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Livestock groups have lost a bid to remove protections for an endangered species of bird with habitat in New Mexico after a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision on Thursday.

A petition was filed in 2015 by the Pacific Legal Foundation representing several groups, including the New Mexico Wool Growers Inc., New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau and New Mexico Business Coalition, that requested the Southwestern willow flycatcher be removed from the endangered species list.

“We are disappointed by the decision,” said Caren Cowan, executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association. “The livestock community has been fighting this listing since 1997, so most of the harm has already been done to ranching.”

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A Fish and Wildlife news release read: “The Service’s finding confirms that although some populations have made considerable progress toward recovery, the subspecies and its riparian habitat are experiencing substantial threats; the Southwestern willow flycatcher still warrants protection as an endangered species.”

The petition had claimed that the Southwestern willow flycatcher is not genetically distinct enough to be considered a subspecies and that listed threats to the animal are no longer concerns. The groups’ argument that the flycatcher is not a valid subspecies echoes one often heard from opponents of the Mexican gray wolf.

Cowan said that along some areas of the flycatcher’s habitat, ranchers must fence off livestock from streams and rivers they’ve used for years to water their animals. The fences are often damaged by elk, she said, requiring expensive repairs for ranchers.

And protective measures along waterways that were taken by ranchers before the listing was made were responsible for – not detrimental to – the flycatcher’s continued existence, Cowan said.

“What’s so frustrating is that if we hadn’t been managing it, we don’t believe the critter would have been there,” she said. “People care about the land, or they wouldn’t be ranching.”

She cited a cooperative Grant County cattle ranch that is home to the state’s largest population of flycatchers

The flycatcher’s recovery plan stipulates that at least 3,900 individuals are necessary before delisting can occur. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, there are currently around 1,600 “breeding territories,” which signify areas where breeding males were found.

Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the environment around rivers and streams has improved as a result of the listing.

“This has been a profound benefit for the rivers of New Mexico,” he said.

The subspecies was listed as an endangered species in 1995 due to habitat loss caused by dams and reservoirs, livestock grazing and agricultural development.

The migratory bird, around 6 inches tall with a yellowish belly, breeds in vegetation alongside rivers and streams in parts of the southwestern United States from May to September before traveling south for the winter months.

It’s found in most of New Mexico, and its critical habitat includes stretches of the Rio Grande and the Gila River.

Tony Francois, senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, said the group will closely review Fish and Wildlife’s decision and will file suit if necessary.