Biologists Resume Research Studies in Colorado and Utah in Effort to Recover Endangered Fish

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program (Recovery Program) announced today that research studies have resumed in sections of the Colorado, Duchesne, Green and Yampa rivers in the states of Colorado and Utah to help recover four species of endangered fish – the humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. Biologists from the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado State University, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct the work.

Management of nonnative fish species is a primary goal of this year’s research work. Northern pike and smallmouth bass have been identified as two nonnative fish species that pose a significant threat to endangered and other native fishes. Northern pike and smallmouth bass are active predators that eat other fish and compete for food and space in the river. For nearly a decade, Recovery Program researchers have worked to reduce the populations of these nonnative fish species to a level where endangered and other native fishes can co-exist and thrive.

Read More | Learn More

Local Landowners Help Conserve Gunnison Sage-Grouse

A Gunnison County rancher will be the first landowner in Colorado to participate in a voluntary conservation program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service aimed at preserving the Gunnison sage-grouse.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife in conjunction with the Service has been working closely with landowners in the Gunnison Basin to help manage implementation of this conservation program.

Read More | Learn More

North Dakota Firefighter Goes “Down Under” to Help Control Wildfires in Victoria, Australia

Most Februarys, Doug Downs is knee-deep in snow and ice in his hometown of Kenmare, North Dakota, where winter snowfall averages 2 to 3 feet. This year, the Western North Dakota District Fire Management Officer was thousands of miles from home in Victoria, Australia, where he led other firefighters working to control one of Australia’s fiercest wildfires which burned more than 620,000 acres.

As a sector commander, Doug supervised four to 10 crews to build and reinforce a section of fire line. He supervised the use of heavy equipment to clear a fire line and worked side-by-side with crew members wielding chainsaws to remove additional vegetation in unburned areas to contain the fire.

Learn More

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE DELIVERS FLOOD RESPONSE MISSION IN NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTH DAKOTA

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to protect people and property in response to severe flooding and potential flooding in parts of North Dakota and South Dakota. Approximately 50 employees from the Service’s Mountain-Prairie Region and Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region are on the ground in the Dakotas and actively involved with flood response operations in close coordination with local, state, and federal emergency agencies, including search and rescue.

The Service’s recent and current efforts have focused primarily on the Fargo area in North Dakota, where weather and flooding have been most severe. As flood waters rose recently in the Fargo area, Service airboat crews - responding from national wildlife refuges and other Service field offices from the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota - assisted an average of 20 families per day, and completed 88 rescue missions and evacuated 150 people. These rescues, which were coordinated seamlessly with other agencies such as U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Border Patrol, often occurred during challenging weather conditions and were conducted safely, highlighting the Service’s commitment to the mission and focus on safety.

Press Release | Learn More

First Endangered Black-footed Ferret Kits of 2009 Born

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced the first black-footed ferret kit births of 2009. This officially begins the highly anticipated annual whelping season. Together with our numerous partners, the Service is hopeful for many healthy kits. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service houses two-thirds of the captive population, with five partner zoological institutions aiding in captive breeding efforts.

On March 24, two-year-old “Harp” gave birth after a gestation of 42 days. She and her kits will not be disturbed for several days, so her litter size is not yet known. She will rear her kits in the captive breeding building and if they are release candidates they will then be placed in pre-conditioning pens at the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center* in Northeastern Colorado. Candidates spend at least 30 days in these pens with natural prairie dog burrows and have the chance to practice killing their preferred prey, prairie dogs. These experiences have been found to increase the likelihood that they will survive in the wild. Based on their genetic makeup and demonstrated survival skills, kits will be considered for reintroductions this fall at sites in the U.S., Mexico, and a potential new reintroduction site in Canada. Prior to release, all kits will receive physical examinations and vaccinations against plague and canine distemper.

Press Release | Learn More

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Staff Work to Protect People and Property in Response to Severe Flood Conditions in North and South Dakota

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff have been mobilized to protect people and property affected by severe flood conditions in parts of North and South Dakota, including the James, Red and Souris River Basins. Significant late season rainfall and above normal snowpack have created the potential for severe flooding in these areas. The National Weather Service predicts that extensive additional precipitation and warmer temperatures will accelerate flooding in the near future to record or near-record levels.

The flooding is expected to have serious effects on communities in these areas and to impact several Service facilities, including units of the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Fish Hatchery System. The flood event is anticipated to last for many weeks and there will be a need for clean up and restoration activities after the flood waters subside.

Service personnel are assisting local, State and Federal emergency response efforts through deployment of Service resources ranging from boats, heavy equipment, aircraft, law enforcement personnel and other emergency and technical resources.

Press Release | Learn More

Mark Butler (posthumously) and Elaine York Receive Recovery Champion Awards

The Mountain-Prairie Region recognizes two recovery champions for their exceptional contributions to the conservation and recovery of imperiled species.

The late Mark Butler, the Service’s Platte River Liaison, brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to protect and restore river-related habitat in Nebraska for the endangered whooping crane and other imperiled species.

