An environmental group is suing the federal government to secure critical habitat protections for a disappearing shorebird that relies heavily on eastern North Carolina's coast.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The group claims federal officials are more than 10 years overdue on finalizing legally required habitat protections for the red knot.
The population of the migratory birds has plummeted by 94% over the last 4 decades. Conservationists say the shorebirds are dying of starvation because the administration has failed to protect critical stopover beaches, including those along eastern North Carolina, where they rest and feed on horseshoe crab eggs during their 19,000-mile migrations.
The agency proposed safeguarding more than 683,000 coastal acres three years ago, but the rule has never been finalized.
