Imperiled Species

Bird Alliance of Oregon works to protect all of the birds species that are native to Oregon but we put special emphasis on working to protect and and recover the most imperiled bird species in our state.

There are several species in Oregon that are listed under the Federal and State Endangered Species Act. Without aggressive efforts to protect and recover these species, they will continue to move toward extinction. These birds have intrinsic value in their own right, but their plight is also representative of bigger challenges on our landscape as well. They are indicators of much bigger problems that are affecting a much broader array of species.

The plight of Spotted Owls and Marbled Murrelets reflect decades of industrial clearcut logging of our forests. Sage-Grouse reflect the degradation of our sage brush ecosystems in central and eastern Oregon. Streaked Horned Larks reflect the dramatic loss of grasslands. Saving these species ultimately requires addressing the underlying problems and ultimately that helps protect many more species that also are facing those threats.

The extinction of a species, each one a pilgrimage of four billion years of evolution, is an irreversible loss. The ending of so many creatures with whom we have traveled this far is an occasion for profound sorrow and grief. Death can be accepted and to some degree transformed. But the loss of lineages and all of their future young is not something to accept. It must be rigorously and intelligently resisted. – Gary Snyder Practice of the Wild

The Endangered Species Act has been called the “most important environmental law ever passed.”

Since its passage in 1973 It has served as the bulwark against extinction and has proven to be a powerful tool for protecting our most imperiled species, the habitats on which they depend. It too has come under attack repeatedly in recent years and at the same time that we work to protect imperiled species, we also work to defend the laws that protect them.