The Biden administration made secret plans to weaken protection for whooping cranes, and documents obtained through an open records request show officials "seem to have been deliberately misleading the public," an environmental group says.
The documents show that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to propose changing the only natural flock's status from endangered to threatened, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release linking to some of the papers.
Whooping crane chick Wampanoag with foster mother Achilles on June 20 at the International Crane Foundation's breeding facility. Wampanoag is the offspring of two cranes at Zoo New England’s Stone Zoo in Massachusetts. Footage provided by ICF.
"Whooping cranes have a long way to go on their road to recovery, but with the full protections of the Endangered Species Act they were at least heading in the right direction. Weakening protections at this point would be heartbreaking and would likely undo much of the progress they've made so far," Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at the center, said in an email Tuesday.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is considering whether a proposal to "downlist" the crane would be appropriate but has not made such a proposal, the agency said in a statement emailed Tuesday to The Associated Press.
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"Whoopers" are the world's rarest cranes. There are about 500 birds in the natural flock, which was down to 15 in 1941. There also are a total of about 150 in two flocks that authorities are trying to establish in case illness or other disaster hits the original flock, and about 145 in captivity, according to the International Crane Foundation.
The flocks in process are classified "experimental" and are treated as threatened to allow more flexibility in their management.
The federal agency said it announced in May 2021 that it was reviewing the bird's status, and the possibility of a downlisting proposal was made public in fall 2021.
"Reclassification to threatened status would not weaken necessary and appropriate" protections under the Endangered Species Act, the statement said.
Whooping crane chick Wampanoag hatches at the International Crane Foundation's breeding facility May 12 with foster parents Achilles and Aransas. Wampanoag is the offspring of two cranes at Zoo New England’s Stone Zoo in Massachusetts. Footage provided by ICF.
Publication of the fall list in December was what prompted the center to make its public records request, Kurose said. The documents it received included a draft press release headlined "North America's Tallest Bird on the Road to Recovery / Decades of conservation efforts lead to a proposed change from endangered to threatened for whooping crane."
Kurose said reclassifying the flock that migrates between Texas and Canada as threatened would remove protections against harm from pesticides. It would also restrict protections against hitting transmission lines or other structures to the birds' main migratory corridors, she said in an email.
The whooping crane is North America's tallest bird, standing up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) from black feet to a featherless black mask and red cap. Their feathers are white except for black tips to wings that can span nearly 7 feet (2.1 meters).
Biologists estimate more than 10,000 lived in North America before habitat loss and overhunting nearly killed them off.
The current total of about 800 is up about 250 from 2010, when officials were finishing plans to release juveniles in Louisiana the following year. The Louisiana flock now numbers about 70. About 80 are in the other "experimental" flock, trained with ultralight aircraft to migrate between Wisconsin and Florida.
The Fish and Wildlife statement said any reclassification proposal for whooping cranes would be announced in the Federal Register with time for public comments, which would be considered in any final decision.
However, the Center for Biological Diversity said a March 8, 2021 memo states that a committee had decided to recommend the change, and emails from July 2021 show that the crane was intentionally omitted from a list of proposed changes two months later.
The delay was prompted "out of fear that the decision would trigger intense public scrutiny and backlash," the organization said.
"Even though the Service has nearly completed a proposed rule to downlist the whooping crane and developed a public outreach plan for messaging the proposal, the agency continues to deny it has been seriously considering weakening protections," according to the group.
Photos: Majestic sandhill cranes in Nebraska
A sandhill crane flies above a field south of Gibbon
A sandhill crane flies above a field while others forage for grain south of Gibbon on March 20.
Cranes fly in waves on a cloudy evening
Cranes fly in waves on a cloudy evening March 20 south of Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes begin to roost at sundown
Sandhill cranes begin to roost at sundown on a Platte River sandbar south of Gibbon while others flock in to take their places.
Sandhill cranes glide in for a landing to roost for the night
Sandhill cranes glide in for a landing to roost for the night March 20 on a sandbar in the Platte River south of Gibbon.
Viewing sandhill cranes from Richard Plautz viewing site
Onlookers view sandhill cranes from the Richard Plautz viewing site on the Platte River 2 miles south of I-80 at Exit 285.
Sandhill cranes silhouetted against the evening sky
Sandhill cranes are silhouetted against the evening sky March 20 near Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes fly over a field
Sandhill cranes fly over a field while others eat grain on a field south of Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes flock near an irrigation pivot
Hundreds of sandhill cranes flock together to find grain near an irrigation pivot south of Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes forage for food in a field
Sandhill cranes forage for food in a field south of Gibbon on March 20.
A pair of sandhill cranes glide in a clear blue sky
A pair of sandhill cranes glide in a clear blue sky March 20 south of Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes gather near farm machinery
Sandhill cranes gather near farm machinery March 20 south of Gibbon.
Cranes in the water
Lesser sandhill cranes touch down in the Platte River near Gibbon during their 2013 migration.
Cranes at sunset
Lesser sandhill cranes fly in at dusk to roost on the Platte River near Gibbon during their 2013 migration.
