A bird that is critical to the survival of the piñon-juniper woodlands that characterize much of the Southwest may be in danger of disappearing.
The nonprofit conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife has filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for delaying a decision on the status of the piñon jay. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in December.
Defenders of Wildlife says populations of the dusky blue birds, which are known for flying in large flocks, have declined by an estimated 80 percent over the last 50 years.
Piñon jays depend on piñon pine nuts for food and by eating them, spread the seeds of the slow-growing trees.
“No other animal caches as many seeds and plants as many piñon pines as the Pinyon Jay,” the lawsuit states. “Pinyon Jays are the only dispersers capable of re-establishing piñon pines after disturbances like fire and insect infestation.”
In April 2022, Defenders petitioned for the birds to be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, which was signed into law by President Nixon in 1973.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said in 2023 that the species was a candidate for listing. However, the agency now says a decision may not come until 2028 even though federal law requires decisions on listings to be made within 12 months.
The bird’s range spans 13 states, including Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona.
The suit says nearly half of the species’ habitat is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. Many actions of federal land managers have been detrimental to piñon jays, the suit says.
“Land managers continue to remove extensive amounts of piñon-juniper in the name of wildfire risk reduction, range resilience, or sagebrush restoration,” the suit states.
“The International Union for Conservation of Nature. . . has specifically identified the Forest Service’s piñon-juniper eradication efforts as significant contributors to the decline of pinyon-juniper habitat across the Pinyon Jay range. These woodlands, according to the IUCN, are often removed to create or promote sage grouse habitat and have also been converted into cattle range.
“It also is becoming increasingly common to manage piñon-juniper for the perceived benefit of big game species, especially mule deer, by thinning trees. . . .”
Climate change, drought, the invasion of non-native plants such as cheatgrass, predation, and wildfires also pose threats to the jays, according to Defenders of Wildlife.
The decline of the jays and piñon-juniper woodlands also may bring cultural losses, particularly to Native American tribes and Hispanic communities, the suit says.
“Pine nuts are a staple in Southwestern cuisine and collecting them is a time-honored tradition for many families in the West. . . .
disappearance of these seeds would disproportionately impact Native American tribes and Hispanic communities.”
The lawsuit states, “Not only is the Pinyon Jay’s place on this planet at stake, so too is the integrity, and perhaps even the persistence, of an entire ecosystem.”
