatives like the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Forestry for Wildlife Partnership, which underscores the importance of science-based, collaborative conservation across Georgia’s 22 million acres of working forests,” he said.

But J.T. Pynne, a wildlife biologist, said a downlisting could lead to the elimination of critical funding for the protection of the species, especially federal money tied to its preservation on army bases.

And because some endangered species are parts of large, shared ecosystems, a status change for one could impact the status of others, Pynne said.

“I’m worried the downlisting may remove some of that critical funding for the conservation of the species as a whole,” he said. “That also could have a cascading effect on other endangered and declining species.” 

The Southern Environmental Law Center’s Rasheed said many red-cockaded woodpecker populations are small and fragmented and while there has been population growth, it is tenuous and could be quickly reversed by the next hurricane or subdivision development. 

Rasheed said the Fish and Wildlife Service is bowing to pressure from forestry industry officials and the Defense Department, which is pushing back on land use limitations imposed on army bases to sustain the species. 

“This species still depends on human intervention,” she said. “A lot of these populations are dependent on artificial cavities.”

Federal officials said while the downlisting removes the red-cockaded woodpecker from receiving the highest protections afforded endangered status, there will still be stringent safeguards in place. The woodpecker will get the same prohibitions it had as an endangered species, but with exceptions for routine law enforcement activities and beneficial management practices specific to the species, the Fish and Wildlife service said. 

Rob Meyer, a biologist who studies the red-cockaded woodpecker for land trust Tall Timbers, said while progress has been made, there is still more to do. Artificial cavities have helped increase the population, but the species still has fallen short of overall population goals outlined by federal officials in a 2003 recovery plan. 

For instance, the species has not recovered in Tennessee and Kentucky, though that was a goal authorities said would need to be met before the red-cockaded woodpecker could be downlisted. 

“It seems a little pre-emptive,” he said of the downlisting. “I hope people don’t interpret this as, ‘Oh, they are good so we can forget about them.’” 

This story was provided by WABE content partner Georgia Recorder.