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Partnerships for Shared Stewardship

January 2007

Authors:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Two of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s most popular and effective programs for voluntary, citizen and community-based conservation initiatives are the Partners for Fish and Wildlife and Coastal programs. They are a bridge to owners and managers of non-federal lands for development of partnerships to benefit trust species. The approach is simple: engage willing partners to conserve wildlife values on their property through the use of non-regulatory incentives. The Partners Program is active in all 50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other trust territories. It is the Service’s premier program for cooperative conservation with private landowners, farmers, ranchers, and resource-based industries. Between 2003 and 2006, the program implemented over 500 projects benefiting threatened and endangered species. The Coastal Program focuses on large-scale, long-term collaborative resource planning and implementation in high-priority coastal areas.

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2007 Highlights

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Telephone: 703-358-2390

Fax: 703-358-1735

E-mail: esb@fws.gov

Web site:

www.fws.gov/endangered/bulletin.html

Editor

Michael Bender

Art Director

Jennifer Hennessey

The Endangered Species Bulletin is now primarily an on-line publication. Three electronic

editions are posted each year at www.fws.gov/endangered/bulletin.html, and one print

edition of highlights is published each year. To be notiﬁed when a new on-line edition has

been posted, you can sign up for our list-serv by clicking on “E-Mail List” on the Bulletin

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cies. We are particularly interested in news about recovery, consering candidates, habitat

conservation plans, and cooperative ventures. Please contact the Editor before preparing

a manuscript. We cannot guarantee publication.

The Bulletin is reprinted by the University of Michigan as part of its publication, the

Endangered Species UPDATE. To subscribe, write the Endangered Species UPDATE, School

of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-

1115; or call 734-763-3243.

IN THIS ISSUE

On the Cover

Once endangered, the bald eagle is now a

symbol of species recovery.

Photo © Jasper James

Opposite page: On June 28, 2007, at the

Jefferson Memorial, Interior Secretary

Kempthorne announced the recovery and

delisting of the bald eagle.

Photo by Leopoldo Miranda-Castro/USFWS

Contributors

Krishna Gifford

Jeannie Stafford

Rachel Levin

Joel Trick

Mike DeCapita

Jack Sparks

Craig Aubrey

Elaine York

Nathan Allan

Jennifer Gumm

Shane D. Hanlon

Wil Orndorff

Mike Martinez

Dan Cox

Valary Bloom

Amy DeWeerd

Please send us your comments and ideas! E-mail them to us at esb@fws.gov.

Measuring Recovery Success

Partnerships Can Conserve Species and a

Way of Life

Rare Bird Nests Are Cause for Celebration

Jump Starting a Rabbit’s Recovery

Conserving a Natural Utah Treasure

New Hope for the Leon Springs Pupﬁsh

Tiffany Parson

Dave Stout

John Castellano

Jarrad Kosa

Lauren Ris

Leslie Hartsell

Leopoldo Miranda-Castro

Cindy Schexnider

Stuart C. Leon

Jeff M. Finley

Craig Springer

Richard Shelton

Brian Powell

Ken Burton

Michelle H. Reynolds

Thierry M. Work

Sometimes It’s the Little Things That

Matter

Cooperative Conservation for the Page

Springsnail

A Rare Plant Returns to San Francisco Bay

Fisheries and Habitat Conservation

Species Recovery Through Habitat and

Resource Conservation

Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance

Partnerships for Shared Stewardship

The Environmental Contaminants Program

The National Fish Hatchery System

A Living Fossil Fights for Survival

The Return of a Lake-dwelling Giant

Hatcheries Are for More Than Fish

The Texas Blind Salamander

Hatchery Breeds Wyoming’s Rarest Toad

A New Approach for Monitoring Multiple

Species

Departments

Focus on Refuges

Good News for the

Amur Tiger

Translocation and Disease

Monitoring of Wild Laysan Ducks

Endangered Species Bulletin 3

2007 Highlights

Eggert’s sunﬂower

by Krishna Gifford

Measuring Recovery

Success

Most people agree that remov-

ing a listed species from the List of

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants due to recovery is a sign of

success. The recent delistings of the

bald eagle, Eggert’s sunﬂower, and the

species mentioned below are excellent

examples. However, recovery related

delistings currently represent only about

one percent of the species currently

listed. Some people believe that this

means the Endangered Species Act is not

succeeding.

But counting only the number of

recovery related delistings does not give

a true measure of the Act’s success. By

the end of Fiscal Year 2006, the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service had the lead for con-

serving 1,269 listed species throughout all

50 states and other lands under U.S. juris-

diction. Given this large number of spe-

cies, and the limited stafﬁng and ﬁnancial

resources available to the Service for their

recovery, the following statistics provide

another measure of recovery success:

• Three species have been delisted this

year due to recovery: the bald eagle,

Western Great Lakes distinct popula-

tion segment (DPS) of the gray wolf,

and Yellowstone DPS of the grizzly

bear. The Service also proposed

this year to delist two other species

due to recovery: the West Virginia

northern ﬂying squirrel and the

Northern Rocky Mountain DPS of the

gray wolf. We are making signiﬁcant

progress in recovery-related delistings.

