Partnership Stories Archived: 2012
The Endangered Species Program works formally and informally with a large variety of groups and individuals to further species conservation. Partnerships for protecting and recovering endangered and threatened species have been established between the Endangered Species Program and other U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service programs, other federal agencies, state governments, private landowners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and American Indian tribes.
FAIR USE NOTICE - This website may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of the Endangered Species Act and its implementation. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material contained in this document is distributed without profit for educational and research purposes. For more information go to this site. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
- Posted
- 11/19/12
The Biggest Dam Removal in U.S. History (3:38)
Partners: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Olympic National Park, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Pacific Region, and others
Status: Threatened/ Listed on June 10, 1998
Scientific Name: Salvelinus confluentus
Description: Two large dams, Glines Canyon and Elwha, are finally coming down after nearly 100 years of blocking salmon access to approximately 70 miles of pristine habitat and bull trout migratory corridors in the Elwha River. It took over 35 years of hard work, dedication, and scientific excellence to remove these dams in 2011.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 11/19/12
Flip the Sea Turtle Rehabilitated, Released (2:04)
Partners: SeaLife aqaurium and the National Park Service / Padre Island National Seashore
Status: Endangered/ Listed on December 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Lepidochelys kempii
Description: SeaLife aqaurium and Padre Island National Seashore staff gathered on November 9, 2012 to release Flip, a Kemp's ridley sea turtle that was found cold-stunned on a beach in Holland last December, back into the ocean.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/19/12
Saving the Appalachian Elktoe Mussel (3:01)
Partners: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Southeast Region
Status: Endangered/ Listed on November 23, 1994
Scientific Name: Alasmidonta raveneliana
Description: The endangered Appalachian elktoe mussel is now being reared in a North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission hatchery, with the expectation that the captively-reared animals will help a small population in the Cheoah River reach its full potential.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/15/12
Lower Colorado River Authority Helps Endangered Cactus (2:16)
Partners: Lower Colorado River Authority and Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center
Status: Endangered/ Listed on December 8, 1979
Scientific Name: Ancistrocactus tobuschii
Description: The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center are working to help save the Tobusch fishook cactus—an endangered species found only in Texas.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/26/12
Small-whorled Pogonia: Endangered Orchid on the Edge (7:23)
Partner: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Status: Threatened/ Listed on September 9, 1982
Scientific Name: Isotria medeoloides
Description: Small-whorled pogonia was federally listed as an endangered species in 1982. It was reclassified as a threatened species on October 6, 1994. Although widely distributed, the small-whorled pogonia is rare. It is found in 17 eastern states and Ontario, Canada. Populations are typically small with less than 20 plants. It has been extirpated from Missouri, New York, Vermont, and Maryland, earning it the title "rarest orchid east of the Mississippi."
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/20/12
Andatu and Ratu (01:32)
Partner: International Rhino Foundation
Status: Endangered/ June 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
Description In June 2012, 40 years after the species was listed as endangered, the fourth ever captive birth of a Sumatran rhino occurred in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Lampung, Sumatra. That same month, Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, declared an International Year of the Rhino at the request of IUCN. The hope is that this action will stimulate efforts for the long-term conservation of the Javan and Sumatran rhinos.
Species Profile
Learn More
Learn about the 3rd annual World Rhino Day (September 22, 2012)
- Posted
- 09/18/12
A Century of Conservation (09:27)
Partner: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Status: Threatened/ March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus gilae
Description Though not the main focus of this video, the Gila trout was one of the original species identified under the first list of endangered species.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/13/12
Endangered Whales Seen Off California Coast (02:28)
Partner: National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard
Status: Endangered/ Listed June 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Ballaenoptera musculus
Description Worldwide, Blue Whales are rare and there is no reliable estimate of population numbers. The largest surviving population is off the west coast of the United States of America and consists of approximately 2,000 whales.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/10/12
Black-capped Vireo Nests at Balcones Canyonlands (01:52)
Partner: Texas Parks and Wildlife
Status: Endangered/ Listed October 6, 1987
Scientific Name: Vireo atricapilla
Description The black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla) breeds in a relatively narrow area of the south-central United States and north-central Mexico. It was likely extirpated from Kansas by the 1930's and is now endangered in Oklahoma and much of the northern, eastern, and central portions of its range in Texas.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/10/12
Iowa Endangered Animals (01:16)
Partner: Harrison County Parks, Iowa
Description: Today there are 47 species of animals listed as endangered in Iowa and another 35 that are threatened. The biggest threat to endangered species is habitat loss. (NOTE: Some of the species shown are not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, but are species of conservation concern within the state of Iowa.)
