VT DIGGER • July 4, 2021
A new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that lists 269 species of birds that need more protection. The report, called Birds of Conservation Concern, lists species in the United States that aren’t considered federally endangered or threatened, but whose populations are declining. Climate change is likely to stress populations of sensitive species, like the Bicknell’s thrush, which nests only in the high elevations of Maine, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and some parts of Canada. Data already show that hardwood forests are beginning to “march upslope,” slowly migrating to higher elevations.