"This rapidly vanishing species is telling us,

Just like the proverbial canary in a coal mine,

That we have very serious environmental problems.”

Eric Holle,

President of Lynn Canal Conservation,

Haines, Alaska

These are one of the earth’s least known birds

About the size of a robin, they live in the Arctic region

They once numbered in the 100,000 range back in the 1970s

Today, they number about 2,000 – Modern Mankind the reason

They’ve been named Kittlitz’s Murrelet, after a German zoologist

Who first observed and studied this tiny bird in the Great Northland

Their main habitat is Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula

For centuries, their association with Earth’s glaciers was very grand

They nest in the alpine areas of glaciers, amidst the frigid snow and ice

And forage almost exclusively near the outlets of chilled glacier streams

Today, as more and more of the Arctic glaciers are melting and receding

Earth may soon sadly lose this intriguing winged creature, forever it seems

Their ancient lifestyle was first threatened by the Exxon Valdez disaster

When it’s estimated that nearly 15 percent of them were killed by the oil

And now, our leaders want to destroy one of their few remaining habitats

The Arctic National Wildlife Region, will very soon be plundered and spoiled

Climate change, oil spills, increased vessel traffic, and new oil pipelines

May soon bring an end to this intriguing bird that had lived for centuries

And we haven’t even placed this creature on The Endangered Species List

Yet, we hardly even knew this tiny bird – yet one more modern day tragedy

This little known arctic bird’s ancient habitat is rapidly disappearing today as Alaska's tidewater glaciers now retreat further and further in the face of modern day climate change. And global warming is happening even faster in Alaska than in our temperate regions. Average temperatures in the range of the Kittlitz's Murrelet have risen 5° F (3° C) since the 1960s, and 8° F (4.5° C) in the winter months.

Our government’s renunciation of the Kyoto protocol, as well as other pro-industry goals such as opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, will also ensure that our planet heats up faster than ever.  And it’s estimated that the very small amount of oil in the Arctic region won’t even put a dent in our massive dependence on foreign supplies.

"The Bush Administration's energy policy will increase the rate of global warming and virtually ensure the extinction of the Kittlitz's Murrelet," said Kassie Siegel. "To protect this species in the long term, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions must be achieved – and very soon."

And the Kittlitz's Murrelet is likely the most vulnerable of any bird species to future oil spills. It suffered a larger proportionate loss of its population than any other animal in the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill.

"Since the Exxon Valdez crisis, there have been several more close calls. The oil industry and the regulatory community have failed to significantly reduce the risk of future spills, nor are they developing an effective spill response program. As long as oil is shipped through Prince William Sound, the Kittlitz's Murrelet and other species living there are in extreme jeopardy," says David Grimes of the Coastal Coalition, based in Cordova, Alaska.

Disturbance from increased human activity may also cause these birds to abandon the areas where they normally breed.  And increased vessel traffic will further scatter the Kittlitz's Murrelet's forage fish prey, making it difficult or impossible for these birds to continue to feed.

These tiny, intriguing, ancient Arctic birds may very soon disappear from the face of the Earth, before we ever really knew them.

"It's very sad," said Don Muller of the Sitka Conservation Society, "The Kittlitz's Murrelet is yet another species that is now disappearing as the result of modern man's activities, and the Bush Administration is very busy trying to repeal all or part of the Endangered Species Act.

“If anything, this Act should be strengthened – right now – not abolished."

And I, for one, very sadly, couldn’t agree more.

þ2007, Mr. Ed