• The most recent data available indi-

cate that 522 listed species are now

stable or improving in status. Forty-

one percent of the species are doing

better since they have gained protec-

tion under the Act.

• Most (1,084) species listed for 2.5

years or longer now have ﬁnal

recovery plans, 43 species have draft

recovery plans, and 134 species

have recovery plans under revision.

(Another 12 species are exempt from

needing recovery plans.) This means

that 90 percent of listed species now

have a recovery plan in place or do

not require one.

But the story is not all about the num-

bers. There are numerous challenges to

recovering listed species. For example,

a species’ decline often occurs over

decades or even centuries, and the road

to its recovery can be a long one as well.

Addressing threats that have occurred

over long periods typically requires

substantial time and resources. Some

species also face new threats even after

receiving protection under the Act. Many

bird populations, for example, have been

decimated by the introduced West Nile

virus. Other animals and plants face

danger posed by such invasive, non-

native species as the brown tree snake

or the zebra mussel. In the face of these

continuing challenges, we should remind

ourselves that success is measured in the

Brad Bingham

4 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

Gray wolf

day-to-day milestones achieved instead of

only the ultimate goal of delisting.

Every time a rare species expands

its range, a breeding pair produces

offspring, a private landowner joins in a

new conservation partnership, a research

project gains vital information about a

species’ life history, or a missing plant

arises from a seed bank is a time worthy

of celebration. All of these, and more,

are cumulative steps that eventually

lead to recovery. And if we can take

action to beneﬁt a listing candidate or

other imperiled species before it needs

Endangered Species Act protection, so

much the better!

From stories about habitat needs for

the Page springsnail (a listing candi-

date), to land purchased by The Nature

Conservancy to protect several at-risk

and listed species, to habitat clean-ups,

and other efforts, the following articles

are wonderful examples of recovery

milestones, both small and large. The

tennis champion Arthur Ashe once said,

“Success is a journey, not a destination.

The doing is often more important than

the outcome.” When it comes to the

conservation and recovery of listed and

imperiled species alike, “the doing” is as

“important as the outcome.”

Krishna Gifford is a biologist with the

Washington Ofﬁce Endangered Species

Program, Branch of Recovery and

Delisting, and can be reached at krishna_

gifford@fws.gov.

Olympic National Park

William C. Campbell

Northern ﬂying squirrel

Endangered Species Bulletin 5

2007 Highlights

by Jeannie Stafford

Creating partnerships that conserve

wildlife as well as economic and social

values can be a challenge. Prior to 2002,

a partnership between the Duckwater

Shoshone Tribe and the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service did not exist. But taking

a cooperative approach brought beneﬁts

to the Service’s Nevada Fish and Wildlife

Ofﬁce (NFWO), the Tribe, numerous

other partners, and a rare ﬁsh.

The Duckwater Shoshone Reservation

is an isolated rural reservation that

contains the largest thermal spring in

Nevada. This 3,850-acre (1,560-hectare)

reservation is home to 150 residents

whose principle land use is agriculture.

It also contains a unique hydro-geologic

system that is not typical of most arid cli-

mates. Geothermal activity carries warm

groundwater upward, forming numer-

ous hot springs. The 94° F (34°C) water

of Big Warm Spring is considered the

most important habitat for a threatened

species, the Railroad Valley springﬁsh

(Crenichthys nevadae).

In 2002, the Tribe granted the NFWO’s

Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program

access to the Reservation, and the result

was one of the Service’s most success-

ful Tribal partnerships. In early 2003,

the NFWO signed a Memorandum of

Understanding with the Tribe to begin

recovery actions for the springﬁsh while

preserving the Tribe’s economic, social,

agricultural, and cultural way of life. The

next year, the Tribe received funding

from the Partners for Fish and Wildlife,

Tribal Wildlife Grant, and Tribal Land

Owner Incentive programs totaling

$650,000 to restore Big Spring.

In late 2004, negotiations to decom-

mission a catﬁsh farm and remove all

aquaculture facilities that were negatively

affecting the springﬁsh were complete.

Restoration of the spring system was

designed not only to restore the stream

Partnerships Can

Conserve Species and a

Way of Life

(left): The catﬁsh farm before the restoration of Big

Warm Spring.

(right): View of restored Big Warm Spring from

visitor platform.

All photos by Bridget Nielson

Railroad Valley springﬁsh

6 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

channels and 68 acres (28 ha) of wet-

land habitat next to the spring, but also

to improve delivery of Tribal irrigation

water by constructing a new irrigation

intake and pipeline delivery system. The

project improved water transport along

the main channel and restored the main

spring source to accommodate appropri-

ate ﬂow rates. In addition to fencing the

newly restored spring and wetland habi-

tat, the partners also restored 45 acres (18

ha) of upland habitat.

