Dec 10, 2014 10:51 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The U.S. has officially classified the rufa subspecies of the red knot bird as threatened, qualifying it for federal protection.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) deemed the red-brown bird threatened Tuesday after concluding a 14-month review. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 outlaws harming the red knot bird in any way.

The bird is known to migrate up to 20,000 miles every year in a round trip from the Arctic to South America. The birds typically stop in the Delaware Bay and a dramatic drop in their annual presence there has led the state of New Jersey to classify the bird as endangered.

"We've been - my wife and I - have been working hard to protect the animal with a group of people for 15 years now," Larry Niles, a wildlife biologist and red knot expert with Conserve Wildlife N.J., told the AP. "This status will give it a structural protection we've been seeking for a long time."

The federal status as threatened means experts believe the bird will soon become endangered, which is of course a notch above extinct. The population of the red knot bird in the Delaware Bay has fallen from about 50,000 in 1998 to 24,000 10 years later, prompting New Jersey to rule the bird endangered in 2012.

"If we don't change management policies for one of the key foods this bird relies on quickly, one of nature's most epic journeys, and the birds that make it, will be wiped off the map," Elly Pepper, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, told NJ.com.

Eric Stiles, president of New Jersey Audubon, told the AP N.J.'s role in protecting the red knot bird is critical.

"Imagine if you are driving across the country and there are only two or three pit stops to fuel up and get food and if you don't, it's all or nothing," he said. "Either you make it or you don't."

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit