Nearly One-Third of U.S. Bird Species Seen at Risk

By STEPHEN POWER
Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- Nearly a third of the nation's 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in "significant decline" because of habitat loss, invasive species and other threats, according to a report unveiled Thursday by the Obama administration and billed as the first comprehensive analysis of the state of the nation's birds.

The report's findings could have implications for business groups because they point to energy development, suburban sprawl and agricultural practices as being among the activities threatening bird species. For example, the report says high commodity prices for corn and other grain caused by the growing demand for food and biofuels have put pressure on farmers to convert grasslands to growing crops, threatening birds' habitat. Oil and gas development in the West, meanwhile, is affecting birds such as the Greater Sage-Grouse by fragmenting big blocks of their breeding grounds, the report says.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce the report's findings at a news conference this afternoon. The Obama administration has signaled it plans to take a more critical look at projects funded by the government that could threaten wildlife, announcing earlier this month that it would put on hold a regulation issued by the Bush administration last December that would have allowed federal agencies to bypass consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service when deciding whether new projects such as dams and roads could harm wildlife.

(More here.)