The Tribe and the Service met on

September 26, 2007, to sign a Safe

Harbor Agreement, only the second

agreement of this type with a Tribal gov-

ernment, allowing the reintroduction of

the ﬁsh while use of the irrigation system

and cattle grazing continues. All of the

partners, including representatives from

the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the

Natural Resources Conservation Service,

the U.S. Geological Survey’s Biological

Resources Water Resources Divisions, the

NFWO, and the Tribe were on hand that

day to celebrate and witness the reintro-

duction of Railroad Valley springﬁsh back

into their historical habitat.

This strong partnership will assist in

the recovery of one of Nevada’s threat-

ened species and, at the same time, help

conserve the Tribe’s traditional way of

life. A quote from Tribal Manager Jerry

Millet earlier this year sums up the recov-

ery effort and the partnership this way:

“There is a great sense of joy and ful-

ﬁllment in my heart seeing the restored

spring with the stream channel ﬂowing

in the location the Great Spirit intended it

to go rather than the man-made direc-

tion. Our goal as a Tribe is to continue

into the future. Improving health in the

land and water for the preservation of

the unique and ancient springﬁsh is part

of the Duckwater Peoples legacy for our

future generations. The success of the

Big Warm Spring Restoration projects

is founded in the collaborative process

and persistent communication involving

the Tribe, the individual tribal business

owner, the Service, Nevada Department

of Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management,

Natural Resources Conservation Service,

Bureau of Indian Affairs and the State

Water Engineer’s Ofﬁce.”

Jeannie Stafford, a public affairs

ofﬁcer in the NFWO, can be reached at

775-861-6300 or jeannie_stafford@fws.

gov.

(above): Bob Williams, NFWO Field Supervisor , Jerry Millet,

Duckwater Shoshone Tribal Manager, and Ruby Sam, Duckwater

Shoshone Tribal Chairperson, sign the Railroad Valley Springﬁsh

Safe Harbor Agreement.

(left): Ruby Sam and Jerry Millet release Railroad Valley

springﬁsh into Big Warm Spring.

Endangered Species Bulletin 7

2007 Highlights

by Rachel Levin,

Joel Trick, and

Mike DeCapita

Rare Bird Nests Are Cause

for Celebration

Scientists and bird lovers are

celebrating a milestone in the recovery of

the Kirtland’s warbler (Dendroica kirtlan-

dii), a highly endangered songbird -- the

discovery in 2007 of three active nests in

Wisconsin and one in Ontario.

The Kirtland’s warbler, whose dis-

tinctive male song can be heard up to

a quarter mile away, nests primarily in

jack pine forests in the northern Lower

Peninsula of Michigan. However, the

species has nested in Michigan’s Upper

Peninsula since 1994 and has been seen

in recent years in Wisconsin and Ontario,

The Wisconsin nests were discovered

by a birder in early summer of 2007.

Recognizing the signiﬁcance of the dis-

covery, this private citizen contacted and

assisted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

and Wisconsin Department of Natural

Resources in documenting the pres-

ence of Kirtland’s warblers in the state.

To protect the site from disturbance,

the Service is not disclosing its precise

location.

The single Ontario nest was discov-

ered on Canadian Forces Base Petawawa

and was monitored by the Canadian

Wildlife Service and cooperators.

“This development is a testament

to decades of cooperative conserva-

tion among the states of Michigan and

Wisconsin, private landowners, and orga-

nizations such as the Audubon Society,”

says Robyn Thorson, Regional Director

for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s

Midwest Region. “This discovery proves

that by working together, recovery and

range expansion for an endangered bird

are not only possible, but are happening

as we speak.”

The Wisconsin nests were on land

owned by the Plum Creek Timber

Company. “Discovering the Kirtland’s

warbler nesting in managed forests

in central Wisconsin is exciting and

encouraging, and provides Plum Creek

the opportunity to work further with the

Service on enhancing Kirtland’s warbler

habitat in Wisconsin, as we are planning

to do in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,”

says Scott Henker, Plum Creek’s senior

resource manager for Wisconsin.

The Kirtland’s warbler was ﬁrst

described in 1857. Its nesting area

was not known until the ﬁrst nest was

discovered in Oscoda County, Michigan,

in 1903. Scientists quickly recognized the

species as rare and set aside special areas

to protect it. Nevertheless, the Kirtland’s

warbler population plummeted from 432

singing males in 1951 to only 201 males

in 1971.

Thanks to recovery efforts by federal,

state, and private partners, Kirtland’s

warbler numbers have increased steadily

Ron Austing

8 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

since 1990, reaching 1,707 singing males

in 2007, the highest number since popu-

lation monitoring began. The 2007 count

includes eight males in Wisconsin and

two in Ontario.

Prior to 2007’s historic nesting in

Wisconsin and Ontario, no Kirtland’s

warblers have nested outside Michigan

since nesting occurred in Ontario in the

1940s. In the past two years, several

singing males were found in Wisconsin

and Ontario, prompting optimism that

the species would ultimately nest in

those locations.

