TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) The interior least tern, a hardy Midwestern bird that survived a craze for its plumage and dam-building that destroyed much of its habitat, has soared off the endangered species list. Federal officials said Tuesday that 35 years of legal protection and habitat restoration efforts had brought the tern back from the brink of extinction. “Dozens of states, federal agencies, tribes, businesses and conservation groups have.
After more than three decades of conservation partnerships inspired by the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is celebrating the delisting of the interior least tern due to recovery. According to the best available science, the diverse efforts of local, state and federal stakeholders across the interior least tern’s 18-state range have helped ensure populations are healthy, stable and increasing into the foreseeable future. The tern will continue to be protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
“The Trump Administration and Secretary Bernhardt are committed to the recovery of our Nation’s imperiled species,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith. “Dozens of states, federal agencies, tribes, businesses and conservation groups have worked tirelessly over the course of three decades to successfully recover these birds.”
December 18, 2020 By David Murray
In the top story of 2020, an invisible virus has, to date, caused more than a million and a half deaths worldwide, sickened tens of millions more, overwhelmed the health care facilities of many countries at times, and upended the global economy, completely reshaping some industries. It is a story that is far from over, but whose end may be in sight.
After crash development by an emergency team under the aegis of Operation Warp Speed, two vaccines have been developed, one by Pfizer-BioNTech and the other by Moderna. Pfizer’s has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration after encouraging testing indicating an effectiveness of more than 90 percent. Moderna’s vaccine was awaiting approval at press time, with 6 million doses ready for immediate allocation.