Sandhill cranes
Dueling Cranes - Nikon D5, 200-500mm f/5.6, Manual Mode, f/5.6, 1/640 sec., ISO 400, Matrix Metering, AF-C 9-point focus.
Sandhill cranes
Sandhill cranes rest on the Platte River at Martin's Reach Wildlife Management Area in Hall County in 2017.
Sandhill cranes
Sandhill cranes fly in a clear blue sky near Gibbon, Nebraska.
Pair of sandhill cranes at sunset near Gibbon, Nebraska
Pair of sandhill cranes at sunset near Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes flying high
Sandhill cranes on and above a field near Gibbon
Sandhill cranes on and above a field near Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes
Sandhill cranes fill the sky and blanket a sandbar across the Platte River south of Gibbon on Thursday as they roost for the night during a pause in their annual migration.
Cranes
Sandhill cranes feed in cornfields in the Platte River Basin outside of Kearney during their yearly migration north.
Cranes
Sandhill cranes fly into the Platte River Basin outside of Kearney last Wednesday. The annual spectacle continues through early April.
Cranes
Sandhill cranes fly into the Platte River Basin outside of Kearney during their yearly migration north on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.
Cranes
Sandhill cranes fly into the Platte River Basin outside of Kearney during their yearly migration north on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.
The Nebraska Project cranes
Sandhill cranes darken a heavy sky near Alda.
The Nebraska Project
Sandhill cranes greet each other between Alda and Grand Island.
The Nebraska Project
Sandhill cranes gather between Alda and Grand Island.
Sandhill cranes
A fireball sunset along the Platte River as flocks of cranes return after a day of feeding. The view is prehistoric because these birds have been traveling this same path for the past 200,000 years.
Sandhill cranes
Flocks of sandhill cranes during the afterglow of sunset on the Platte River south of Gibbon.
Sandhill cranes
Sandhill cranes over the Platte River in 2013.
Sandhill cranes
A flock of Sandhill Cranes reveal their flying plumage as they fly over a corn field near County Road 26 and West Platte River Drive eight miles south of Alda, Neb., on March 23, 2011.
Sandhill cranes
With tens of thousands of sandhill cranes crowding the sky and strips of land along the Platte River in this 2011 photo, a lone sandhill crane comes in for a landing on a sandbar near the Audubon Rowe Sanctuary.
Sandhill cranes
Funding for some critical habitat programs, affecting such species as sandhill cranes, could be in jeopardy.
Sandhill cranes
These sandhill cranes made a stopover at Martin's Reach Wildlife Management Area in Hall County.
Sandhill crane
Looking for food for its migratory journey, a sandhill crane walks among harvested corn stalks in a field down the road from the Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon in March 2012.
Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill Cranes search for food in a cornfield near the Rowe Sanctuary, south of Gibbon, Monday, January 16, 2012. The cranes usually spend the winter further south in Texas and Oklahoma but due to drought conditions many cranes have been spending the winter in Kansas and Nebraska.
Sandhill cranes Rowe Bird Sancutary
Sandhill cranes leave their Platte River roost just after sunrise at the Rowe Bird Sanctuary, which is one of the top 10 ecotourist sites in the Great Plains.
Cranes in January
Sandhill Cranes search for food in a cornfield near the Rowe Sanctuary, south of Gibbon, on Monday, Jan. 16th, 2012. The cranes usually spend the winter further south in Texas and Oklahoma but due to drought conditions many cranes have been spending the winter in Kansas and Nebraska.
Cranes in January
Sandhill Cranes fly over a field near the Rowe Sanctuary, south of Gibbon, on Monday, Jan. 16th, 2012. The cranes usually spend the winter further south in Texas and Oklahoma but due to drought conditions many cranes have been spending the winter in Kansas and Nebraska.
Cranes in January
GIBBON, NE -- 1/16/2012 - Sandhill Cranes gather in a cornfield near the Rowe Sanctuary, south of Gibbon, on Monday, Jan. 16th, 2012. The cranes usually spend the winter further south in Texas and Oklahoma but due to drought conditions many cranes have been spending the winter in Kansas and Nebraska. (JACOB HANNAH/Lincoln Journal Star)
Sandhill cranes
A pair of sandhill cranes come in low on a corn field on Elm Island Road near Gibbon in March of 2011. (FRANCIS GARDLER/Lincoln Journal Star file photo)
Sandhill cranes
Sandhill cranes
Three sandhill cranes wade in the waters of the Platte River at s Rowe Sanctuary looking for a place to roost for the night in March 2011.
Sandhill cranes
Cranes
Sandhill cranes rest in the Platte River Basin outside of Kearney during their yearly migration north in 2016.
Sandhill cranes
A trio of sandhill cranes come in low on a cornfield on Elm Island Road in Gibbon in March 2011. During the several weeks the cranes spend near the Platte River each year, they consume food to build up fat to use as fuel for the rest of their migration. The majority of this is residue from the fall corn harvest, while the rest is made up of invertebrates such as snails.
Sandhill cranes
