Environmental group accuses feds of dragging feet on coastal bird’s protection decision

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tuesday in hopes of expediting species protections for a coastal songbird. 

Coastal black-throated green warblers — sometimes called Wayne's warbler after Arthur Wayne, who first documented the small yellow-headed bird in 1909 — have lost 90% of their population in the last century, according to the center. The center claims the federal agency violated provisions of the Endangered Species Act requiring it to make an initial protection determination within 90 days of receiving a petition.

The center and five other environmental protection groups petitioned the service to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act and designate critical habitat in November 2023. The federal agency has yet to address the petition for more than two years and said it wouldn't comment on pending litigation. 

The birds, known for their distinct song, are a subspecies of black-throated green warblers spread throughout Appalachia. The coastal black-throated green warblers, meanwhile, inhabit wetland forests with five known remaining populations between Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

"It's been heartbreaking, because this is just a gorgeous bird," said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the center. "It is a brilliant yellow that just flashes through the canopy." 

The center attributes animal population declines to the usual suspects, including increased urbanization, the pet trade and avian pathogens that have become more widespread due to the changing climate, but it particularly blames the rapid expansion of the biomass industry. Commercial loggers have already destroyed more than 60% of the bottomland forests the birds call home, according to the center. Primarily, European countries export wood pellets sourced from Southeastern forests to use for biomass fuel. 

"It's not green at all," Harlan said of the biofuel industry. "Our forests are being industrially clear-cut for export overseas."

Harlan said the loggers replace the ancient trees that the forests' birds historically inhabit with pine trees. The birds and the bugs they eat are used to living in wetland forests with trees, including old-growth bald cypress and white cedar. 

"It's not an ideal habitat," Harlan said of the pine plantations. "They're not doing well, if at all."

The birds are also adapted to wetland conditions and have struggled to survive when developers drain wetlands. The Supreme Court delivered a blow to wetland conservation in 2023 when it ruled in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that the protections afforded by the Clean Water Act only extend to wetlands directly connected to flowing rivers. President Donald Trump is seeking to codify the ruling that removed federal protections for upwards of 80% of the country's wetlands. 

"That habitat is being utterly destroyed, drained, destroyed and clear-cut for biomass or development," Harlan said. "As we speak, we're projected to lose about 23 million acres of Southern forests by 2060. That's the size of the state of South Carolina."

Harlan compared the declining coastal black-throated green warbler to the ivory-billed woodpecker, which he said is likely extinct, and to the Bachman's warbler, which the federal agency declared extinct in 2023. Harland said federal protections combined with existing state protections are needed if the coastal black-throated green warblers are to avoid a similar fate. North Carolina commissioned an action team to survey the state's population. North Carolina and Virginia both listed the bird as a priority species for conservation efforts. 

Endangered Species Act protections would require developers to mitigate their practices to accommodate the bird. 

"It would give these birds a fighting chance," Harlan said. "These birds can't wait any longer."

Harlan sounded optimistic about his organization's chances in the litigation, emphasizing that the law is clear in its requirements. 

"Southern forests are America's Amazon," Harlan said. "This is one of the most biodiverse places in the country, and it's also being logged at a rate that is four times faster than the Amazon rainforest."