Species Recovery, Snowy Egret

In the late 1800s, plume hunters decimated the population of the snowy egret by 95%. Hunted for its ‘nuptial feathers' that grew during the breeding season, the birds were commonly shot off their nests. ”Egrets and other wading birds were being decimated until two crusading Boston socialites, Harriet Hemenway and her cousin, Minna Hall, set off a revolt. Their boycott of the trade would culminate in formation of the National Audubon Society and passage of the Weeks-McLean Law, also known as the Migratory Bird Act, by Congress on March 4, 1913. The law, a landmark in American conservation history, outlawed market hunting and forbade interstate transport of birds.”  Snowy Egrets have rebounded in numbers and extend their original range. Today, the greatest threat they face is habitat loss.