http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/bnn.xml American Bird Conservancy provides news and information on birds and bird conservation through the Bird News Network en-us Tue, 2 Feb 2010 16:30:45 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/100202.html Leading U.S. bird conservation group, American Bird Conservancy (ABC), and two Hawaiian groups - the Conservation Council for Hawai'i and Hawai'i Audubon Society, have renewed calls to Congress to provide funding to clean up 70 deadly lead paint-contaminated buildings on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/100128.html Scientists are finding that environmental contaminants are still a potential threat to Ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay which is home to their world's largest nesting population -- over 2000 pairs. Barnett Rattner and his U.S. Geological Survey coworkers examined Osprey eggs in the bay for DDT and found while DDT and its metabolites were at less than half the levels reported in the 1960s and '70s, total organochlorine concentrations in eggs were only slightly lower. Mon, 1 Feb 2010 16:58:13 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/100113.html In two separate cases, oil giant ExxonMobil and PacificCorp, a major electric utility, recently pleaded guilty to killing eagles and other migratory birds, and will pay fines that will be used to support a wildlife rehabilitation center in Colorado, and to fund raptor research and conservation projects in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:28:46 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091215.html States and Communities Tackle Light Pollution Harmful to Migratory Birds Communities are starting to attack the problem of light pollution, which is harmful to migratory birds, through voluntary programs and also through legislation. Inspired by Audubon Minnesota's voluntary Lights Out program, the state of Minnesota recently enacted a law requiring all state-owned and leased buildings (totaling more than 5,000) to turn off their lights after midnight during spring and fall migration seasons. Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:30:46 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091208.html A superior court judge has ruled in favor of a coalition of conservation groups, including American Bird Conservancy (ABC), to halt the controversial practice of Trap, Neuter, and Release (TNR) of feral cats in the City of Los Angeles, pending environmental review. Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:20:46 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091112.html In October 2010, government leaders from around the world will meet in Nagoya, Japan to discuss numerous conservation topics at the tenth Conference to the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:50:48 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/091201.html The Kaua`i Creeper or `Akikiki has been named one of America's top ten threatened species impacted by global warming in a new report released today. The report, America's Hottest Species, produced by the Endangered Species Coalition in conjunction with a coalition of groups including American Bird Conservancy, demonstrates ways that our changing climate is increasing the risk of extinction for eleven species around the United States that are on the brink of disappearing forever. Tue, 1 Dec 2009 16:10:29 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091125.html Results of a new study by biologists with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department have raised awareness of yet another hazard to Greater Sage-Grouse populations. In addition to the combined threats of sagebrush habitat loss due to development and agriculture, oil and gas exploration, and wind power development, it appears that collisions with barbed wire fences, used primarily to facilitate grazing, can be a significant source of mortality. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:45:00 EST http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7116531 As wind energy production grows, efforts to mitigate the impacts to birds and other wildlife are receiving greater attention. ABC's Channel 7 in San Francisco reports that Altamont Pass wind farm has been responsible for thousands of raptor deaths. American Bird Conservancy's Dr. Michael Fry is interviewed. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:35 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091106.html A federal judge has struck down the 2008 forest planning regulations that eliminated a key wildlife protection provision known as "viability". The Wildlife Viability Requirement of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 provides important protection for the hundreds of bird species that inhabit the 193 million-acre U.S. National Forest System. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:20:00 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091105.html Late last week the President signed into law a key appropriations bill that included critically needed funding to address the looming bird extinction crisis in Hawaii. The 2010 Interior, Environmental, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill (P.L. 111-88) had been passed by Congress and sent to the President with $3 million dedicated for Hawaiian birds. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:40:00 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091027.html A broad coalition of conservation groups is asking Congress and the Obama Administration to create over 2,000 jobs and improve the environment by funding an innovative program to reforest former mining lands in Appalachia. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:12:45 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091022.html Conservationists are concerned over a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to register the poison Rozol (chemical name chlorophacinone) to kill prairie dogs. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:55:39 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/091020.html Leonel Fernandez, President of the Dominican Republic, has announced the creation of a new refuge "Reserva Biologica Loma Charco Azul" on the northwestern border of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, a global biodiversity hotspot. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:10:33 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091015.html Species of marsh birds such as the Clapper Rail, Virginia Rail, Willet, Sparrow and Marsh Wren could experience 80% population declines in the Chesapeake Bay region if sea-levels rise by three to six feet by the year 2100. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:36:25 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/091009.html The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that two toxic pesticides have been voluntarily removed from the market by the manufacturer. This order, published in the Federal Register on Sept 23rd, 2009, cancels the last uses of disulfoton and methamidophos in the United States. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:44:13 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/indyprizepr.pdf George Fenwick, Ph.D., is one of 29 animal conservationists nominated to receive the Indianapolis Prize, the worlds leading award for animal conservation. Fenwick, a Baltimore County, Md., native, has been nominated for his significant contribution to the conservation of native wild birds and their habitats. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:27:50 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090929.html Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Dave Riechert (R-WA) have introduced legislation that could bring an end to the environmentally devastating process of mountaintop coal mining. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090911.html Private landowners are stepping up to help a number of cavity-nesting bird species of conservation concern. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090902.html The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI), American Bird Conservancy's Colombian Partner Fundacion ProAves, and the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group (CWTG) invited high school science and Spanish teachers to participate in a pen-pal program to link students from the Appalachians of the United States with students in the Andes of Colombia. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090825.html The island of Santiago, the fourth largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago, has been declared officially goat-free. Feral goats were released on the 226-square-mile island in the 1920s. The goat population exploded, and by the 1990s the goats had destroyed much of the shrub and tree vegetation in the sensitive highlands of the island. Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:00:00 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/090806.html A new report on one of the world's bird biodiversity hotspots in Peru finds that most of the species at greatest risk there currently have little or no protected habitat. Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:00:00 EST http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/090804.html American Bird Conservancy has petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the import of crops containing any residues of 13 pesticides that are banned or restricted for use in the United States. These pesticides are highly toxic to birds, but are commonly used on crops throughout Latin America where many species of U.S. migratory birds spend the winter months. In addition to the environmental risks to birds, several of these chemicals also pose a risk to agricultural workers Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST