North America’s most endangered bird faces a new threat: feuding wildlife managers

28Apr2019

by Standard Staff

North America’s most endangered bird, the grasshopper sparrow that inhabits Central Florida’s shrinking prairie, is facing a new threat: a feud among wildlife managers and scientists.

In a letter to researchers last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it planned to shut down a Palm Beach County breeding program, the larger of only two in the nation, amid ongoing concerns over a newly identified parasite making the birds sick. Federal managers want to free some birds and move others to the second facility in North Florida. Researchers fear those actions could spread the parasite and endanger the last wild population.

The Fish and Wildlife Service also wants to end its partnership with the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, saying disagreements with the director and a University of Georgia vet are “paralyzing” efforts and could hasten the extinction of the golf ball-sized bird.

But the researchers say the agency’s abrupt decision could be far more hazardous, ignoring warnings to proceed cautiously and take more time to evaluate .

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