WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for failing to make a preliminary decision on whether to protect the saltmarsh sparrow, birds native to the East Coast’s salt marshes whose populations have tanked in recent decades. The sparrows are mainly threatened by the loss of the places they live because of sea level rise and development.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service has recognized that these sparrows are facing extinction and we’re suing to force the agency to do something about it,” said Ryan Shannon, a senior attorney at the Center. “Without the protection of the Endangered Species Act the saltmarsh sparrow’s whisper-like song could disappear forever. The silence would be deafening.”

Saltmarsh sparrows are rare, orange and black-striped birds that spend their entire lives in the coastal salt marshes of the eastern United States.

Over the last 30 years, the species’ population has dropped by 87% to a projected 28,215 individual birds from 212,000 individuals. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature already considers the saltmarsh sparrow to be endangered. The Service has recognized the species’ decline and has stated the sparrow could face extinction.

The most urgent threat facing the sparrow is habitat loss caused by rising sea levels. By 2060 climate change-driven sea level rise is projected to lead to spring tides arriving so early and so high that the sparrows won’t be able to reproduce, guaranteeing their extinction. Coastal development also significantly contributes to the loss of sparrow habitat, among other threats.

Today’s lawsuit stems from the federal government’s failure to make an initial determination on the Center’s April 2024 petition to protect the saltmarsh sparrow under the Endangered Species Act, which the Service is supposed to do within 90 days of receiving the petition.

Protecting saltmarsh sparrows under the Act would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to craft strong safeguards and a recovery plan to ensure that the songbirds survive into the future.