Red Knot birds may be endangered species

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Nine U.S. conservation organizations have requested emergency protections to prevent the extinction of red knot birds, a migratory shorebird.

"The Endangered Species Act has repeatedly proven … even the most imperiled birds, such as the California Condor and Whooping Crane, can recover and thrive once again," said Darin Schroeder, executive director of the American Bird Conservancy. "We urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Interior to address the imminent danger of extinction facing the red knot, and enact our emergency listing petition without delay."

Schroeder said the letter -- signed by the American Bird Conservancy, American Littoral Society, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Defenders of Wildlife, Delaware Audubon Society, Delaware Nature Society, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, National Audubon Society and New Jersey Audubon Society -- follows a report detailing the rapid and ongoing decline in populations of the migratory shorebird in the Western Hemisphere.

The letter was submitted to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall. It asks the federal agencies use their emergency powers to list two subspecies of red knot under the Endangered Species Act.

A copy of the petition letter and other information is available at http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/red_knot/management_and_policy/index.php