Land set aside for yellow-billed cuckoo habitat

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – U.S. Fish and Wildlife is looking to designate nearly 500,000 acres as critical habitat for a threatened bird, some of it in New Mexico.

The yellow-bill cuckoo is a migratory bird that breeds along rivers and streams in western North America. It was listed as threatened in 2014 after a loss of habitat.

Fish and Wildlife are looking to protect some of that habitat in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico. Some of the areas affected in New Mexico are along the Gila, San Francisco, San Juan, Mimbres Rivers and the Rio Grande.

They will be publishing the plan and taking comments starting Thursday.