The Game Commissioners Tuesday amended the list of state endangered and threatened species to reflect the current status of breeding bird populations in the state and to update scientific nomenclature for a species of warbler.

“Whenever wildlife managers designate animals as endangered or threatened species, it means their numbers are low, their habitat is at risk and they need specialized management or care to protect and hopefully increase their populations,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “Species declines are usually the result of changes brought about by people, or changes in environmental conditions or ecosystems. Some are naturally-occurring, some are not. But all present the same unfortunate consequence: a species in trouble.

“If there is one constant, it is that the world and living conditions change, and consequently affect wildlife populations and/or distribution. Some changes are caused by natural influences such as fires, weather and disease. Others are the result or byproduct of human activities: timbering, pollution, pesticide use, development, farming and so on. Introduction of species also can influence a native species’ population. Some species listed as endangered or threatened in Pennsylvania are so distinguished because their range barely extends into the state, or their population has a fragile foothold here.”

Under this action, the upland sandpiper, a grassland nesting bird long-classified as threatened, has been moved to the endangered species list because it has declined precipitously over the last two decades and has virtually disappeared from Pennsylvania.

“We believe the upland sandpiper’s rarity and diminished breeding range warrant this move,” said Daniel Brauning, Game Commission Wildlife Diversity Division chief.

The northern harrier, once a rare but regular breeder in the state, has experienced a marked decline in Pennsylvania, as well as declines in northwest and northcentral regions over the last few decades, prompting the Board to approve adding this species to the state’s list of threatened birds.  The northern harrier is listed as either endangered or threatened in most neighboring states.

Long-eared owls are extremely rare breeders in Pennsylvania, and difficult to survey.  Nesting locations have been confirmed in only seven locations in recent years, despite a concerted survey effort over much of the last decade; most nests are located in the Ridge and Valley and Appalachian Plateau regions.  The rarity and scattering of nest records within this Commonwealth have prompted this proposal to list the long-eared owl as threatened.

Finally, in a reorganization of warbler nomenclature in 2011 by the American Ornithologist’s Union, the genus Dendroica was changed to Setophaga necessitating this administrative change in the scientific name of the blackpoll warbler, which is on the state’s endangered species list.

For more about, visit the Game Commission’s Endangered the Threatened Species webpage.

7/2/2012