2 court rulings protect marbled murrelet 063008

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6/27/2008 Capital Press

Two rulings uphold protection for marbled murrelet
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - Timber industry efforts to get a small sea bird off the threatened species list were denied in two court rulings.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals turned down actions Thursday stemming from the battle over whether the marbled murrelet deserves Endangered Species Act protection.

Like the spotted owl, the marbled murrelet depends on old growth forests, and habitat protection has reduced logging in West Coast national forests.

The American Forest Resource Council and Coos County had tried to delist the birds after a finding that West Coast birds were not distinct from birds in Canada and Alaska.

The service left the birds on the list while it looks at the entire population.