Endangered Species Law & Policy

On January 7, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced that, following the completion of the Service’s 5-year status review (5-year Review) of the golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysopharia) (GCWA), the agency is recommending the species be downlisted from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The species will remain listed as endangered unless and until the species is formally downlisted under the ESA pursuant to the necessary rulemaking process.

Citing better understanding of the GCWA and its habitat needs, along with existing habitat conservation for the species, the Service indicated that the GCWA is no longer in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, but continues to be in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future due to urbanization, drought, and wildfire.

At the time the GCWA was emergency listed in 1990, the Service estimated the total adult GCWA population to be between 15,000-17,000 individuals. In the 5-year Review, the Service cited a 2018 study by Mueller et al. indicating a breeding population size of 217,444 males.

The listing status of the GCWA has been the subject of multiple federal lawsuits and an ongoing appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. GCWAs breed exclusively in 35 counties in Texas in the spring and summer and migrate to parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua for overwintering.