American Pheasant and Waterfowl Society

06/24/2026

Important USDA/APHIS and AWA Update

The USDA/APHIS has recently taken the position that when a license renewal application is denied under the Animal Welfare Act (“AWA”), the applicant immediately becomes “unlicensed” during the pendency of any appeal. In practice, this means the agency treats the license as terminated before a final adjudication has occurred.

We believe this position is contrary to the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) and raises serious due process concerns.

Under the APA, federal licensing actions are governed by 5 U.S.C. § 558(c), which provides important procedural protections for license holders. The statute states that when a licensee has made a timely and sufficient application for renewal, the existing license does not expire until the agency has made a final determination on the application.

This language exists for a reason. Congress recognized that agencies should not be permitted to effectively shut down a regulated business before the licensee has exhausted its administrative remedies. Otherwise, the appeal process becomes meaningless. A license holder who is forced to cease operations immediately upon an initial denial may suffer irreparable financial harm long before any Judicial Officer or federal court has an opportunity to review the agency’s decision.

The issue becomes especially concerning in USDA licensing cases because the agency often treats the denial itself as immediately operative, even while an appeal remains pending within the Department. In effect, APHIS acts as though the matter is already final before the adjudicative process has concluded.

The APA was designed to prevent precisely this type of administrative overreach.

Courts interpreting § 558(c) have repeatedly recognized that the provision protects continuity of operations where a timely renewal application has been filed. The purpose is to preserve the status quo until the agency’s decision-making process is complete. Agencies cannot simply bypass these protections by labeling the action a “renewal denial” rather than a suspension or revocation.

This issue carries enormous consequences for USDA licensees, exhibitors, breeders, dealers, and animal facilities across the country. If agencies can terminate licenses before appeals are finalized, then administrative due process becomes little more than an illusion.

The rule of law requires more. Administrative agencies must follow the APA just as regulated parties must follow agency regulations.

06/09/2026

Nashville Zoo Says No to Proposed Data Center

The Issue

"AI Data Centers are being built at an alarming pace, posing possible risks to diverse and vulnerable communities. The next one could be located just feet away from one of the most fragile and rare collections of animals in the country unless Nashville Zoo supporters and city leaders intervene.

At Nashville Zoo, our top priority is to protect our precious animals and their environment. We are equally committed to the health and safety of our visitors, staff, and neighbors living nearby. Yet, with no regulations or safeguards for use in place, developers intend to build a 69,000 square feet data center on land abutting the Zoo. They assert the community need not worry, that building a data center next door to one of the region’s most delicate environments will cause no harm.

No one has shared studies or environmental impact assessments. Just their word. That’s why the Nashville Zoo is asking the community to join in vehemently opposing the proposed data center being built adjacent to the Zoo. One simple Google search shows growing concerns about data centers’ environmental and public health impacts nationwide. Data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity and water; straining power grids, depleting natural resources, and damaging our watershed. How are we to know this new data center will not lead to irreversible damage to the animals we exist to protect?

We cannot afford to find out years from now how this facility has negatively impacted our 1.4 million visitors, our local community, or the 3,000 animals entrusting us with their care. We are calling on the Nashville community to join us in our fight to stop this data center from being built, now.

Please sign our petition and say yes to the Zoo by saying no to the new data center. Express your concern and help us protect our vulnerable animals and the environment we call home. For media inquiries contact [email protected].

As a non-profit organization, Nashville Zoo relies on the generous support of animal lovers like you to further our mission and support the care and protection of wildlife both here and around the world."

Nashville Zoo Communications
Petition Starter

Nashville Zoo Says No to Proposed Data Center

06/06/2026

I'll link a couple articles in the comments...

For my followers who wanted more about the Narragansett turkey and for those who questioned how the Nebraskan was able to go extinct... the answer requires a look at American history... and no, this is not written with AI. I hate the invention of AI for writing because now when you use any big words everyone assumes it is AI 😅 I digress...

You see, throughout the history of this country, many raised turkeys themselves. Heritage turkeys are good foragers and reproduce naturally. The Narragansett variety some say is linked to the pilgrims (Narragansett, Rhode Island is a little ways south of Plymouth Rock). But after WW2 things changed. People stopped raising their own livestock. The Broad Breasted White turkey became the commercial defacto and fewer and fewer people kept heritage turkeys at all...

Let's note, the Livestock Conservancy came to being in 1977 a couple months before Star Wars was released. As they continued their mission, they did their first survey of heritage turkeys in 1997. By that point, the Nebraskan was gone. Most heritage turkeys were hanging on by a thread. The Narragansett in a particular is believed to have had just 10 individuals remaining. To their credit, heritage turkey numbers certainly recovered. I can't say for sure what the current number is, but it was ~2,000 in 2016, so probably close to that, maybe more.