Elaine York, West Desert Regional Director for The Nature Conservancy was instrumental in the development and acquisition of the White Dome Nature Preserve in South St. George, Utah.

Press Release

Secretary Salazar Releases Study Showing Widespread Declines in Bird Populations, Highlights Role of Partnerships in Conservation

The first ever comprehensive report on bird populations in the United States has been released. The report, The U.S. State of the Birds, synthesizes data from three long-running bird censuses conducted by thousands of citizen scientists and professional biologists. It shows that nearly a third of the nation’s 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in significant decline due to habitat loss, invasive species, and other threats.

At the same time, the report highlights examples, including many species of waterfowl, where habitat restoration and conservation have reversed previous declines, offering hope that it is not too late to take action to save declining populations.

Birds are beautiful, as well as economically important and a priceless part of America's natural heritage. Birds are also highly sensitive to environmental pollution and climate change, making them critical indicators of the health of the environment on which we all depend.

Press Release

Northern Rocky Mountain Interagency Annual Report for 2008 Available

The gray wolf population in the Northern Rocky Mountains continues to thrive. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and its federal, state and tribal partners estimated at the end of 2008 there were 1,645 wolves in 217 packs in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. At least 95 of those packs contained at least 1 adult male, 1 adult female, and 2 pups on December 31, 2008, meeting the recovery goal description of a breeding pair.

The NRM wolf population is simply a 400 mile southern extension of a population of over 12,000 wolves in British Columbia and Alberta. There are essentially nearly contiguous wolf packs from Jackson, Wyoming and Boise, Idaho north through Canada and Alaska to the Arctic Ocean.

Secretary Salazar Announces $26 Million for Wetlands Grants, Nearly $12 Million for Refuge Acquisitions Benefiting Migratory Waterfowl

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has approved more than $26 million in funding to protect and restore more than 200,000 acres of wetland areas and wildlife habitat in the U.S. and Mexico under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). The commission, which is chaired by Secretary Salazar, also approved $11.5 million to protect more than 3,500 wetland acres on seven units of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Within the Mountain-Prairie Region, projects in the States of Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming received grants.

Secretary Salazar Affirms Decision to Delist Gray Wolves in Western Great Lakes, Portion of Northern Rockies

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today affirmed the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove gray wolves from the list of threatened and endangered species in the western Great Lakes and the Northern Rocky Mountain states of Idaho and Montana and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah. Wolves will remain a protected species in Wyoming.

“The recovery of the gray wolf throughout significant portions of its historic range is one of the great success stories of the Endangered Species Act,” Salazar said. “When it was listed as endangered in 1974, the wolf had almost disappeared from the continental United States. Today, we have more than 5,500 wolves, including more than 1,600 in the Rockies.”

“The successful recovery of this species is a stunning example of how the Act can work to keep imperiled animals from sliding into extinction,” he said. “The recovery of the wolf has not been the work of the federal government alone. It has been a long and active partnership including states, tribes, landowners, academic researchers, sportsmen and other conservation groups, the Canadian government and many other partners.”

Revised Critical Habitat Designated For Canada Lynx

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has revised the critical habitat designation for the Canada lynx. In total, approximately 39,000 square miles fall within the boundaries of the revised critical habitat designation in portions of northern Maine, northeastern Minnesota, the Northern Rocky Mountains (northwestern Montana and northeastern Idaho), the Northern Cascades (north-central Washington), and the Greater Yellowstone Area (southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming).

Critical habitat is a term defined in the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It identifies geographic areas containing features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations or protection.

Fish and Wildlife Service to Conduct Status Review of the Wyoming Pocket Gopher

After review of a petition seeking to protect the Wyoming pocket gopher under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Service will undertake a more thorough review of the species to determine whether to propose adding the Wyoming pocket gopher to the list of threatened or endangered species.

This petition finding does not mean that the Service has decided it is appropriate to give the Wyoming pocket gopher protection under the ESA. Rather this finding is the first step in a long process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available.

The public is invited to provide comments and information about the species and its habitat. Comments will be accepted until April 10, 2009. Please see the Federal Register notice for more information.

News Release | Learn More

Endangered Species Act Protections for 165 Petitioned Species Not Warranted

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made a partial determination regarding a petition to protect 206 species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service found that the petition submitted by WildEarth Guardians does not contain substantial information that listing may be warranted for 165 of the petitioned species; therefore, the Service will not initiate a further status review for these species. The public is encouraged to provide the Service any new information that becomes available regarding the status of these species or threats to them or their habitat. Two plant species included in the petition were addressed in a petition finding for 475 Southwestern species that published on January 6, 2009. Therefore, only 204 species were reviewed for this determination. A finding regarding the remaining 39 petitioned species will be made at a later date.

The 165 species addressed in this finding are found in Arkansas, Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming and include 4 vertebrates, 71 invertebrates, and 90 plants. A list of the petitioned species can be found in the Federal Register notice published today or at the Service’s web site: http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/endspp/news.htm.