Protecting the Whoopers (video)

[Donna]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTtLr1VriIQ

[Donna]

A lawsuit filed by a conservation group Thursday blames Texas environmental regulators for a record die-off of endangered whooping cranes, alleging that water-use policies left the birds starving and without water.WHAT THE SUIT ALLEGES

The Aransas Project suit, filed in federal court in Corpus Christi, alleges that the 23 deaths in the 2008-09 South Texas wintering season occurred because the state allowed too much water to be drawn during a drought from rivers that feed the birds' habitat. That left the birds without enough fresh water, a violation of the Endangered Species Act, the suit alleges.

TCEQ: EFFECTS UNCERTAIN

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuit. But agency spokesman Terry Clawson said it's far from certain how low freshwater inflows caused by drought affected the cranes. The agency has worked over the years to preserve the habitat, Clawson said, and is reviewing studies that "indicate that there are a number of factors that affect the dominant food resources of the whooping crane, including freshwater inflows, salinity, tides and temperature."

ABOUT WHOOPING CRANES

There are about 400 remaining wild whooping cranes, which are the tallest birds in North America at about 5 ½ feet. The 264-bird flock at issue is the only one that migrates without human help, making the 2,500-mile trip between Canada and South Texas twice a year. The birds' wintertime home is the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, just northeast of Corpus Christi.