Why Is The Marbled Murrelet Endangered

Marbled murrelets brachyramphus marmoratus are small seabirds that nest in old growth forests and feed in the pacific ocean murrelets need large areas of coastal and near coastal old growth forest for nesting.

Why is the marbled murrelet endangered.

A unique and threatened seabird. Its population has declined dramatically over the decades because of extensive logging in oregon s coast range. The close association of the marbled murrelet and old growth coastal forests and the science and conservation work done make the murrelets truly an iconic bird in redwood national and state parks. The marbled murrelet was listed as threatened under the federal endangered species act in 1992 and threatened under the oregon endangered species act in 1995.

Threatened the marbled murrelet is federally listed under the endangered species act as a threatened species in washington oregon and california and state listed as endangered in california and as threatened in oregon and washington critical habitat is designated for the species and a new proposal for critical habitat is available for review. Uplisting to endangered status would require the state to develop a management plan and survival guidelines providing much needed protections for the species. They avoid fragmented and partially developed forest landscapes and are declining rapidly in washington and listed as a state endangered species. There can be no question the marbled murrelet is endangered in oregon said noah greenwald endangered species director at the center for biological diversity.

The marbled murrelet is a seabird that nests in old growth and mature forests and forages at sea. Due to loss of old growth forests many of the remaining california dwelling murrelets nest in protected state parks areas with an abundance of campgrounds. Throughout much of their range they fly inland for nesting in older forests. The marbled murrelet was federally listed as threatened in 1992 under the endangered species act and the state listed the bird as threatened in 1995 under state law.

She has studied marbled murrelets for almost 40 years and in 1990 found the first active murrelet nest in oregon. She is modest about that achievement. Fws s threatened endangered species system track information about listed species in the united states. Marbled murrelets spend most of their lives in marine waters and forage at sea on small fish and invertebrates.

And about that arcane nickname even though scientists didn t know that marbled murrelets lived up in the old redwood trees before the early 1970s.