“Wisconsin is excited about having its

ﬁrst Kirtland’s warbler nest, and we con-

gratulate our partners in Michigan who

have worked for so long to strengthen

the Kirtland’s warbler population,”

says former Wisconsin Department of

Natural Resources Secretary Scott Hassett.

“Having this rare bird in Wisconsin is an

honor and underscores our responsibil-

ity to keep providing quality habitat for

wildlife. We look forward to working

with Michigan in the future management

of this rare pine barrens species.”

Now that the Kirtland’s warbler has

been conﬁrmed as a breeding species

in Wisconsin, the Service will look for

opportunities to work with landowners

to encourage management practices that

could beneﬁt the species. An added

advantage of managing habitat for the

Kirtland’s warbler is that it would also

provide beneﬁts for numerous other

bird species, as well as other plants and

animals that depend on similar habitats.

The Canadians have been preparing

for eventual Kirtland’s warbler nest-

ing for several years, having conducted

annual searches for the species, writ-

ten a recovery plan, conducted habitat

inventories, including aerial surveys with

Michigan experts, and participated in

Michigan census work and recovery team

meetings.

In Michigan, the Service and its part-

ners, including the Michigan Department

of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service,

and the Michigan National Guard, have

seen success with efforts to recover the

Kirtland’s warbler through restoration and

protection of nesting habitat, control of

the competing brown-headed cowbird,

public information, and the assistance of

organizations like the Michigan Audubon

Society and Kirtland Community College.

“Management partners in Michigan

have worked for decades to restore

the Kirtland’s warbler population,”

says Michigan Department of Natural

Resources Director Rebecca A.

Humphries. “Following this discovery,

we look forward to working with our

partners in Wisconsin to continue the

efforts to conserve this species.”

The Kirtland’s warbler selects nest-

ing sites in stands of jack pine that

are between four and 20 years old.

Historically, frequent natural wildﬁres

created these stands of young jack pine.

Modern ﬁre suppression programs altered

this natural process, reducing Kirtland’s

warbler habitat.

To mimic the effects of wildﬁre and

ensure the future of this endangered spe-

cies, state and federal wildlife biologists

and foresters annually manage forests

through a combination of clear cutting,

burning, seeding, and replanting to

promote warbler habitat. Approximately

3,000 acres of jack pine trees are planted

or seeded annually on state and federal

lands in Michigan. These successful

cooperative management efforts have

restored the Kirtland’s warbler through-

out much of its historic nesting range

in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The

presence of a healthy and expanding

core population in this area has resulted

in the dispersal and appearance of the

birds in the Upper Peninsula, Canada,

and Wisconsin.

Rachel Levin, a public affairs special-

ist with the Service’s Midwest Regional

Ofﬁce in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, can

be reached by phone at 612-713-5311

or by email at Rachel_Levin@fws.gov.

Joel Trick, a wildlife biologist in the

Service’s Green Bay (Wisconsin) ES Field

Ofﬁce, is available at 920-866-1737 or

Joel_Trick@fws.gov. Mike DeCapita, a

wildlife biologist in the Service’s East

Lansing (Michigan) ES Field Ofﬁce, can

be contacted at 517-351-6274 or Mike_

DeCapita@fws.gov.

George Lou

Endangered Species Bulletin 9

2007 Highlights

is determined by computer modeling that

indicates how potential ﬂoodwater would

move across the landscape, with ﬂexible

ﬂood-tolerant plants placed in the direct

path of water. Large earthen mounds

have been constructed to serve as high

ground refugia for the rabbits to escape

rising water. The reintroduced riparian

brush rabbit population at the refuge is

now the largest population in the wild,

and the restored woodlands at the refuge

are the largest contiguous block of habi-

tat in the rabbit’s range.

In addition to activities on Service

lands, the refuge worked with the

Sacramento Ofﬁce’s recovery biologists

to create a unique partnership with a

landowner to reintroduce riparian brush

rabbits on a private ranch. The 2,048-

acre (829-ha) ranch is contiguous with

lands being restored by the refuge, and

it includes some of the last available

remaining privately-owned riparian

habitat for the rabbit’s recovery. Through

the continuing efforts of the Service

and its partners, we look forward to the

day when the riparian brush rabbit is

recovered.

Jack Sparks, an outdoor recreation

planner at the San Luis National Wildlife

Refuge Complex, can be reached at

jack_sparks@fws.gov or 209-826-3508.

Craig Aubrey was Recovery Branch Chief

in the Service’s Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Ofﬁce until he recently took a job

in Charleston, South Carolina.

by Jack Sparks and

Craig Aubrey

Jump Starting a Rabbit’s

Recovery

A secretive mammal that makes

its home in the dense riparian wood-

lands of California’s San Joaquin Valley

is the focus of attention at San Joaquin

River National Wildlife Refuge. Through

intensive habitat restoration and species

reintroduction programs at the refuge,

the highly endangered riparian brush rab-

bit (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius) may

once again ﬂourish in its historical range.