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/29/12
Corps, Partners Place Endangered Mussels in Mississippi River (02:21)
Partners: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, Minnisota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed June 14, 1976
Scientific Name: Higgins eye mussel (Lampsilis higginsii)
Status: Endangered/ Listed June 20, 1991
Scientific Name: winged mapleleaf mussel (Quadrula fragosa)
Description: The district and its partners worked hand-in-hand to place federally endangered mussels along the Mississippi River in Pool 2 Aug. 17.
The team is trying to propel the growth of endangered species in other areas within Minnesota beyond the St. Croix River. The endangered species include the Higgins eye and winged maple leaf mussels. Species Profile (Higgins eye mussel)Learn More Species Profile (Winged mapleleaf mussel)
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/23/12
Tiny Snails Make a Comeback (03:18)
Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Northeast Region, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, State University of New York Environmental Science and Forestry, Seneca Park Zoo, and others
Status: Threatened/ Listed August 2, 1978
Scientific Name: Succinea chittenangoensis
Description: The Chittenango ovate amber snail, an endangered species, is found only at the Chittenango Falls in Cazenovia, New York. Scientists have been working together for the past decade to protect and monitor the little invertebrate's population.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/16/12
Recovering Robust Redhorse (04:19)
Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Southeast Region, Georgia Power, the State of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey and others
Status: Not Listed/ Voluntary Conservation Efforts Precluded Need for Listing
Scientific Name: Moxostoma robustum
Description: The robust redhorse was believed to be extinct for 122 years. This species was first described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1869 and yet the fish remained unknown to scientists until 1991. Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologists discovered several robust redhorse in the Oconee River near Toomsboro, Georgia in August 1991. The efforts of many conservation partners have improved the status of this fish and precluded the need to list the species as endangered or threatened.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 08/10/12
Endangered Burying Beetles Get Wired Up (01:45)
Partner: Saint Louis Zoo and University of Toronto
Status: Endangered/ Listed July 13, 1989
Scientific Name: Nicrophorus americanus
Description Populations of American burying beetles have been extirpated from 90 percent of their original range. Known populations occur in South Dakota, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island. Ohio is trying to reintroduce a population of American burying beetles. A few collections records have been made in Kansas in recent years.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/01/12
Threatened Gopher Tortoise Spotted Laying Eggs in Alabama
Partner: USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service
Status: Threatened/ Listed on July 7, 1987
Scientific Name: Gopherus polyphemus
Description: Gopher tortoises are fairly elusive animals. Marshall Colburn, a Soil Conservation Technician with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), recently had the great fortune of seeing a tortoise laying her eggs in a freshly cultivated field near Mobile, Alabama.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 07/19/12
Trumpeter Swans Soar in Wisconsin (03:16)
Partner: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Status: Not Listed/ Under Review in the Candidate or Petition Process
Scientific Name: Cygnus buccinator
Description The trumpeter swan is a majestic bird, with snowy white feathers; jet-black bill, feet, and legs; and 8-foot wingspan.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 07/11/12
Midway Journey II — Bottle Caps (04:19)
Partner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Refuge System
Description: Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, is one of the world's most spectacular wildlife experiences. Nearly three million birds call it home for much of each year, including the world's largest population of Laysan albatrosses, or "gooney birds." Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, both protected under the Endangered Species Act, frequent Midway's crystal blue lagoon.
However, wildlife on this refuge, and throughout the world's oceans face a substantial threat in the form of plastic debris.
Learn More
Midaway Atoll NWR
- Posted
- 06/21/12
Organizations Join Forces to Protect Tiny turtle (03:36)
Partner: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Status: Threatened/ Listed on November 04, 1997
Scientific Name: Clemmys (Glyptemys) muhlenbergii
Description: At only about 4 inches long, the bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is North America's smallest turtle.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 06/18/12
Red Cockaded Woodpecker: Shared Vision, Shared Success (5:40)
Partner: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Status: Listed on October 13, 1970
Scientific Name: Picoides borealis
Description: The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners to conserve habitat for Red-cockaded woodpeckers. Other priority species identified in the Wildlife Action Plan benefit from these conservation efforts as well. A new video explains how conservation efforts by private landowners in partnership with NCWRC and USFWS are benefiting priority species in North Carolina.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 05/03/12
Research To Help Bats (2:06)
Partner: West Virginia Department of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered (Virginia big-eared bat)/ Listed on December 31, 1979
Scientific Name: Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus
Status: Endangered (Indiana bat)/ Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Myotis sodalis
Description: Several West Virginia caves are important to bats, including two federally endangered species, the Indiana bat and the Virginia big-eared bat. West Virginia has more Virginia big-eared bats than any other state (about half the global population) including the largest known maternity colony and the largest hibernating concentration in the world.
