A Vermont green group is going to sue the US Forest Service on behalf of Bicknell's Thrush. They claim the Forest Service isn't doing enough to protect this endangered species.
Bicknell's Thrush didn't even exist before 1995. Up until 1995 thrushes were thrushes, just an ordinary songbird. Somehow in 1995, thrush lovers managed to get Bicknell's Thrush declared a separate species, different in some way from just plain thrushes. The differences are minute, a bird watcher's website warns that Bicknell's Thrush is difficult to distinguish in the field. Anyhow the thrush lovers managed to get Bicknell's Thrush declared an endangered species shortly after getting it declared a species.
Bicknell's Thrush was immediately put to work slowing down skiing at Mittersill. The Forest Service managed to postpone the re opening of the old Mittersill ski trails for many years because green groups claimed that skiing would disturb critical thrush habitat. Finally after much paperwork, it was decided that Bicknell's Thrush didn't nest during ski season and the trails could be skied without endangering the thrush.
The green groups next employed Bicknell's Thrush to slow down the scenic ridgeline wind farms that are disfiguring the NH landscape and raising NH electric bills. According to the Littleton Courier, they are giving the thrush some backup by hiring lawyers and going to court.
If we worked at it, we might be able to convince the Forest Service that the Northern Pass project is bad for our favorite thrush.
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