Conserving At-Risk Species
“In the next 10 years, the Southeast Region will have to evaluate a record number of fish, wildlife and plant species for possible listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Our goal is to conserve them in voluntary and innovative ways for future generations of Americans.”
~ Cindy Dohner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Regional Director
The Southeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is implementing a conservation strategy to prevent the extinction of more than 400 fish, wildlife and plant species in a
10-state area, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
OUR GOAL
Work with public and private partners to proactively conserve as many of these at-risk species as possible over the next decade, and hopefully prevent the need to list them under
the Endangered Species Act.
WHAT is an at-risk species?
Biologists commonly refer to species as “at-risk” if they face possible extinction, or extirpation from a geographic area.
For the purposes of this conservation strategy, the Service’s Southeast Region has defined “at-risk species” as those species that have either been proposed for listing, are candidates for listing, or have been petitioned for listing.
HOW will we achieve our goal?
We are working in five action areas:
- Prioritizing Species in Need of Conservation. We are working closely with the States and other partners to evaluate species based on their conservation needs and potential for success.
- Voluntary Conservation Actions. To make it easier and beneficial for partners to do more to safeguard declining species, we are working to improve the tools available.
- Partnerships. We are working with a variety of organizations including the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability, as well
as individual partners, to support their efforts to conserve at-risk species.
- Collecting Data. We are evaluating FWS’s data systems to ensure they are integrated and useful to help us make the smartest conservation decisions.
- Outreach. We are engaging interested partners to join the effort to conserve at-risk species.
WHY NOW?
The Southeast Region is faced with evaluating whether to list and place under Federal protection more than 400 at-risk species as a result of national, multi-district litigation and a mega-petition brought by conservation groups.
JOIN US
To learn more about our efforts to conserve fish, wildlife and plant species, and the land and waters they inhabit, please contact Mike Harris, At-Risk Species Coordinator at michael_harris@fws.gov,
or the Ecological Field Office in your state.
Subscribe to the Southeast Region’s listserve to receive monthly updates related to conservation activities, including information
about the searchable database for at-risk species.
DISCOVER ONE OF OUR PROJECTS
USFWS is working with the State of Georgia and Georgia Power on proactive, voluntary conservation for the robust redhorse, a fish once thought to be extinct. Watch our video below and download the transcript.
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