Species Profile (Virginia big-eared bat)
Species Profile (Indiana bat)
- Posted
- 05/02/12
Puerto Rican Parrot (1:28)
Partner: Parrot International
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Amazona vittata
Description: The Puerto Rican parrot is the only native parrot species in Puerto Rico and the only one remaining in the US. As of March 2006 there are 200 parrots counting both captive and wild birds.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 05/01/12
Gray Wolf Recovery in Minnesota (2:34)
Partners: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Status: Delisted Due to Recovery (Western Great Lakes Population)
Scientific Name: Canis lupus
Description: The wolf's range expansion into north central and central Minnesota was due to protection from unregulated killing afforded by the ESA, high deer numbers, and dispersal of individuals from existing packs. Telemetry studies documented wolves dispersing from the major wolf range in northeastern Minnesota to recolonize new areas as well as wolves dispersing from the few packs in north central Minnesota that had survived the "bounty era." Today, wolves live in areas with higher road and human densities than previously believed suitable for wolf survival.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/30/12
Aeolus Bat Cave: White Nose Syndrome Sampling Trip (5:52)
Partners: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Myotis Sodalis
Description: Vermont Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists visit Aeolus Bat Cave, a remote White Nose affected site, to obtain much needed data on the ongoing mortality event.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/27/12
Polar Bear Research on the Chukchi Sea (6:47)
Partner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Alaska Region
Status: Threatened/ Listed on May 15, 2008
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
Description: Polar bears are the largest carnivores and a unique symbol of the Arctic. World wide, polar bear populations remain relatively stable; however, climate change, contamination of the Arctic environment, potential over-harvest, and increasing human development in polar bear habitat pose conservation challenges for polar bears.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/26/12
Rare Animal Research at Camp Shelby, Mississippi (5:35)
Partner: The Nature Conservancy, USDA-Forest Service, Mississippi National Guard, Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks, and others
Description: The Nature Conservancy's Camp Shelby Conservation Program provides information on threatened, endangered and rare species to the Mississippi Army National Guard. In order to do this, staff survey for and study rare species and communities.
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/16/12
Recovering the Mexican Wolf (07:41)
Host: Ann Haas with Patrick Valentino
Status: Endangered/ Listed on January 12, 1998
Scientific Name: Canis lupus
Description: Since 2006, the Mexican Wolf Fund has raised more than $300,000 in grants and donations to help fund on-the-ground solutions with ranchers to continue their traditional lifestyles while helping to retain the wildlife heritage of the Southwest.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 04/09/12
Working to Restore the Newell's Shearwater (09:00)
Host: Ann Haas with Special Agent Keith Swindle
Status: Threatened/ Listed on October 28, 1975
Scientific Name: Puffinus auricularis newelli
Description: Strategically exercising his enforcement authority, Special Agent Keith Swindle has brought legal action to bear on chronic violations of the Endangered Species Act in Hawaii, particularly on behalf of the threatened Newell's shearwater.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 03/23/12
Wolves and Grizzly Bears (25:10)
Partner: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, National Park Service, Natural Resource Defense Council and others
Status: Threatened (Grizzly bear)/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Ursus arctos horribilis
Status: Non-Essential Experimental Populations/proposed for delisting in Wyoming (Gray wolf)/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Canis lupus
Description: This episode of Wyoming Wildlife TV takes an in-depth look at the recovery of these species in Wyoming and the effects they are having on people who live, work, and recreate in bear and wolf country. The show features interviews with bear and wolf experts from various agencies and organizations, as well as outfitters, hunters, ranchers, conservationists, and businesspeople who deal with bears and wolves on a regular basis.
Species Profile (Grizzly bear)
Learn More
Species Profile (Gray wolf)
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/19/12
George & Tex (11:26)
Partner: International Crane Foundation
Status Endangered: Threatened/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Grus americana
Description: Dr. George Archibald, Co-founder of the International Crane Foundation headquartered in Baraboo, Wisconsin, tells the story of his efforts to save the endangered Whooping Crane from the brink of extinction.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/12
NASA | What Doesn't Stay in Vegas? Sprawl. (12:31)
Partner: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey
Status: Non-species video
Description: This video portrays on a year-by-year basis the growth of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Though a departure from the videos that we normally share, this video provides a dramatic visual of the scale of impact that development can have on native habitat. The loss of habitat is one of the most frequently cited causes of species endangerment.
