Please join us in calling our Elected Officials to save the Bird Banding Lab and Breeding Bird Survey!

See Scott Weidensaul’s informative statement below concerning the un-elected Elon Musk’s DOGE assault on the venerable Bird Banding Lab and the Ecosystems Mission Area (formerly called the Biological Resources Division) of the United States Geological Service (USGS) below.  Scott is a well-respected ornithologist and author who conducts migration projects focusing on Northern Saw-whet Owls, hummingbirds, and Snowy Owls. He will say it better than us, so please read his statement, then give our Senators and Representatives here in Maine (and everywhere else) a call to urge them to protect this critical resource for birds and bird conservation. Along with the Bird Banding Lab, this Federal department manages the Breeding Bird Survey which has been conducted since 1966. Whether you are a birder or a hunter, we need the data collected by these programs to monitor changes in populations, migratory movements, and health of birds across our continent, from songbirds to game species and waterfowl. All. Birds.

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From Scott Weidensaul:

As some of you may be aware, there are reports that the federal Bird Banding Lab, which runs the entire U.S. bird banding program, has been slated by DOGE for elimination as soon as this week, along with the rest of the vital Ecosystems Mission Area at USGS. The U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystems Mission Area is responsible for many of the programs that serve millions of birders, hunters, anglers, gardeners, biologists, ecologists, and wildlife enthusiasts around the country–and importantly, the wildlife we treasure.

The consequences of such a move on birds and bird conservation would be incalculable. The BBL is the only source for bands and the federal permits that allow us to do the work we do; the loss of the banding lab would mean, frankly, an end to nearly 30 years of Northern Saw-whet Owl research. But the ramifications go far beyond one species of small owl. Without it, we will lose the backbone of environmental and ecological monitoring in the United States. This includes research that enables states to set hunting seasons, allows conservationists to understand and respond to declines in birds, bees and other wildlife, and tracks dangerous wildlife diseases and environmental pollutants that impact people and biodiversity. For example, most of the birds banded in North America are waterfowl, and banding and band return data are central to properly managing our waterfowl populations by setting scientifically defensible hunting seasons and bag limits. No data, and wildlife managers are working half-blind.

A serious concern is that defenders of the BBL manage to salvage the waterfowl management aspects of its work, but that the nongame banding and research is done away with. This has cross-border consequences since the BBL single-sources all the bird bands used in North America, so nongame banding in Canada overseen by the Canadian Wildlife Service would also cease if those elements of its work are eliminated.

On Friday "Field and Stream" magazine - hardly a left-leaning publication - reported that the cuts could come as early as this Friday, with EMA staff told to draft plans for disposing of vehicles and supplies. The BBL has already seen significant cuts to its already small staff from long-serving employees who took early retirement offers.

I don't care if you're red, blue or purple, this is a critical moment for bird conservation. The birds need you voice and your involvement.

Thanks, and hope to see you online Thursday.

Scott Weidensaul

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Personally, we here at Freeport Wild Bird Supply have both been involved in research projects over the years that involve bird banding, from Colorado, Cape May, and California to West Virginia, Connecticut, Michigan and Mexico. In fact, Derek’s first field job and first job out of college was with the then USGS-Biological Resources Division. The significance of the federal Bird Banding Lab cannot be understated for its role in scientific research that studies everything about bird populations, morphology, movements, and conservation. Long-term research projects such as MAPS which tracks breeding bird populations and Cape May Raptor Research Project which targets migrating hawks will essentially become moot with the sudden cessation of access, collection and processing of data.

Please contact Senator Collins,  Senator King, Representative Pingree, and Representative Golden today and let them know that you oppose the closing of the Bird Banding Lab and shutdown of the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. Phone calls are best (we prefer their Maine based offices), but at the very least, please send an email using this quick form from the American Bird Conservancy.

For more information, American Bird Conservancy has a link to a draft message.