A rare sea bird will not be designated endangered
The fate of a rare sooty-brown sea bird now hinges on dueling survey techniques.  A petition to list the Ashy Storm Petrel as an endangered species was denied on Aug. 18, following a 12-month review process headed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The decision relied on an incomplete and selective use of the science,” says Shaye Wolf—a biologist who studies the petrel, and helped draft the petition for the San Francisco-based Center for Biologic Diversity. “This pushes the species one step further towards extinction,” she says.