SAVING THE WESTERN SNOWY PLOVER

Ornamented in buff and pale feathers, the western snowy plover often goes unnoticed amongst the sand dunes it inhabits. Heedless of this shy, pocket-sized shorebird, developers have made the open sandy beaches it favors a prime target for destructive projects, and human beach activity often scares plovers away from their nests, leaving chicks and eggs vulnerable to both predators and the elements. Fortunately, since listing under the Endangered Species Act, nest-site destruction and harassment has been reduced, and the bird’s once-decimated population has increased by more than 50 percent.

But the western snowy plover isn’t out of the woods yet. To ensure its recovery, the Center is actively working to overturn a 2005 critical habitat rule for the bird — made under the politically corrupt influence of science-twisting Bush aide Julie MacDonald — that slashed protections from thousands of acres of essential plover habitat (first granted federal safeguards thanks to a Center lawsuit). In October 2008, as part of a larger campaign against political interference in species science, we sued the Department of the Interior to force it to grant the plover the critical habitat the species needs to keep it moving toward recovery. We’ve also pushed for restrictions on oil drilling in key plover habitat, petitioned for dog-leash laws in the bird’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area home, and published a report detailing the devastating effects of pesticide use on plovers.