From threatened to endangered

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public input on its periodic status review for the ferruginous hawk, as it is recommending a change from threatened to endangered status.

All animals under classification of sensitive, threatened or endangered get a status review at least every five years, said Taylor Cotten, Conservation Assessment Section Manager at WDFW. Ferruginous hawks were listed as threatened by the Department of Game policy in 1983 and have remained that way since.

According to the periodic status review draft, the ferruginous hawk is the largest hawk in North America and inhabits grasslands and shrub-steppe in eastern Washington. Conversion and habitat degradation have resulted in a sustained decline in the last half century.

Because there has been no improvement in habitat conditions or amelioration of primary threats, such as housing development and brush fires, this decline is expected to worsen, the draft says. Because of this, the department recommends changing the hawk’s classification from threatened, meaning at risk of becoming endangered, to endangered, meaning at risk of becoming extinct.

The final decision comes from the WDFW commission, Cotten said. They will take into account the WDFW recommendation and public comment.

Ferruginous hawks are an important species for Washington natural heritage, he said. A decline in the species implies an existential threat for more than just hawks.

“It’s the biggest hawk here in Washington, and it’s an important shrub-steppe species, which is a significant part of central and eastern Washington (in particular),” he said. “Declines with this species are indicative of declines in that habitat and a whole suite of species that this bird in particular preys upon. I think that’s something that the public should be aware of.”

While ferruginous hawks migrate through California, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, central Washington is home to crucial breeding territory for the species, Cotten said. Although the conservation status varies by state or province, endangered status in Washington alone is enough to make a difference in recovery.

According to the WDFW website, there are 13 ferruginous hawk breeding territories in Grant and Adams counties each. The hawks reach these areas from late April through July, nesting in small rock outcrops on steep hillsides or in lonely trees, such as junipers.

After nesting, the hawks migrate to the eastern Rocky Mountains to hunt ground squirrels before migrating down to central California.

The hawks average 23 inches long, with a wingspan of 56 inches, and appear in two color phases. While they have a snowy belly, tail and underwing linings, sometimes they appear with a dark brown body and other times with a lighter reddish-brown.

This reddish-brown color is where they get their name. “Ferruginous” means rusty, as if they were left out in the rain, forgotten. With public input, that all could change.

The public comment period runs until April 12. To read the full draft and give comment, visit wdfw.wa.gov/publications/02210.