Birds, cows and military hardware

September

Bovines, military hardware and conservation – that’s a poor imitation of the headline on this story about how the Army, Texas cattlemen and Environmental Defense are all pulling for the recovery of an endangered songbird. The bird in question is a black-capped vireo. There were only an estimated 350 of these tiny birds when it was added to the endangered species list in 1987.

Wondering why these disparate groups all care about the same little bird?

Recovery of an endangered species is fundamental to Environmental Defense’s mission, but why would a CattlemenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Association and the Army care about the well-being of a 4.5 inch-long songbird? The answer is that they expect that the vireo’s recovery will ease Endangered Species Act regulatory liability and land-use restrictions. As an additional bonus, restoration and maintenance of vireo habitat have proven compatible with livestock and military training activities.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 10:33 am by Mike Risinit.
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