The Trump administration announced Tuesday that two species of parrots have been observed in the wild and, therefore, no longer require protection under U.S. endangered species law. One of the species was thought to have already been extinct.
The Fish and Wildlife Service removed the turquoise and scarlet-chested parrots from the endangered species list. Both are found in Australia, and both have been listed as endangered since the 1970s.
The scarlet-crested species was even thought to have gone extinct until it was recently cited, the agency said.
“Species experts now widely characterize populations of the scarlet-chested parrot and the turquoise parrot as stable, with potential increases noted for the turquoise parrot in some areas,” according to an agency notice. Therefore, it is removing the endangered species protections for the birds.
The Fish and Wildlife Service had been on a virtual hiatus after Trump was inaugurated in January and instituted a regulatory freeze. But now that it’s back in business, nearly all of its decisions have spurred some level of controversial response.
Last week’s decision to take the Florida manatee off the endangered species list caused outcry, even from some Republicans in the Sunshine State who said the decision was premature.
The agency is also mulling removing the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear from the endangered species list, with a decision expected by summer.
Environmental groups initiated a campaign Tuesday to urge the agency not to remove protections for the grizzlies.
The Center for Biological Diversity delivered more than 55,000 postcards from citizens around the country, urging the Trump administration not to remove the protections.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke received word of the campaign and blocked the postcards from being delivered to the agency, the group said.
“The center had originally planned to deliver the postcards to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, but the Department of the Interior refused to accept them or communicate with the center’s organizers,” a statement from the group said. “Today they were delivered to the headquarters of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”
