Kaid Benfield's Blog
Bye, bye, birdie
November 30, 2007
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Earlier this week, the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy released a new report warning that more than a quarter of the bird species in the US are in danger of extinction. Suburban sprawl is among the principal threats, as are global warming, agriculture and natural resources development. The red-cockaded woodpecker, golden-cheeked warbler, Florida scrub-jay, and the California gnatcatcher are among way too many species listed as imperiled by the two organizations.
This is obviously bad news.
Unfortunately, it is consistent with the threat to the entire range of wildlife and plant species whose habitat is being irrevocably lost or fragmented due to runaway development. An earlier report issued by the National Wildlife Federation, Smart Growth America, and NatureServe found that nearly a third of the nation’s animal and plant species are at risk, and that as many as 500 species that once lived in the US may already be extinct. That report concluded that “the primary threat to most of these species is the destruction or degradation of the habitats on which they depend. While many human activities—from agriculture to military training—can alter natural habitats, the conversion of green space to urban and suburban uses is the fastest growing threat to the nation’s wild species.” The report cites California research demonstrating that, in that state, sprawl is the leading cause of imperilment.
Although this is discouraging, it shouldn’t be surprising. Check out the two maps of Maryland accompanying this post. Look first at the one just to the left, with the yellow detail. The large blue body of water is the Chesapeake Bay; the square-ish boundary in the center is the city of Baltimore. Washington, DC’s suburbs are to the southwest of Baltimore. The detail in yellow represents the locations of all the building permits issued from 1900-1960. Not too bad, really. There's a lot of open space left.
But now look at the one below, in which the red detail represents the location of all the building permits issued from 1961-1997. What a dramatic difference. Is it any wonder that we have critters who aren’t doing too well?
I wish the Audubon – American Bird Conservancy report this week had been more aggressive in identifying the smart growth solutions to the chaotic habitat degradation caused by sprawl. Unfortunately, it never quite gets to the issue. But the NWF report is unambiguous on the subject: “if the U.S. is to protect its current array of plant and animal species for future generations, the nation must plan carefully to guide development so that it leaves life-sustaining green infrastructure intact.” And it identifies a six-point strategy, including the establishment of urban growth boundaries, for doing so.
At NRDC, we do a lot of work to save endangered landscapes and wild places, and we do a lot of work to promote the smart growth solutions to suburban sprawl. We also do some endangered species work, and we strongly support those organizations that focus on it, including NWF, Audubon, Defenders of Wildlife, and others. 
With respect to endangered birds, my colleague Joel Reynolds did pioneering work for years to protect the habitat of the California gnatcatcher, and made a difference. We will being doing more for wildlife, and I hope smart growth will play a major role in our strategy.
Incidentally, “Bye, Bye, Birdie” was my high school play, a musical. I wasn’t in it, and to my classmates I say, you’re welcome.
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- Kaid Benfield
- Director, Smart Growth Program
- Washington, DC
- I was raised in the mountains of western North Carolina, surrounded by some of the...
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Comments
Merry Rabb — Dec 2 2007 09:01 PM
When I was younger I spent countless hours with friends and family exploring the out of doors, including identifying and observing birds for the challenge of it as well as just for the fun of seeing them. Recent studies indicate I'm not alone...estimates of the number of Americans who claim bird watching as a hobby start at 47 million and go up from there, depending on the study. Americans spend lots of money on bird feeders, seeds, binoculars, bird houses and special trips for watching birds. At the same time the populations of even some of the most common & familiar birds have been plummeting.
It seems like over the years bird watching has become more and more about individual achievement and competition and less about the birds, their habits and surroundings. The birds that come to the many backyard feeders are often little more than something pretty to look at, like the flowers and shrubs we plant. The birds the competitive birdwatchers seek out for a first sighting are just additions to their personal list. As the author of the recent book "Of a Feather" writes, "I've harbored a growing unease and frustration at the disconnect between the burgeoning enthusiasm for birding and a pervasive apathy about the birds themselves, as organisms in their own right, whose protection and preservation should be among our highest priorities."
It might be easier to interest birdwatchers in protecting bird biodiversity if we had a magic bullet, a single pollutant or business practice we could ban for example, that would help all of the different species now on the watch lists but unfortunately that's not the case. The problems that are causing the population decline range from air and water pollution to loss of very specific kinds of breeding habitat, from global warming to suburban sprawl. The neat thing about seeing the bird population problem mentioned hereon this blog is that Smart Growth is an initiative that can address several of these problems, including an urgent one that doesn’t seem to get much public attention - forest fragmentation. Fragmentation is related to a loss of biodiversity not only because it reduces the total amount of natural habitat available but because it can also reduce the suitability of the remaining habitat.
With all that in mind, here's another map: http://www.nationalatlas.gov/mld/forfrgi.html
Kaid Benfield — Dec 3 2007 11:27 AM
Those are great points, Merry. We need to strengthen the connections between species health and conservation of habitat, and between individual species and the broader ecosystems within which they thrive. Both of those relationships, properly understood, lead to conservation strategies, including smart growth, that protect interconnected forests and other green infrastructure, not just isolated fragments.