AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recommending the golden-cheeked warbler, a bird that breeds in Central Texas, be downlisted from “endangered” to “threatened” status.
The announcement follows the completion of a five-year status review for the species based off the best available scientific and commercial information.
It is now up to the Secretary of the Interior to approve the recommendation. If approved, the proposed downlisting would then be open to public review and comment.
During the five-year status review, the service evaluated the golden-cheeked warbler’s current needs, conditions and threats, in addition to modeling future scenarios. The review indicated the bird is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. Instead, it is in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future throughout its range, which meets the definition of a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act.
The bird’s habitat still faces ongoing threats from urbanization, drought and wildfire, which will continue into the future.
In 2022, the Texas General Land Office and the Texas Public Policy Foundation sued the Biden administration over the fact the golden-cheeked warbler is still considered an endangered species. Then-Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said the lawsuit was about protecting “state sovereignty” and property rights.
In September 2024, a court ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service improperly denied a petition to delist the species, following another lawsuit from the Texas Land Office. The service said it is currently reevaluating information found within that petition to delist the species and will publish a new 90-day finding in a separate action expected early this year.
Although the five-year status review recommends downlisting the bird to a threatened status, the species is still currently listed as endangered. Any changes to the federal status of a species requires a separate rulemaking process.
The golden-cheeked warbler is a small, yellow-cheeked bird with black and white plumage. It eats insects and typically feeds in the top portion of the tree canopy. In its breeding range, the neotropical migratory bird nests exclusively in the mature juniper-oak woodlands of Central Texas. It then migrates south for the winter to the pine-oak forests in the highlands of southern Mexico and Central America.
The species was listed as endangered in 1990, while Texas granted the bird state protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a recovery plan in 1992, and the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge was established to protect the habitats of the species and the black-capped vireo.
The service said collaborative long-term efforts to protect the species, its breeding habitat and migratory range have improved the golden-cheeked warbler’s path to recovery, and these efforts will continue regardless of federal listing status.