美國鳥類保育協會（American Bird Conservancy）等8個保育團體27日向聯邦政府提交一份公開信，緊急呼籲「為了防止小型遷徙水鳥－－紅腹濱鷸（red knot）的數量快速減少，我們有必要採取緊急的保護措施。」
紅腹濱鷸名列年度遷徙距離最遠的鳥類之一，牠會從北極的棲生地一直往南遷移至南美洲的最南端火地島（Tierra del Fuego），遷移距離長達9300英里。
紅腹濱鷸在遷移的時候，會聚集在傳統的臨時停靠站。紐澤西州的德拉瓦灣（Delaware Bay）就是其春季遷徙時的重要停靠區，牠們會在這裡覓食，馬蹄蟹卵就是最好的食物來源。然而因為馬蹄蟹被大量捕捉致使紅腹濱鷸的食物來源不足，則被認為是造成紅腹濱鷸數量急速下降的原因。
馬蹄蟹曾被大量捕捉作為商業誘餌，用來誘捕鰻魚和海螺，時至今日，在德拉瓦灣幾乎已經找不到正準備產卵的馬蹄蟹了。
過去，紐澤西州曾經設置了暫停捕捉馬蹄蟹的相關規定，但是在2月11日的表決時，美國海洋漁業委員會（Marine Fisheries Council）以5票對4票否決了紐澤西州環保局（Department of Environmental Protection）延續禁令的提議，因此又再度開啟了紐澤西州捕捉馬蹄蟹的大門。
對此，各保育團體表示，現在恐怕只剩「瀕危物種法」（Endangered Species Act）能夠拯救紅腹濱鷸了。
美國鳥類保育協會保育宣導執行長施羅德（Darin Schroeder）表示，由於擁有廣大資源和保育工具，「瀕危物種法」已一再地被證明能夠成功復育瀕危物種，即使是處境最危急的鳥類，如加州兀鷹（California condor）和美洲鶴（whooping crane）等都能成功復育。
施羅德也強調，「我們將力促美國漁業暨野生動物局（U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service）及其內部部門必須提出解決紅腹濱鷸正面臨絕種危機的緊急方案，並且回應我們立即將紅腹濱鷸列入緊急瀕危名單的請求，不能有絲毫拖延。」
提出這分公開信的團體包括美國鳥類保育協會、美國沿岸協會（American Littoral Society）、環境公民運動（Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Defenders of Wildlife）、「野生物保衛者」組織（Defenders of Wildlife）、德拉瓦奧杜邦協會（Delaware Audubon）、德拉瓦自然協會（Delaware Nature Society）、德拉瓦河流保護協會（Delaware Riverkeeper Network）、美國奧杜邦協會（National Audubon Society）以及紐澤西奧杜邦協會（New Jersey Audubon Society），在此之前，在來自世界各地的20名水鳥生物學家才提出一份新報告，詳述了西半球遷徙水鳥的數量正快速地持續減少。
Emergency protections are needed to prevent further declines in numbers of a small migratory shorebird called the red knot, warns a letter submitted to federal officials Wednesday by the American Bird Conservancy and eight other conservation groups.
The red knot makes one of the longest yearly migrations of any bird, traveling 9,300 miles from its Arctic breeding grounds to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America.
Red knots congregate at traditional staging grounds during migration. New Jersey's Delaware Bay is an important staging area during spring migration, where the red knots feed on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs. The reduction in food available to the red knots because of the heavy harvesting of horseshoe crabs is thought to be responsible for a steep decline in red knot populations.
Horseshoe crabs have been harvested for commercial bait to catch eels and conch until now the Delaware Bay beaches have been virtually emptied of egg-laying crabs.
In the past, New Jersey has placed a moratorium on harvesting horseshoe crabs. But by a 5 to 4 vote on February 11, the Marine Fisheries Council rejected a state Department of Environmental Protection recommendation to continue the current moratorium, opening the door once again for a horseshoe crab harvest in New Jersey.
The conservation groups say now only the protection of the Endangered Species Act can save the red knots.
"The Endangered Species Act has repeatedly proven that with its resources and conservation tools, even the most imperiled birds, such as the California condor and whooping crane, can recover and thrive once again," said Darin Schroeder, American Bird Conservancy's executive director of conservation advocacy.
"We urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Interior to address the imminent danger of extinction facing the red knot, and enact our emergency listing petition without delay," said Schroeder.
The letter, from American Bird Conservancy, American Littoral Society, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Defenders of Wildlife, Delaware Audubon, Delaware Nature Society, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, National Audubon Society, and New Jersey Audubon Society comes on the heels of a new report by 20 shorebird biologists from around the world, which details the rapid and ongoing decline of the migratory shorebird's populations in the Western Hemisphere.
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