Piping Plover. Photo: Lorraine Minns/Audubon Photography Awards
NEW YORK (June 25, 2020) – As threatened Piping Plovers are nesting in record numbers on the U.S. Atlantic Coast, their recovery could be jeopardized by a series of mining proposals in The Bahamas, where they spend almost two-thirds of each year.
The Bahamian government is considering three projects to open part of Andros in the northwest of the archipelago to aragonite mining. While all three projects will have some impact on birds, one will directly impact Joulter Cays National Park if it moves forward.
A globally significant Important Bird Area, Joulter Cays hosts 10 percent of the Atlantic Coast Piping Plover population, along with many other sea- and shorebird species.
“This is one of the most important wintering areas for Piping Plovers,” said Matt Jeffery, deputy director of the National Audubon Society’s International Alliances Program. “These projects would put a number of bird species at risk that are already facing the threat of climate change.” Read more >>