Environmentalists celebrate stricter protections for Kirtland’s warblers in Ogemaw pipeline permit

Environmental attorneys secured stricter protections for one of America’s rarest songbirds, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placing additional requirements into a renewed permit for a pipeline within the Kirtland’s warbler Wildlife Management Area. 

Following input from the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the renewed permit clarifies that the Saginaw Bay Pipeline Company must obtain a special use permit to conduct any maintenance in the permitted area and bars the company from taking any action outside of maintaining the 16-inch natural gas pipeline located in Ogemaw County. Additionally, any pesticides or herbicides in the area must be approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Kirtland’s warbler was considered an endangered species for 52 years, until it was delisted in 2019. According to the American Bird Conservancy there are 4,500 Kirtland’s warblers in North America, with its population increasing. The bird only breeds in young jack pine forests in Michigan and parts of Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada, and depends on continued habitat management to keep its population from dipping. 

“This is a good day for the Kirtland’s warbler, a bird listed as an endangered species through most of 2019 that deserves protection,” Wendy Bloom, a senior attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy center, said in a statement. “As a result of [our] work, the Service agreed to include express protections to ensure the health and habitat of this bird. While [the Environmental Law and Policy Center] submitted the comments without any partners, we are thankful for input prior to submission from Michigan Audubon.”