U.S. wildlife officials to consider protections for pinyon jays
U.S. wildlife managers announced Wednesday that they will investigate whether a bird linked to pinyon and juniper forests warrants protections under the Endangered Species Act.
The pinyon jay’s numbers have declined over the last half-century as drought and wildfires have damaged their habitats. Pinyon forests sprawl across much of the western United States, including Arizona.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to review the jay’s status comes more than a year after a petition was filed.
The petitioners, Defenders of Wildlife, pointed to research showing the species’ numbers declined by about 80% in the last 50 years.
The group is concerned that without the pinyon jay — a social bird that essentially plants the next generation of trees by stashing away the seeds — it’s possible the piñon forests of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and other Western states could face another reproductive hurdle.
“This decision moves us one step closer to reversing the trend of one of the fastest declining birds in North America,” Peggy Darr of the group Defenders of Wildlife said in a statement. “Without pinyon jays, we stand to lose iconic Southwestern landscapes, cultures and cuisines intimately tied to piñon pine nuts."
Piñon-juniper forests cover more than 75,000 square miles in the United States, and wildlife managers in several Western states already have classified the bird as a species of greatest conservation need.
Nearly 60% of the jay’s remaining population can be found in New Mexico and Nevada, but its range also includes central Oregon and parts of California, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Mexico’s northern Baja California.
Defenders of Wildlife pointed Wednesday to research published this year that indicated one hypothesis for the birds' decline was habitat loss and degradation due to climate change. Another was land management policies that call for the thinning or removal of piñon-juniper forests to reduce wildfire threats or improve habitat for other species. And development has resulted in the clearing of trees to make room for homes as Western cities expand.
Fewer trees mean less food for the birds, and previous research has shown that the jays will forgo breeding when piñons are scarce.
Pale blue with a white bib, the pinyon jay typically mates for life and can be choosey about where to build a nest. For example, taller and older trees aren't high on the list as they typically have less foliage and can double as perches for potential predators.
While environmentalists say there still is much research to be done on pinyon jays, it was well known by the 1970s that the birds' habits revolved around harvesting, stashing and later retrieving pine seeds. In one case, a researcher watched a bird carry 56 seeds in one trip.
Drought and high temperatures also have been shown to affect the production of piñon cones, forcing the birds to fan out over hundreds of miles when food is scarce.
Researchers have said that understanding the bird's needs and effects on its habitats will be fundamental to managing Western environments to ensure pinyon jay colonies can be protected.
