GRAYLING, MI (AP)-- Officials are inviting public comment on a plan to continue protecting the Kirtland's warbler if the songbird is removed from the federal endangered species list.
The Kirtland's warbler was designated as endangered in 1966. Its breeding grounds are primarily in jack pine forests of northern Michigan, although the birds fly south for winter.
State and federal agencies and nonprofit groups have worked to protect their habitat by logging and replanting the forests and controlling brown-headed cowbirds, which out-compete young warblers for food after invading their nests.
The agencies have devised a plan to ensure the warbler continues to survive over the long term. It will be updated every 10 years.
People wishing to comment can e-mail the Michigan Department of Natural Resources or attend a July 9 meeting in Grayling.