When the Bureau of Reclamation floods the endangered
southwestern willow flycatchers out of their nesting habitat near
Phoenix, Ariz., will the birds simply move to the next best spot?
The Bureau says they will. But conservationists fear the move will
drive the local population of songbirds to
extinction.
The deluge comes next spring as a
result of a nine-year, $430 million enlargement of Roosevelt Dam,
completed last March. Roosevelt Lake was built to control floods
and store water for the growing cities of Phoenix and
Scottsdale.
The Bureau of Reclamation has agreed
to acquire replacement habitat and fund studies of the bird’s
population, nesting and dispersal. “We believe the measures … can
both protect the flycatcher and allow for the filling of the
expanded reservoir,” says Dennis Schroeder, manager of the Bureau’s
Phoenix office. But just in case, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has issued Reclamation “incidental take” permits, allowing
them to harm or kill the birds.
Only five
populations of Southwest willow flycatchers still exist in
California, Arizona and New Mexico. Robin Silver, of the Southwest
Center for Biological Diversity, says this is the second to fall
victim to the Bureau’s water projects. “Why would you destroy 40
percent of the viable population groups of a species and then
pretend it’s a win-win situation?” he asks. The Southwest Center is
planning to sue the federal government for violating the Endangered
Species Act.
” Greg
Hanscom
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Birds get eviction notice.
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