Riparian brush rabbits are endemic

to the valley’s riparian woodlands, but

95 percent of this important habitat has

been lost in California. The last known

wild population of the riparian brush

rabbit was found in the 1990s along

the Stanislaus River in San Joaquin

County. Since 2000, the refuge has

worked with the Endangered Species

Recovery Program at California State

University, Stanislaus; the U.S. Bureau of

Reclamation; recovery biologists with the

Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sacramento

Ofﬁce; the California Department of

Fish and Game; and others to release

and monitor captive-bred rabbits in the

refuge’s dense riparian woodlands. The

goal is to establish three new self-sustain-

ing populations.

Seldom venturing out in the open, the

rabbits depend on the heavy cover found

in riparian woodlands. Dense thickets

of wild rose and blackberry, covered

by canopies of oak and willow, protect

them from predators such as raptors and

coyotes. Using funds acquired through

a variety of sources, the refuge has been

working with River Partners, Inc.—an

environmental organization—to restore

riparian habitat by planting over 250,000

native plants on 1,000 acres (405 hect-

ares) of refuge land. Once mature, these

riparian plants will provide a safe haven

for the rabbits and a vast assemblage of

other native wildlife. Since riparian areas

are prone to ﬂooding, the planting design

Riparian brush rabbit

10 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

by Elaine York

Conserving a Natural

Utah Treasure

The Nature Conservancy recently

announced its purchase of 55 acres (22

hectares) of habitat for rare species in

the St. George area of southwestern

Utah. This purchase is the ﬁrst step in an

ambitious plan to create a new 800-acre

(325-ha) preserve as an oasis for plants,

animals, and people.

Working with a diverse range of

partners, including the School and

Institutional Trust Lands Administration

(SITLA), the Bureau of Land

Management, the Utah Department of

Transportation (UDOT), the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, and the City of St.

George, The Nature Conservancy has

laid out plans for the creation of the

“White Dome Nature Preserve.” White

Dome is one of the few places where

the gypsum-laced Moenkopi formation is

exposed, and its sparsely vegetated soils

are characterized by a rich biological soil

crust. The preserve will protect habitat

for several at-risk species, including the

zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draco-

noides), the loggerhead shrike (Lanius

ludovicianus), and rare native plants. It

will also harbor some of last remain-

ing populations of the threatened Siler

pincushion cactus (Pediocactus sileri)

and the endangered dwarf bear poppy

(Arctomecon humilis), a plant found only

in Washington County, Utah.

The recent purchase was funded

through private donations from

Conservancy supporters and a Recovery

Land Acquisition grant from the Service.

It marks the ﬁrst phase of acquisition in

a plan that began in 2005, when SITLA

signed an agreement to make 800 acres

available for sale to the Conservancy and

UDOT to establish a nature preserve with

public access.

Additional land acquisitions in the

South Block by the Conservancy and

UDOT will take place this year and next,

with a goal of piecing together all 800

acres of the White Dome Nature Preserve

within the next few years. The partners

are also creating a long-term manage-

ment plan, including fencing, mainte-

nance, habitat restoration, and research

on the rare plants and their pollinators,

as well as the creation of hiking trails and

signage that educates visitors about the

unique natural features of the preserve.

The Nature Conservancy will manage the

preserve.

Dwarf bear poppy at The Nature Conservancy’s

White Dome Nature Preserve.

“We are facing major growth oppor-

tunities and challenges in our communi-

ties,” says Dennis Drake, a Washington

County Commissioner. “The White

Dome Nature Preserve is a great example

of public and private groups working

together to ensure we protect and cel-

ebrate our natural heritage as we grow.”

The next steps for the White

Dome Nature Preserve include the

Conservancy’s work, funded by a Private

Stewardship Program grant from the

Service, to restore the 55-acre parcel

and the rare species that depend upon

it. Scientists will study the dwarf bear

poppy’s life cycle and pollination pro-

cesses to ensure its long-term viability.

But this effort is bigger than just 800

acres or several rare species. It is about

Utahns coming together to ensure that

Washington County’s future will include

places where people can value and

enjoy the natural wonders in their own

backyard.

Elaine York (801-238-2320, eyork@

tnc.org) is the West Desert Regional

Director for The Nature Conservancy in

Salt Lake City, Utah.

John Milliken

Pediocactus sileri

Ben Franklin, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Endangered Species Bulletin 11

2007 Highlights

by Nathan Allan and

Jennifer Gumm

New Hope for the

Leon Springs Pupﬁsh

The Leon Springs pupﬁsh

(Cyprinodon bovinus) keeps beating the

odds. In spite of threats from hybrid-

ization, pollution, and habitat loss, it

continues to survive in its desert oasis.

Although usually less than 2 inches

(5 centimeters) in length, they are not

without charisma. During their breed-

ing season, males turn a bright iridescent

blue and aggressively patrol their ter-

ritories with what has been described as

a “puppy like energy” (thus the name

pupﬁsh). The Leon Springs pupﬁsh was

reportedly extinct by the 1950s due to

the destruction of its one known habitat,

Leon Springs in west Texas. Fortunately,

Dr. W.L. Minckley of Arizona State

University rediscovered the ﬁsh in 1965 in

Diamond Y Draw, a small nearby spring

system north of Fort Stockton, Texas.

