Fish and Wildlife Service Adds Shorebird to Threatened Species List

A sand-colored shorebird that camouflages its eggs and chicks on California beaches has been listed as a threatened species, triggering federal protection of the bird and its nesting grounds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday.

The Western snowy plover nests in 20 areas from San Diego Bay to the San Francisco, including the Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, and in eight sites in Oregon and Washington.

Because beaches in California are already public lands, protection of the snowy plover will not affect private landowners or development plans. But some recreational use of beaches and government activities--such as the Marines’ use of artillery and heavy equipment at Camp Pendleton--could be affected, said Loren Hayes, a biologist with the federal wildlife agency.

When a species is designated as threatened or endangered, federal law prohibits harming or bothering it without the permission of the wildlife agency.

A five-year federal review of the Western snowy plover’s status did not attract nearly as much attention or opposition as similar proposals to protect the California gnatcatcher and other species in urban areas of Southern California.

That is partly because the shorebird nests on publicly owned lands while the gnatcatcher, a tiny songbird, makes its home in sagebrush, much of it found in valuable, privately owned coastal land scheduled for development. The federal wildlife agency faces a March 17 deadline for deciding whether to list the gnatcatcher.

Fewer than 1,500 plovers--sparrow-sized, pale birds with dark patches--exist, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The major reason snowy plovers are threatened with extinction is that they lay their eggs on sandy areas of beaches, where their well-camouflaged nests and chicks can easily be crushed.