The Golden Cheeked Warbler will continue to perch on the federal endangered species list. A petition to de-list the little Texas song bird filed by former State Comptroller Susan Combs was rejected. That means its central Texas habitat will continue to be protected.
Melinda Taylor of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law and Business says the concern is the shrinking habitat for the warbler.
“The fish and wild life service which is the federal agency that made that decision - they looked very hard at the various threats that the warbler faces primarily to it's habitat in the hill country area and concluded - i think probably very appropriately that there are still sufficient threats and that the bird should stay on the list."
The Golden Cheeked Warbler is the only migratory bird that nests only in Texas. It's dependent on old growth mountain cedar trees for its habitat.