Environmental groups rally to keep protections for the Florida scrub jay

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bird Florida Scrub jay
Florida Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA, February 2017. By Kirsty Nadine via iStock for WMNF News.

Several environmental groups have intervened in a lawsuit that is challenging local protections for the Florida scrub jay.

On Tuesday Cafe, we learn about the Florida scrub jay, how its habitat is in danger, and about a lawsuit that’s trying to undo federal Endangered Species Act protections for the threatened bird species.

We speak with Elise Bennett with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups.

A partial transcript is below.

Listen to the full show here:

Watch this interview:

Transcript of this interview:

EB: [Florida scrub jays] are these beautiful, brilliant blue songbirds. They’re actually Florida’s only endemic bird, which means that these birds are found nowhere else on Earth. They really are part of what makes Florida so special. If you’ve heard of a Florida scrub jay, you’ve probably heard about them because they’re incredibly gregarious. They’re inquisitive. They live in family groups. And when you take a hike through their territory, you’ll see their little heads popping out of the scrub oaks watching you. They’ve been known to land on people’s hats. And because of that gregarious nature, people come from far and wide to see our scrub jays.

SK: I read a little bit on Audubon.org. Some of the things that they say is that they breed in cooperative flocks and each nestling territory is occupied by an adult pair and often by 1 to 6 helpers. And the pairs often are the offspring from the previous years, and these additional birds help in defending the territory and feeding the young. And as far as the population goes as in the early 1990s, the total population was estimated at about 4000 pairs. That’s probably a reduction of more than 90% from the original members and loss of habitat has been the main problem. So tell us about where scrub jays live and what’s happening to their habitat?

EB: Well, that’s exactly right. Florida scrub jays live in the same high dry ground that humans like to build on, and their habitat is really unique, and uniquely beautiful. They live in these scrub oaks, which are kind of low-growing oak trees that grow right out of the beautiful, brilliant white sands that we find on the historic coastal ridges along Florida. So they’re beautiful places to visit.

The scrub itself is actually quite endangered as well, and so you can see as the scrub becomes more and more endangered, so too does the scrub jay. About 10 years ago, Charlotte County, which is south of Sarasota, came up with a scrub jay habitat conservation plan.

SK: Why did they do that and what does that plan do?

EB: Well, because Florida Scrub Jays face extinction and because they’re listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, people aren’t allowed to kill or capture or harass or harm them without a permit, and harm can include destroying areas of habitat that they use. And so, rather than have each person in the county go through a permitting process one by one, which can have some regulatory uncertainty. And for an individual could be a more overwhelming process. The county decided to come up with a habitat conservation plan and get a county-wide permit for take of these Florida scrub jays.

That habitat conservation plan was created in 2013. And this concept is intended to benefit the scrub jay. But I think what also is really remarkable about it is it provides regulatory certainty to landowners. When they move into the area, they know or should know that this habitat conservation plan exists. And the habitat conservation plan means that if a developer — if the landowner — wants to develop land that’s in the scrub, they have to pay a fee.

SK: Tell us about that fee and what it would be used for once it’s collected.

EB: That’s right. The habitat conservation plan requires a fee as well as in some circumstances, additional on-site mitigation. Or basically protecting habitat on the site where development is occurring. And that the fee itself is intended to actually go towards the county acquiring other areas of habitat to protect them in perpetuity as well as to manage the habitat. Because these habitats actually require what would be natural management by lightning-caused fires. They can actually be maintained by prescribed fires. So people will go out and actually burn these sites to keep them healthy.

SK: The fees and the other rules that were part of Charlotte County’s habitat conservation plan for the scrub jays. Well, that ruffled the feathers of a group called the Pacific Legal Foundation. What do we know about them?

EB: Well, we know that they consider themselves to be a private property rights group. So that’s the gist of the kinds of cases that PLF brings. And in this particular scenario, it’s a similar kind of case we might expect. It’s a landowner that moved into the county, bought a piece of property that was subject to this conservation plan, and now objects to these fees. And so they filed a lawsuit last year in response to the Charlotte plan.

SK: And they want to remove Endangered Species Act protections from the scrub jay and do away with this habitat conservation plan?

EB: That’s right. Among other things, this case alleges that the county’s program is unconstitutional. And they’re arguing that protecting a species that’s found in only one state goes beyond Congress’s authority under the Constitution. That’s a really concerning argument, but it’s also an argument that has been shot down in courts time and time again. So the reason that we moved to intervene in this case is to make that very point.

SK: You can imagine that if this does succeed, that, essentially it would put the Endangered Species Act really under the microscope if this one case succeeds?

EB: Well, nearly a third of all endangered species live in only one state, and that’s either because they’ve already been extirpated in the other states where they lived because of harms that humans have caused, or because they require really specific and narrow habitat, like the Florida scrub Jay. And the Endangered Species Act is designed and Congress intended it to protect all of America’s species and all of the biodiversity we rely on for our own health and well-being as well.

As I mentioned, the landowner’s argument has lost imports across the country. And if it were to succeed here, it would strip protections not only from the scrub jay, but also other iconic endemic species like the Florida panther, the Key deer, or the Florida bonneted bat, which may be other species people are familiar with here.

SK: So what was it in those court cases? What did those courts say that the arguments that they agreed with — the arguments of environmental groups, let’s say, that were defending the Endangered Species Act from this claim that Congress can’t make laws that protect species that only live in one state?

EB: Right, the overarching gist of it is simply that the protection of endangered species does have a substantial effect on our interstate commerce. This argument is raised under the commerce clause, and so for that reason, because of the significant national interest, the law could stand.

SK: That brings us to your action last week. You’re part of a coalition of groups intervening in the lawsuit. What are the groups and what are your arguments?

EB: So we have joined the Florida Wildlife Federation and others, and we are represented by Earthjustice, and we’ve moved to intervene in this case on the side of the government to help uphold these laws that protect scrub jays and that protects so many other species.

SK: So what would be the next step?

EB: Well, we’ve asked for the court’s permission to intervene in the case, and so now it’s up to the court to rule on our part — our proposed intervenor’s request. After that happens, the case will move forward like any other. At this stage, we have a complaint and an answer, and, and, the facts will be developed. And ultimately the court will make a decision of law based on this complaint that was filed.

Also on Tuesday Café (Feb. 4) – Ron DeSantis’ proposed budget

We also heard from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who spoke about his proposed budget.

WMNF’s Tuesday Café

Tuesday Café hosted by WMNF news director Seán Kinane airs live weekly on WMNF beginning at 10:06 a.m. ET.

You can listen live on 88.5 FM in Tampa Bay, on wmnf.org or on the WMNF Community Radio app.

You can watch replays on TBAE Network channels at 8:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m Tuesdays on Spectrum 636, Frontier 34 and watch.tbae.net. Or on demand.

You can listen anytime on demand on wmnf.org or by subscribing to the Tuesday Café podcast on your favorite podcast platform.

https://open.spotify.com/show/311qfxLFcO8F7ZvnjgZogD – WMNF’s Tuesday Café with Seán Kinane.

One Response to “Environmental groups rally to keep protections for the Florida scrub jay”

  1. Julia

    SAVE THE BIRDS. … THEY NEED HELP .
    THEIR SITUATION IS CRITICAL !!!!!!!!!!
    ACT NOW … !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

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