Bicknell's Thrush, photo by Joan Collins

With a warming climate come changes in the high elevation habitat that this species needs for successful nesting. These changes also allow competitive species to shift upslope into these areas. The Dominican Republic and Haiti were on the receiving end of tropical storms and hurricanes in 2017 which deforested areas of the already declining wintering habitat for Bicknell's Thrush. The impact of this damage is not yet known, but certainly is not good for the birds.

The USFWS determination on Bicknell's Thrush was part of a larger action that rejected 25 plant and animal species for ESA listing. Many of these were—like Bicknell's Thrush—facing significant threats from climate change. One such species, the Pacific walrus, spends much of its life on disappearing sea ice. If the walrus, Bicknell's Thrush, and others had been listed, the federal government would need to address climate change in order to create recovery plans for the various species.

With a climate change denier in the White House, and a pro-fossil fuel leader in the Department of the Interior, USFWS parent agency, this is not a scenario the Trump administration wishes to face. By turning their heads away from the status of these species, they are putting political expediency ahead of science and possible extinction.

A spokesperson for USFWS claimed that, “Our decisions on whether or not to list a species under the Endangered Species Act are always based on the best available science,” but admitted the determinations were reviewed by Trump administration officials at the Department of the Interior.

Stuart Pimm, a scientist at Duke University who specializes in endangered species and biological diversity said, “It’s spectacular cowardice on the part of the Fish and Wildlife Service, who don’t have the courage to do what they are charged with doing, which is to evaluate the scientific evidence, and not kowtow to undue political pressure.”