- Posted
- 03/09/12
A History of Black-Footed Ferrets (12:31)
Partners: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Mustella nigripes
Description: This video chronicles the rediscovery of black-footed ferrets in Wyoming 30 years ago. At that time, black-footed ferrets were thought to be extinct. The rediscovery set in motion one of the most successful conservation efforts in history.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/09/12
A History of Black-Footed Ferrets (4:42)
Partners: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Mustella nigripes
Description: Thought to be extinct only a few decades ago, a small colony of black-footed ferrets was discovered near Meeteetse, Wyoming, in 1981. This video details the history of this species in North America and the exciting discovery that has led to their comeback.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/07/12
Florida's Coastal Treasures: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore (6:04)
Partners: National Aeronatics and Space Administration, National Park Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and others
Status (Florida scrub-jay): Threatened/ Listed on June 3, 1987
Scientific Name: Aphelocoma coerulescens
Description: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 as an overlay of the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Consisting of 140,000 acres, the Refuge provides a wide variety of habitats: coastal dunes, saltwater estuaries and marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals including the federally threatened Florida scrub-jay.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/02/12
Mission Blue Butterfly: An Endangered Species Fighting for Survival (5:19)
Partners: The Natural Laboratory (Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center) and Bay Area National Parks
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 8, 1976
Scientific Name: Icaricia icarioides missionensis
Description: Butterfly experts discuss the plight of the mission blue butterfly, the challenges to its survival, and some ways that you can help.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/02/12
Fire and Butterflies (5:01)
Partners: U.S. Geological Survey, San Francisco Bay Area National Parks and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 8, 1976
Scientific Name: Icaricia icarioides missionensis
Description: The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is teaming up with its partners to study how fire may promote the growth of silver leaf lupin, a native flower that serves as host to the endangered mission blue butterfly.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 02/22/12
Biologists Monitor Crocodiles at Nuclear Plant (2:01)
Partner: Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station
Status: Threatened/ Listed on September 25, 1975
Scientific Name: Crocodylus acutus
Description: The American crocodile is often confused with its more numerous cousin, the alligator. Alligators are dark colored, have broad, rounded snouts and are found throughout the deep South. Crocodiles are gray in color, have narrow tapered snouts and, because they are less tolerant of cold, their only habitat In the United States is in South Florida.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 02/14/12
The Unsolved Puzzle of White Nose Syndrome (4:06)
Partners: University of Tennessee (Knoxville)
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Myotis sodalis
Description: In a race against time, researchers at the University of Tennessee are working to save America's bats, including the endangered Indiana bat, from possible extinction.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/27/12
Habitat Restoration for Kangagoo Rats (1:29)
Partner: San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy
Status: Endangered/ Listed on September 30, 1988
Scientific Name: Dipodomys stephensi
Description: The San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy is planting 10,000 native grass seedlings to aid in the recovery of endangered Stephens' kangaroo rats. The translocation of 150 kangaroo rats in 2011 has been successful, already doubling the population of this 4-inch-long rodent.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/24/12
The Clinch River: America's Crown Jewel (3:56)
Partners: Nature Conservancy
Description: Where is the country's most diverse river of life? Check out The Nature Conservancy's video on the Clinch River in southwest Virginia—home to our nation's most diverse mussel and fish species.
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/20/12
"Back from the Brink" (1:35)
Partners: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Description: Wisconsin's law to safeguard rare wildlife, plants and their habitat turns 40 in 2012 and there's a lot to celebrate. See some of the species that Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and partners have helped bring back from the brink of extinction.
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/17/12
University of Maine Students Conduct Endangered Sturgeon Research in the Penobscot River (2:32)
Partners: University of Maine, NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Acipenser brevirostrum
Description: The reasons for this species' endangered status are many. All stem from its vulnerability to habitat changes during is its life cycle. It breeds slowly, lives long, and has specific habitat requirements for different parts of its life.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/11/12
Searching for the Spruce-Fir Moss Spider in the Smoky Mountains (1:44)
Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on February 6, 1995
Scientific Name: Microhexura montivaga
Description: The spruce-fir moss spider is one of the smallest members of the primitive suborder of spiders popularly referred to as "tarantulas." The spruce-fir moss spider only lives on the highest mountain peaks in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 1/6/12
World's First Captive Hellbender Breeding (06:48)
Host: Sarah Leon with Jeff Ettling
Status: Endangered/ Listed on October 7, 2011
Scientific Name: Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi
Description: In November 2011, the Saint Louis Zoo's Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation and the Missouri Department of Conservation announced that Ozark hellbenders have been bred in captivity—a first for this federally endangered species. This decade-long collaboration has yielded 165 baby hellbenders to date.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/3/12
Mussel Species Sampling Before Restoring Flow to the Coosa River (2:31)
Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 17, 1993
Scientific Name: Pleurobema decisum (Southern clubshell)
Description: Habitat modification, sedimentation, and water quality degradation represent the major threats to this species. These freshwater mussels do not tolerate impoundments. More than 1,000 mi (1,609 km) of large and small river habitat in the Mobile River drainage has been impounded for navigation, flood control, water supply, and/or hydro-electric production purposes. Impoundments adversely affect riverine mussels by (1) killing them during construction and dredging, (2) suffocating them with accumulated sediments, (3) lowering food and oxygen availability by reducing water flow, and (4) locally extirpating host fish.
Species Profile
Learn More (ArKive site)
Partnerships Archive - 2012
Partnerships Archive - 2011
Partnerships Archive - 2010