PHOENIX — One of North America’s smallest raptors, the Arizona-native pygmy owl has been unprotected by the federal government for nearly two decades as of last week.

After multiple lawsuits, petitions, two 12-month findings and a 60-day public comment period, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Listed an owl as a blackmail targetdetermine that all or a significant portion of their habitat is endangered.

This is a longstanding challenge for conservation groups such as the Center for Biodiversity, which has repeatedly sued the federal government for lack of protection.

“The ferocious little cactus iron pygmy owl needs our care and protection, and after a long battle, we finally have it,” said Noah Greenwald, director of endangered species at the Center for Biodiversity, in a press release. “If we lose this owl, we lose the Sonoran Desert and beyond.”

FWS analyzed the bird’s range in Arizona, northern Sonora, western Mexico, Texas, and northeastern Mexico to determine its viability and survival threats.

We have outlined two major hazards to the pygmy owl of the iron cactus genus: habitat loss and changing climatic conditions.

Birds are important cogs at the top of the food chain and, as Greenwald puts it, an indicator of ecosystem health. Arizona’s pygmy owl population is among the lowest in its historic range, estimated to be in the low hundreds.

What is a pygmy owl in the iron cactus genus?

A member of the genus Cactus, the kopygmy owl is a small brightly-striped reddish-brown bird less than 7 inches long. Weighing less than 3 ounces, they nest in cavities of saguaro and other desert trees and shrubs. Owls primarily hunt birds, insects, lizards, and small mammals at dusk and dawn.

The iron pygmy owl subspecies once nearly reached Phoenix, as it was described as common or fairly common along the Gila and Salt Rivers in central Arizona, and the Santa Cruz and Lilito Creeks near Tucson. 2021 FWS Assessment Report.

According to Pima County, attempts to find owls along the Salt River have been unsuccessful since 1971, and the state’s current population is limited from Organpipe Cactus National Monument in the west across Tohono O’Dum Nation to the Alter Valley near Tucson in the east, according to Pima County.

The owl was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1997, but after a legal battle with its developer, the Arizona population category was removed in 2006, leaving it without significant designated habitat.

Biodiversity Centers and Wildlife Conservators immediately petitioned to restore the owls.

“Today’s action is a long-awaited step in the right direction for this little owl, which has been stripped of endangered species protection for nearly two decades,” Defenders of Wildlife Southwest Program Director Brian Bird said in a release. “Habitat loss, border walls and climate change are all serious threats to this bird, and the list recognizes this reality.”

Pygmy owl threat

Habitat impact

According to the Federal Register, Arizona’s population growth rate has expanded significantly since 2010, including in the historic habitats of these owls.

Arizona’s Maricopa-Pima-Pinal County area is expected to grow by 132% between 2005 and 2050, creating a rural-urban boundary effect across thousands of acres of pygmy owl habitat…If expansion occurs as expected, it will encompass a significant portion of the current and historical distribution of pygmy owls in Arizona.

The FWS concluded that habitat loss and fragmentation will increase as human populations increase, disconnecting the remaining owl populations in the state. Border communities also continue to grow, with activity along the southern border creating new boundaries.

The appearance of invasive species in owl habitats also increases pressure on owl species in particular. buffet glass.

Baffelgrass is native to the Eastern Hemisphere and was planted for cattle foraging in the United States in the 1930s. Adapted to dry climates, fire spreads rapidly, turning desert scrubland into savannah unsuitable for pygmy owls.

Habitat loss and fragmentation will affect both eastern and western populations of pygmy owls through reduced size and number of available suitable blocks of nesting habitat and nest cavities, loss and reduction in habitat connectivity and the ability of pygmy owls to migrate across terrain to provide demographic and genetic relief, loss and reduction in available prey, and increased potential threats related to predation, pesticides, and human disturbance.

climate change

FWS evaluated climate models and projections, national climate assessments, normalized differential vegetation index datasets and tests to determine the vulnerability of owls to climate change.

Increased temperatures, more droughts, and more extreme weather will affect owls in the form of less vegetation, less prey, more predation, less available nesting sites, and less survival.

Prolonged climatic cycles of frost and drought have reduced saguaro populations, impacting important nesting sites for owls.

Deep in the saguaro cacti, these ferrous pygmy owl chicks live safe from the heat of the desert sun 🌵 ☀️ #Mexico pic.twitter.com/zvwNlBHys8

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) May 21, 2017

fight to protect

Conservation groups petitioned in 1992 to register the owl in the Endangered Species Act, which was enacted on March 10, 1997.

FWS established the Critical Habitat in 1999 and filed a lawsuit in 2001 in Arizona District Court challenging the effectiveness of the list and habitat protection. In 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that the FWS acted “arbitrarily,” reassessing the owls and removing them from protection.

The Center for Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation petitioned in 2007 to have the bird relisted, and after 12 months of research, the FWS declared in the Federal Register that “all or a substantial portion” of its range was not warranted for conservation.

The two groups filed a lawsuit in 2012, and wildlife advocacy attorney Jason Rylander said at the time, “This policy unduly delays conservation until the species is absolutely dire and endangered, an uphill climb from which it will be difficult to recover.”

Following the lawsuits and petitions, FWS prepared a new 12-month study based on the court settlement, which will be published in 2021.

Much has changed in the decade, as highlighted by climate impacts on pygmy owl habitat, land use and additional genetic sampling. Birds continued to show high resilience in habitats in western Mexico, but not in Arizona.

Research activities in 2020 and 2021 concluded that pygmy owls were “definitely” gone from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The Alter Valley population is higher than in 2011, the FWS concluded, likely due to increased research and monitoring under Pima County’s Species Conservation Plan.

Meanwhile, healthy vegetation in western Mexico, home to an estimated tens of thousands of pygmy owls, has seen a “significant” decline in populations in the county.

Listing this species as endangered will raise public awareness and open the door for conservation planning by federal, state, local and tribal agencies.

“Conservation efforts in collaboration with various partners in Arizona, Texas and Mexico have significantly enhanced our understanding of the species by further protecting pygmy owl habitat through habitat acquisition and conservation in Arizona,” said FWS Southwest Regional Director Amy Luders. mentioned in the release.

FWS will release another proposal for designating critical habitat.

in Pima County Multi-species conservation plan And the Alter Valley Basin Plan will contribute to the protection and enhancement of pygmy owl habitat.

“After 17 years, it is our hope that the federal government and nonprofits will finally have the tools they need to save this unique owl,” Byrd said.