So, those that don't appreciate heritage turkeys with roots that extend throughout American history up until modern times... well this post isn't for you... but those that get it, we invite you to follow our page and see and learn more about these magnificent birds!

Did you know we had gotten down to just ~1500 heritage turkeys in the 1990's and were so close to losing all of these birds?

06/03/2026

05/27/2026

Working on and trying to finalize transportation for this fall's convention in Washington State into Canada. It would be very helpful to know the interest in attending as we move forward on this especiallyfor the Ferries. You can email me at [email protected] Thank you.

05/08/2026

Toby Hutcheson and Dallas Legg at the Triple W Livestock Auction in Cookeville, TN. Special thanks to Toby for all his efforts in getting our banner displayed there.

05/07/2026

There’s continued development in the storms so please stay vigilant and keep a watch out on the weather.

Our hearts are with all those affected by these devastating storms. Please continue to keep the impacted communities in your thoughts and prayers. If anyone hears of any APWS Members or Bird Community Friends please let us know.

Please stay safe everyone.
Janet and ET
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BREAKING: SEVERE TORNADO TEARS THROUGH PURVIS, LAMAR COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

A tornado is believed to have struck parts of Lamar County, Mississippi overnight as a powerful storm system moved through the region. Multiple homes suffered major damage, with roofs ripped apart and debris scattered across neighborhoods.

One official said, “Crews are now working to assess conditions across the area.”

Please keep residents across Lamar County and surrounding communities in your prayers.
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BREAKING: A SEVERE TORNADO TEARS THROUGH BOGUE CHITTO, LINCOLN COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

A tornado is believed to have struck parts of Bogue Chitto in Lincoln County, Mississippi overnight as a powerful storm system moved through the region.

One witness stated, “I went back to my room, and my room was gone.”

Please keep residents across Lincoln County and surrounding communities in your prayers.
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BREAKING: A large violent tornado just swept through Bude and Meadville in Franklin County, Mississippi. One official said, “It’s lifting debris nearly 26,000 feet into the atmosphere and showing signs reflective of an EF-4+ tornado.” Please keep everyone in your prayers.

04/24/2026

The purple martin is the largest swallow in North America, and east of the Rockies she is almost entirely dependent on human-supplied housing. The wild cavities her species nested in for generations are largely gone — felled, sealed, or taken by starlings before she arrives each spring.

If no one puts up housing, she doesn't nest in that area.

She hunts on the wing: dragonflies, beetles, wasps, flies, and flying ants, sweeping from high overhead down to lawn height in long arcs. A nesting colony working your property through the season clears a significant volume of flying insects daily.

One gourd rack fixes it.

The build:

A rack of six to twelve hollow gourds hung from crossarms on a single pole. Martins are colonial and won't nest in a single box

Entrance hole shaped as a crescent, roughly one and one-eighth inches tall by three inches wide. This shape admits martins and physically blocks starlings. A round hole invites competition you don't want

Interior gourd diameter eight to nine inches, depth ten to twelve inches

A small porch lip below each entrance for fledglings to grip on early flights

Drainage holes in the bottom of each gourd

A thin layer of pine needles or dry grass as starter lining

The rack must be on a telescoping or winch pole. You'll need to lower it for weekly checks

The placement:

Fourteen to twenty feet up in the most open space on your property: mowed lawn, pasture edge, or the widest clearing available

Wide clearance from tall trees, buildings, and power lines. Martins need open sky to approach the colony

Near the house is fine and often preferred. Human activity nearby helps deter hawks

No trees or perches directly above the rack.
Hawks ambush from overhead cover

What to expect:

Put the rack up by late March in southern states, late April farther north. Scout males arrive first and check sites along their route

First-year occupancy is uncommon. Playing a purple martin dawnsong recording from a small speaker at the base of the pole at sunrise through May can attract scouts investigating the sound

Lower the rack weekly once birds arrive and check for house sparrow or starling nests. Remove them promptly. Both are non-native and not protected

Once a colony establishes, expect years of return visits. The same females come back to the same gourd season after season

A rack of gourds. One open pole in your biggest clearing. East of the Rockies, she has almost nowhere else to go

04/24/2026

The Georgia Game Bird Breeders Association meeting scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled due to the continuous wildfires in Southeast Georgia. Conditions are not letting up, becoming more severe, fires still breaking out with wind shifts creating dangerous situations.

*Most Important: GGBBA President William Dart and his wife Megan were among those who had to evacuate their home today, along with many others in affected areas.

We are keeping everyone in our thoughts and prayers, especially those who have been displaced, as well as the firefighters and rescue crews working tirelessly to contain these fires. We pray for steady rain to help bring them to an end, for the safety of ALL involved, and for protection over the birds and wildlife in harm’s way.

*Please remember your bird community is but a phone call away...