Before the ﬁsh was listed as endan-

gered in 1980, extraordinary efforts to

prevent its extinction were long under-

way. In the early 1970s, the Texas Parks

and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and

the Natural Resources Conservation

Service (then called the Soil Conservation

Service) teamed up with a private

landowner to construct an earthen berm

around the source of Diamond Y Spring

to divert potential pollution from nearby

oil and gas production. However, biolo-

gists soon discovered a larger threat to

the pupﬁsh. A genetic analysis showed

that some of the pupﬁsh had hybridized

with sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon

variegatus), a related but invasive species

native to the Gulf Coast. They presum-

ably were introduced to Diamond Y

Draw by a “bait-bucket” release. In 1976,

some of the remaining genetically pure

Leon Springs pupﬁsh were taken to the

Dexter National Fish Hatchery (now a

National Fish Hatchery and Technology

Center) in Dexter, New Mexico, to

establish a genetic reserve. This action

would later prove vital to preventing

the species’ extinction. (It was among

the ﬁrst species brought to Dexter as a

refuge population for native ﬁsh, but not

the last; the hatchery currently maintains

16 native species.) From 1976 to 1978,

biologists led by Dr. Clark Hubbs of

the University of Texas applied a ﬁsh

toxicant at Diamond Y Draw to eliminate

the hybrid population, then successfully

restocked pure Leon Springs pupﬁsh.

In 1994, Dr. Anthony and Alice Echelle

of Oklahoma State University found

that the pupﬁsh in Diamond Y Draw

were again hybridized with sheepshead

minnows. A second round of intensive

recovery efforts took place between

1998 and 2001, involving a large group

of partners and grants from the Fish and

Wildlife Service and TPWD. The hybrid

pupﬁsh once again were eliminated from

Diamond Y Draw using a combination of

chemical and mechanical means before

pure Leon Springs pupﬁsh were repatri-

Braz Walker

Female (left) and male Leon Springs pupﬁsh

12 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

ated from Dexter. Subsequent genetic

assessments have shown the restoration

efforts succeeded in reducing genetic

contamination to acceptable levels at or

near zero.

As if the threat from hybridiza-

tion were not enough, the habitat is

surrounded by active oil and natural

gas wells. Fortunately, in 1990 The

Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased

about 1,500 acres (about 600 hectares)

from Mr. M.R. Gonzales and estab-

lished the Diamond Y Spring Preserve.

Immediately, TNC (led by long-time con-

servation scientist John Karges) initiated

on-site stewardship in cooperation with

energy production partners, who granted

funds for the land purchase and modi-

ﬁed their facilities to provide safeguards

against contaminants. A matching grant

in the mid-1990s from an energy pro-

ducer and the National Fish and Wildlife

Foundation provided funds to remove

some oil well pad sites and access roads

that had impeded natural surface water

ﬂow. More recently, TNC was awarded a

Recovery Land Acquisition Grant from the

Fish and Wildlife Service and expanded

Diamond Y Preserve to more than 4,000

acres (over 1,600 hectares).

Using video surveillance, Dr. Murray

Itzkowitz of Lehigh University investigates

the fascinating world of social and breed-

ing behavior of the Leon Springs pupﬁsh.

He has observed that large territorial

males defend areas on rocky shelves in

shallow open water. Intermediate- and

small-sized males act as “satellite breed-

ers” by sneaking in to mate with females

while the territorial male is occupied with

fending off neighbors or courting other

females. Females then enter the male’s

territory to spawn. The female lays a

single egg at a time, but will repeat the

sequence many times before she leaves

the territory for another male or leaves

the breeding shelf altogether. As many

as 25 territorial males can pack into a

30-square-foot (3-square-meter) area.

Territorial males also show complex com-

munication among each other known as

“dear enemy recognition.” This is where

territorial males show less aggression to

familiar neighbors than to strangers.

Other research continues to monitor

genetic integrity, as well as document

genetic diversity in the wild and captive

populations of Leon Springs pupﬁsh.

Maintaining high levels of genetic varia-

tion is important to the species’ recovery

objective of ensuring self-sustaining,

genetically-uncontaminated populations

in Diamond Y Draw.

Behavioral observations in May 2006

revealed a drastically reduced breeding

population with very few territorial or

satellite males. The Fish and Wildlife

Service and TPWD rushed to approve

a recovery grant to recreate the neces-

sary spawning shelves. The open water

needed for spawning was in short supply

due to an increased density of emergent

vegetation. In early 2007, with help from

TNC, Lehigh University students removed

the vegetation by hand and replaced

it with hard tiles. By spring, the ﬁsh

responded positively; males reestablished

their territories on the new habitat, and

biologists saw increased numbers of

juvenile ﬁsh.

