An exceptional recovery program involving a diverse group of partners has given the endangered Attwater's prairie chicken a fighting chance.
Noppadol Paothong / Missouri Department of Conservation
September 21, 2012
The latest edition of the Endangered Species Bulletin highlights the work of Service biologists and our partners working together to protect and restore the Nation’s endangered and threatened species.
Franciscan manzanita flowering.
Shelley Estelle / Presidio Trust
September 5, 2012
The Franciscan manzanita was given protection under the Endangered Species Act and listed as an endangered species by the Service. The Service also published a proposed rule to designate approximately 318 acres as critical habitat for the plant in San Francisco City and County. The last known wild Franciscan manzanita, an evergreen ground cover shrub, was discovered in 2009 during a road renovation project and moved to the grounds of the Presidio for protection. The Service will now work with conservation partners to recover the species.
Gray wolf.
Gary Kramer/USFWS
August 31, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the Wyoming population of gray wolves is recovered and no longer warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act. Beginning September 30th, wolves in Wyoming will be managed by the state under an approved management plan, as they are in the states of Idaho and Montana. "The return of the wolf to the Northern Rocky Mountains is a major success story, and reflects the remarkable work of States, Tribes, and our many partners to bring this iconic species back from the brink of extinction," said Service Director Dan Ashe. "The wolf population has remained healthy under state management in Idaho and Montana, and we're confident that the Wyoming population will sustain its recovery under the management plan Wyoming will implement."
San Joaquin kit fox family sit among grasses.
B. "Moose" Peterson /USFWS
August 23, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service, the two Federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act, are jointly proposing to simplify and clarify the process through which impact analyses are conducted for designations of critical habitat under the ESA. By improving the clarity and consistency of our regulations, the Services can continue to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the ESA.
A grant in Washington will ensure the permanent protection of over 4,000 acres in southern Asotin County, including four miles of critical bull trout habitat along the Lower Grande Ronde River and three miles or riparian habitat along Cougar Creek.
Joel Sartore/National Geographic Stock with Wade Fredenberg/USFWS
August 14, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced nearly $33 million in grants to 21 states to support conservation planning and acquisition of vital habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants. The grants, awarded through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act, will benefit numerous species, ranging from bull trout to Kirtland's warbler.
News Release
Fact Sheet
Learn More
Service Director Dan Ashe presents Recovery Champion Award to Ted Turner.
USFWS
August 9, 2012
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe presented Ted Turner and the Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF) with the Service's 2011 Recovery Champion Award at an event at the Ladder Ranch in Caballo, New Mexico. The award was given in recognition of TESFs conservation initiatives, which continue to play a significant role in the recovery of numerous endangered species.
News Release
Director's Blog
Learn More
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and Yakama Nation personnel conduct defishing activities prior to the Upper Hancock Spring Channel restoration project in north-central Washington.
USFWS
August 9, 2012
The latest edition of the Endangered Species Bulletin illustrates that conservation successes are rarely achieved through the actions of a few, but rather the collaborative work of many. Partnerships for protecting and recovering endangered and threatened species occur between the Service and other federal and state fish and wildlife agencies, state governments, conservation groups, American Indian tribes, the business community and private landowners.
Straight-horned markhor.
Nausherwan Sarshar Ahmed
August 7, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to reclassify the straight-horned markhor, a subspecies of wild goat that inhabits the mountains of Balochistan Province, Pakistan, from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, the Service proposed a special rule for the markhor that, if adopted, would allow the import of straight-horned markhor trophies, through a limited hunting program, which will help fund successful, ongoing community-based conservation efforts. The proposal recognizes the substantial contribution made by recovery actions now occurring in the Torghar Hills, a chain of rugged sandstone ridges located within the Toba Kakar Range in Pakistan. Here, locals have implemented a wildlife management plan called the Torghar Conservation Project, an innovative, community-based conservation program that allows for limited trophy hunting to conserve local populations of markhor, improve habitat for both markhor and domestic livestock, and improve the economic conditions for local tribes in Torghar.
Queen Charlotte Goshawk adult male. Photo Credit: Rich Lowell,
ADF&G
July 31, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today its final rule to list the British Columbia distinct population segment (DPS) of the Queen Charlotte goshawk (Accipiter gentilis laingi) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The species is not being listed in the U.S. due in part to protections provided by the U.S. Forest Service's Tongass Land Management Plan. The Endangered Species Act provides this flexibility so that protections can be tailored to where they are needed.
Junn grebe.
Courtesy of American Bird Conservancy and
ECOAN, Peru.
July 24, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a final rule to protect six South American bird species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, including the ash-breasted tit-tyrant, JunÍn grebe, JunÍn rail, Peruvian plantcutter, royal cinclodes, and white-browed tit-spinetail. Two of these species, the ash-breasted tit-tyrant and royal cinclodes, are native to Peru and Bolivia, while the remaining four species occur only in Peru. The primary factor leading to the listing of these species is habitat destruction and degradation.
The wing band on this little brown bat will help biologists and researchers identify individual bats from year to year.
Ann Froschauer / USFWS
July 9, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced grant awards totaling $962,981 to thirty states for white-nose syndrome projects. State natural resource agencies will use the funds for surveillance and monitoring of caves and mines where bats hibernate, preparing state response plans and other related projects.
Scarlet macaw.
© Steve Milpacher / World Parrot Trust. All Right Reserved.
July 6, 2012
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a proposal to protect four foreign macaw species — the great green macaw, hyacinth macaw, military macaw and scarlet macaw — as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These species occur in nearly 20 countries throughout Central America, South America and Mexico, and face significant threats, particularly due to habitat loss and degradation and poaching.
Piping plover with chick.
Dave Frederick / USFWS
June 21, 2012
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program has launched a new, web-based interactive map with information about endangered species success in every state: stories of species making strides towards recovery, audio interviews and podcasts with Service biologists about on-the-ground endangered species conservation, and videos that highlight the Services partners.
-Michael-T.-Hill-large.jpg)
Dunes sagebrush lizard.
© Michael T. Hill
June 13, 2012
As a result of unprecedented commitments to voluntary conservation agreements now in place in New Mexico and Texas that provide for the long-term conservation of the dunes sagebrush lizard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the species does not need to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. After a careful analysis of the scientific data and the protections provided by the voluntary conservation efforts, Service biologists determined the lizard is no longer in danger of extinction, nor likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.
A tree in the sandalwood family.
© Hank Oppenheimer,
Plant Extinction Prevention Program
June 11, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced it is implementing an ecosystem-based approach to the proposed listing and designation of critical habitat in Hawai'i — which leads the nation in the number of federally listed and candidate species — to better prioritize, direct, and focus conservation and recovery actions. The 40 species proposed or reevaluated for listing under the Endangered Species Act include 37 plant and three animal species. The proposed critical habitat designation is comprised of 100 multi-species units totaling approximately 271,062 acres, and includes occupied and unoccupied habitat. Public comments on this proposal will be accepted until August 10.
|
