Endangered? Threatened? U.S. agency checks status of woodpeckers, other species

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is almost done collecting information and comments about 42 endangered or threatened Southeastern species, including some that live in Southwest Florida.

The effort is part of a five-year status review in accordance with the Endangered Species Act.

The FWS seeks information on species biology, habitat, conservation measures, threat status and other new information, according to a news release. Information can be submitted on or before Oct. 5. The Endangered Species Act requires that a status review occur at least every five years to make sure endangered species have the right level of protection.

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Several species on the list live in Collier and Lee counties. They include the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and the Florida bonneted bat.

Local biologists and other experts emphasize the importance of saving species for the good of wildlife and humans.

The red-cockaded woodpecker has made progress but not enough to delist the species, said Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida. 

“There’s vulnerability for these species that we don’t understand very well,” she said. “That kind of vulnerability does not bode well for delisting the red-cockaded woodpecker.”

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In a way, such species might be like canaries in coal mines for the environment. Miners used canaries to warn them of carbon monoxide.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers are a keystone species

Wraithmell said protecting red-cockaded woodpecker habitats also means protecting land that allows water to replenish underground aquifers that humans use for drinking water.

Ornithologist Jerry Jackson called the red-cockaded woodpecker a keystone species that makes homes for other wildlife.

That homemaking doesn’t come easy. Most woodpeckers can make a nest in a matter of weeks, but it takes the red-cockaded woodpecker about 4.7 years, Jackson said. The average lifespan is about 3 years, he said.

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Nesting in pine flatwoods

The birds excavate their homes out of old-growth pine trees, Jackson said. Typically, the trees are in open areas called pine flatwoods that have vegetation kept sparse by wildfires. The older pine trees have bark that flakes away in fires and falls away from the trunk, protecting the trees and the birds, Jackson said. 

To build their nesting cavities, the woodpeckers have to go through a layer of outer bark. When they get to the heart of the tree, they have to excavate that too, Jackson said. They rely on the fungal red heart disease, he said, which rots the heart of the trees without killing the tree. The pine gum might cover the wound the woodpeckers make, which means the bird has to leave, wait for the wood to harden and dry, and then come back, over and over, he said.

These cavities also serve as homes for the other wildlife, such as the Florida bonneted bat, Jackson said. If their home is taken over, the woodpeckers must start from square one.

Woodpeckers and humans 

Win Everham, a professor of marine and ecological sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University, warned of a danger to people if woodpecker and bat habitats are destroyed.

“If we get rid of all the green space … the next hurricane is going to flood a lot more people,” he said.

Dwindling populations of wildlife usually correlate with destroyed habitat, which indicates higher risk of environmental damage for humans.

“We’re still seeing the loss of the habitat at a remarkable pace,” Wraithmell said.

What exactly is the red-cockaded woodpecker?

The critter is a small black and white bird, and the males have the namesake red mark on the side of their nape.

They are found in geographic pockets along the Gulf coast, according to the species profile on the FWS website, with larger swaths in Florida and up the East Coast through the Carolinas.

They’re social birds. They can live in family groups of up to 10 individuals, with usually one breeding pair at a site. The rest are helpers, Jackson said. They help excavate the nest cavities, feed the young and incubate the eggs.

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Politics of endangered species

Wraithmell expressed concern about politics involved in the status review process.

“I’m a little worried that there will be political pressure on the evaluation process, and really that evaluation should be made scientifically,” she said.

Everham agreed.

“There is a real economic and political pressure to delist species because they pose a barrier to certain economic development,” he said. “That’s a political reality.”

In a news release about the status review, the FWS wrote it was seeking comments and information to assist in deciding on funding, reclassification, consultations, permits and other actions.

FWS spokesperson Phil Kloer issued a statement on the review.

“The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to review the status of listed species every five years,” Kloer wrote. "This helps us ensure that we are using the best available science in our work and that each species has the appropriate level of protection under the act."

Wraithmell noted the goal of the Endangered Species Act is to get species delisted like the bald eagle.

“It’s not a place where species go to die,” she said. "It’s a place where they go to recover."

To see the full list of endangered fish, plants and wildlife as well as how to submit comments and information, visit: https://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2018/08/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-conducts-five-year-status-reviews-of-42-southeastern-species/