Overshadowing the local threats

from hybridization, pollution, and subtle

habitat changes is the pervasive threat to

groundwater availability. The potential

for loss of spring ﬂows due to regional

groundwater pumping is a constant

danger. Diamond Y Draw is a small

sanctuary within the Chihuahuan Desert.

As an oasis in this dry region, it supports

much more than just the pupﬁsh. It is

home to more than eight rare species,

including the threatened Pecos sunﬂower

(Helianthus paradoxus), the endangered

Pecos gambusia (Gambusia nobilis),

the endangered Pecos assiminea snail

(Assiminea pecos), two other spring snails

that are listing candidates, and several

other endemic aquatic invertebrates.

Many partners have worked hard over the

past 40 years to ensure the Leon Springs

pupﬁsh survives, but still more work lies

ahead to conserve its fragile ecosystem at

Diamond Y Draw.

Nathan Allan (nathan_allan@fws.gov;

512/490-0057 x237) is a ﬁshery biologist

in the Service’s Austin, Texas, Ecological

Services Field Ofﬁce. Jennifer Gumm

(jmg404@Lehigh.edu), a student at Lehigh

University, recently completed a work

assignment at the Dexter NFHTC.

Nathan Allan collecting a water sample from the Diamond Y Spring, with oil and gas facilities in background.

USFWS

Endangered Species Bulletin 13

2007 Highlights

by Shane D. Hanlon and

Wil Orndorff

Sometimes It’s the Little

Things That Matter

What is good for a rare, rice-sized

crustacean in a Virginia cave system is

proving to be good for one of the south-

ern Appalachian region’s most biologi-

cally diverse and imperiled ecosystems.

The Lee County cave isopod (Lirceus

usdagalun) is a stygobitic (cave-adapted

aquatic) crustacean found on the

surface of rocks under swift ﬂowing,

shallow water in subterranean streams.

Additional specimens are sometimes

ﬂushed from springs during ﬂoods. This

creature is known from only two cave

systems and two springs in an area

known as the Cedars, located in central

Lee County, Virginia. Caves, sinkholes,

disappearing streams, and large springs

are common topographical features of

the Cedars, a terrain called karst that

was formed in limestone and dolostone

bedrock. The limestone and poor soils

of this area support an uncommonly

high number of rare plants and animals

and a dominant forest community of oak

and cedar. The watershed of the Cedars

contributes high-quality water to the

Powell River, one of the last free-ﬂowing

stretches of the Tennessee River system

and a river renowned for its rich freshwa-

ter mussel and ﬁsh diversity.

The cave systems of the Cedars are

hydrologically complex. Because of

the porous nature of the limestone karst

topography, water ﬂows through the

system quickly, having little time for

pollutants and contaminants to be cap-

tured and metabolized through natural

ﬁltration. As a consequence, seemingly

benign activities can pose a serious

threat to the quality of both ground and

surface waters.

At a glance, threats to water quality

and karst resources in the Cedars would

seem negligible; the landscape is sparsely

developed, covered by a predominant

mix of pasture and forest. However, in

1987, a local sawmill producing a mas-

sive amount of sawdust waste caused

one of Virginia’s most severe cases of

water pollution. An estimated 5.8 mil-

lion cubic feet (165,000 cubic meters) of

sawdust resulted in a massive discharge

of leachate (the liquid produced when

water percolates through any permeable

material) rich in lignins and tannins.

These contaminants seeped into a cave

system known as Thompson Cedar Cave,

haven to one of the two populations of

the Lee County cave isopod known at

the time. Water from the underground

stream resurfaces from a spring and joins

Batie Creek, a tributary of the Powell

Lee County cave isopod

Shane Hanlon/USFWS

14 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

River. Decomposition of the leach-

ate produced an intense biochemical

demand for the water’s oxygen, exceed-

ing that typically produced by raw

sewage, and it plagued the cave stream

and Batie Creek for more than 15 years,

eliminating nearly all of the aquatic

life. Batie Creek was marked by a

strong sewage odor and the presence of

Sphaerotilus, a ﬁlamentous fungus associ-

ated with sewage. Dissolved oxygen

levels at the spring approached zero from

the late 1980s through the early 1990s.

The Service listed the Lee County cave

isopod in 1992 as endangered. In 1998,

Virginia added Batie Creek to the state’s

list of impaired water bodies.

The sobering effect of this disaster

prompted cooperative action to remedy

the problem and protect the fragile karst

ecosystem, and with it the Lee County

cave isopod. The Service, The Nature

Conservancy, Virginia Department of

Conservation and Recreation-Division of

Natural Heritage, Virginia Department

of Environmental Quality, Cave

Conservancy of the Virginias, Virginia

Tech University, Upper Tennessee River

Roundtable, Tennessee Valley Authority,

Virginia Cave Board, and the owner of

the sawmill were among the major part-

ners involved. Between 1998 and 2007,

the partnership coordinated the removal

of approximately 60 percent of the saw-

dust waste from the site, focusing on the

actively decomposing portion generating

most of the toxic leachate. Newly gener-

ated sawdust was taken to an industrial

incinerator in Kingsport, Tennessee, to

produce electric power. Older sawdust

deemed unsuitable for incineration was

used as a soil amendment to accelerate

revegetation of reclaimed surface mines.

