Join us for a discussion of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) efforts to change the protection status of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker from endangered to threatened. Our guest speakers are Ramona McGee, attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, and Carson Wood who is doing Red-cockaded Woodpecker work for the Coastal Plan Conservation Group.

The USFWS initiated its five-year status review of the species back in the fall of 2018. In its comments on the proposed status change, the Southern Environmental Law Center urged the USFWS to retain the woodpecker's endangered status. On-going habitat loss and the threat of severe storm events continue to effect the health of the birds' populations. Our guests' experiences range from on-the-ground work with the birds in North Carolina to legal work ensuring environmental regulations are followed. Their combined perspectives should make for a very interesting event.