New Mexico ranchers take on national environmental group over protections for rare bird
Adrian Hedden
Protections for a nearly-extinct New Mexican bird were being defended by environmental groups after a New Mexico ranching organization sued to remove the animal from the federal list of endangered species.
The southwestern willow flycatcher was first listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995, ultimately setting aside 1,277 river miles for conservation efforts.
Last year, the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association sued to remove the bird from protections, contending it did not represent its own, distinct species.
Listing an animal as endangered can impose land restrictions as the Fish and Wildlife Service identifies areas of critical habitat for additional protection.
These decisions are often opposed by livestock groups concerned of the economic impacts blocking activities like livestock grazing could have on the industry.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon Society of Arizona were admitted into that case to intervene on April 19, seeking to take arguments to court in support of ongoing protections for the bird.
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What is it? Where does the bird live?
The southwestern willow flycatcher grows to about 6 inches long, and is known for an olive-brown color on its upper parts and breast, and white coloration on its lower face and throat.
In New Mexico, the bird primarily dwells in the Rio Grande and Gila River valleys, along with the Chama, Zuni and San Francisco River drainages.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish reported sightings in Grant, Hidalgo and Dona Ana counties in southern New Mexico, along with Socorro, Valencia, McKinley and Rio Arriba counties to then north.
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The southwestern willow flycatcher’s habitat along desert rivers and streams declined by 90 percent in recent years, per a report from the Center, due to human activities like grazing, dams and water pumping.
It flies north from South American each spring to the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona to breed in riparian areas along riverbeds, which the Center argued was now fragmented by the effects of climate change and industrial operations.
Historically, the bird was found in multiple other western states like Nevada, Utah, Colorado and West Texas.
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Today, New Mexico Game and Fish reported 200 or less pairs still survived in the state.
Legal battle over endangered bird dates back decades
The Center petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the bird as endangered in 1992 to address its population decline and habitat degradation, and it was also subsequently listed as endangered by the State of New Mexico.
A report from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish said that while the southwestern willow flycatcher is scarcely distinct in appearance from its close relatives, it’s song and habitat preferences are unique.
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The bird is also and indicator species, per the report, as to the health of New Mexico’s rivers, requiring lush vegetation to survive.
“This lawsuit is yet another flawed attempt to sideline science and advance an anti-wildlife agenda by undermining the Endangered Species Act,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center, of the Cattlegrowers’ Association’s litigation.
“All the science supports the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision that the Southwestern willow flycatcher is a valid subspecies that desperately needs continued protection.”
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In its December 2021 lawsuit, the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association argued the cost of complying with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) can create undue financial burden on local landowners.
“ESA regulations impose significant burdens on ordinary land use. They increase the costs of federal permitting, reduce the market value of affected lands, and expose landowners to potentially ruinous civil and even criminal penalties,” read the suit.
“It is therefore crucially important that federal decisionmakers are guided by sound data-driven science and objective, publicly disclosed standards. Yet, in many instances the Service is guided by no such standards when making key decisions that impact landowners.”
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The Association argued the flycatcher’s listing was already causing financial harm to multiple ranchers in New Mexico whose land abuts protect areas.
“These economic injuries are traceable to the designation of critical habitat for the flycatcher and thus to the final rule denying the Petition to delist the flycatcher,” the suit read.
“Setting aside that illegal denial will redress these injuries by requiring the Service to properly consider the information contained in the Petition and revisit the propriety of the flycatcher’s listing."
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.