Peregrines On Front

Endangered species

You no longer have to be a falconer to see that peregrine falcons are making a comeback. The first known peregrine nest in Spokane has produced young this year. And the speedy raptors are streaking again on the Rocky Mountain Front of Montana.

A major player in the 25-year effort to reintroduce peregrines thinks it is time for the falcons to leave the endangered species nest.

Bill Heinrich, species restoration manager for the Peregrine Fund, based in Boise, thinks the raptor is sufficiently re-established and should be removed from the official list of endangered species. In 1975, the birds were nearly extinct.

Peregrines, along with other birds of prey including bald eagles, declined precipitously following decades of agricultural use of the pesticide DDT.

The eastern peregrine, a subspecies formerly found east of the Mississippi River, is extinct.

The Fish and Wildlife Service initially published an intent to begin the delisting of the western peregrine in 1995.

That process, however, has been delayed by government shutdowns, funding cuts and a moratorium on additional listings of endangered species, which forbade removing any species as well.

“In light of the (debate on) reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act, a few success stories are good to show that a species can be listed, recover and be removed from the list.” , DataTimes