USFWS
Endangered Species
Alaska Region   

 

Queen Charlotte Goshawk

(Accipiter gentilis laingi)

Proposed Rule to List the Subspecies in British Columbia

November 2009

Adult female Queen Charlotte goshawk.  Photo Credit:  Craig Flatten

Adult female Queen Charlotte goshawk
Photo Credit: Craig Flatten

The Queen Charlotte goshawk is a comparatively small, dark subspecies of the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) that nests and forages in coastal rainforests of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. Additional background is available in our Fact Sheet (pdf).

On November 3, 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposal to list the British Columbia population of Queen Charlotte goshawks (Accipiter gentilis laingi) as threatened, except on the Queen Charlotte Islands, where we propose to list the goshawk as endangered, under the Endangered Species Act.  The Service seeks data and comments from the public on this proposal. The proposed rule, with instructions on how to submit comments by the January 2, 2010 deadline are included in the Federal Register Notice link, below.

    Finding and Response to Court

    November 2007

 

Adult male Queen Charlotte Goshawk.  Photo credit: Rich Lowell, ADF&G
Adult male Queen Charlotte Goshawk
Photo Credit: Rich Lowell, ADF&G

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on November 8, 2007, its Response to a Court-Ordered Remand on a petition to list the Queen Charlotte goshawk as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Service found that British Columbia and Alaska each supported distinct population segments, and that listing as threatened or endangered was warranted for British Columbia, but not for Alaska.

    Status Review

    April 2007

Queen Charlotte goshawk nestlings.  Photo Credit:  Rich Lowell/ADF&G
Queen Charlotte goshawk nestlings
Photo Credit: Rich Lowell, ADF&G

In 2007, the Service updated a 1997 status review for the Queen Charlotte goshawk. This peer-reviewed report summarizes existing literature and analyses of taxonomy, distribution, habitat use, food habits, demography, effects of forest management, forest habitat conditions, and threats to the subspecies.

 

Last updated: November 4, 2009