The Future Of A Rare Southern Bird

Wildlife researchers are working to help red-cockaded woodpeckers that live in Fort Stewart

By WABE 90.1 FM

Article and radio reporting by Molly Samuel, WABE

Fort Stewart, Georgia by Stephen B. Morton / for WABEWABE 90.1 FM

On The Verge Of A Happy Ending, Concerns Raised About Future Of Rare Southern Bird
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Fort Stewart, near Savannah, is home to a large population of red-cockaded woodpeckers, a bird that was likely once common but has been considered endangered for decades.

Fort Stewart Forest (2019) by Stephen B. Morton/ for WABEWABE 90.1 FM

Red-cockaded woodpeckers have been considered endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1970. The woodpecker's problem was habitat loss since longleaf pine forests were disappearing.

Fort Stewart's Forest by Stephen B. Morton / for WABEWABE 90.1 FM

Red-cockaded woodpeckers live in family groups, but each has its own cavity in its own tree.

Fort Stewart has done a good job helping bring these woodpeckers back. The numbers here are high enough.

Fort Stewart Woodpecker Environments by Stephen B. Morton / for WABEWABE 90.1 FM

Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering changing the status of the red-cockaded woodpecker, from endangered, down to threatened. Or maybe even taking it off the list entirely.

Creating Enviroment For Woodpeckers by Stephen B. Morton / for WABEWABE 90.1 FM

The revisions wouldn’t work retroactively; if species are already protected, how they’re treated wouldn’t change. But if their status changes to threatened, the new regulations would come into effect.

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