The cooperative effort was clearly

successful. By November 2001, the fauna

of Thompson Cedar Cave once again

began to thrive. On February 19, 2002,

staff from the Virginia Division of Natural

Heritage and the Service discovered that

the Lee County cave isopod had returned

to Thompson Cedar Cave. Since then,

the population once thought to be

extirpated has progressed towards recov-

ery. We believe that uncontaminated

upstream tributaries served as refugia

from which Thompson Cedar Cave was

recolonized. Concurrently, dissolved

oxygen levels in the Batie Creek spring

increased dramatically and have stabi-

lized since 2005. As a result, in 2006, the

Virginia Department of Environmental

Quality removed Batie Creek from its list

of impaired waters.

The Lee County cave isopod serves as

a poster child for of the Cedar’s unique

and diverse ecosystem and became

a catalyst for conservation. Because

most of the cave fauna depends on

constant water quality and quantity,

protection efforts have focused on

surface elements as well as the biologi-

cal diversity contained within the caves

and springs. Acquiring lands has been

seen as the most feasible approach for

long-term conservation in this

region. Accordingly, The Nature

Conservancy and Virginia’s

Division of Natural Heritage,

with help from the Service,

secured over 1,000 acres (400

hectares) of prime conservation

lands in the Cedars. These part-

ners plan to acquire additional

lands to expand the Cedars State

Natural Area Preserve. The pre-

serve aims to protect nine signiﬁ-

cant caves and calcareous glades

and woodlands that beneﬁt not

only the Lee County cave isopod

but 31 other rare species.

The Cedars region does not

exist in a vacuum, and land

acquisition alone will not be

enough to protect its unique

biological resources. The cave

streams where Lirceus usdagalun

lives, for example, are supported

to a large extent by surface

streams that sink into cave

systems along the edge of the

Cedars. These streams meander

through mostly inaccessible cave

passage as they ﬂow under the

Cedars and emerge at springs feeding the

Powell River. Protecting these streams

helps not only the subterranean resources

of the Cedars but also the aquatic fauna

of the Powell River.

Shane D. Hanlon is an endangered

species recovery biologist in the Service’s

Southwestern Virginia Ecological Services

Field Ofﬁce in Abingdon, Virginia (phone

276-623-1233; shane_hanlon@fws.

gov). Wil Orndorff is the Karst Protection

Coordinator for the Virginia Department

of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural

Heritage Program in Radford, Virginia

(phone 540-831-4056; Wil.orndorff@dcr.

virginia.gov).

Wil Orndorff (standing) and Shane Hanlon (sitting) as

they monitor water quality in Thompson Cedar Cave.

Joey Fagan, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

Endangered Species Bulletin 15

2007 Highlights

by Mike Martinez and

Dan Cox

Cooperative Conservation

for the Page Springsnail

In the legal sense, the term “recov-

ery” applies to species of plants and

animals that are listed as threatened

or endangered under the Endangered

Species Act. However, in practical

application, recovery is just as important

for imperiled species that are headed

towards listing. One such species is the

Page springsnail (Pyrgulopsis morrisoni),

a tiny endemic aquatic snail from central

Arizona. The goal for this species is to

conserve it so that it will not need listing

protection.

The Page springsnail is currently a

candidate for listing due to threats from

habitat modiﬁcation, groundwater pump-

ing, water contamination, and predation

by exotic species. In 1999, the Fish and

Wildlife Service’s Arizona Ecological

Services Ofﬁce and the Arizona Game

and Fish Department began cooperative

efforts to conserve this species. The

ultimate goal is to develop a Candidate

Conservation Agreement with Assurances

with the State and other landowners in

order to alleviate threats to the point

where listing is not warranted. (For more

information on these agreements, go to

www.fws.gov/endangered/listing/ccaa.

pdf ). Although a conservation agree-

ment has not been completed, we have

already made signiﬁcant progress in

conserving the species.

Both agencies have pooled our

resources to study the basic habitat needs

of the species and build a conservation

plan. One result of this effort was the

ﬁrst piece of published literature dealing

with the Page springsnail’s habitat use.

Additionally, the Arizona Game and Fish

Department fenced important habitats to

protect them from inadvertent trampling

by people or ungulates, and it installed

water gages to monitor any change in

spring water discharge that may result

from groundwater pumping.

Conservation of the Page springsnail

is complicated by the fact that it inhabits

many of the same springs used by two

Arizona Game and Fish Department ﬁsh

hatcheries. Working with the hatcher-

ies to balance ﬁsh production and snail

conservation has presented challenges,

but it has also presented opportunities to

collaborate on projects that beneﬁt both

goals. Another important milestone is

the development of a draft survey and

monitoring protocol for the springsnail.

Page springsnail

Dan Cox

16 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

This is an important step because there

has been no standardized methodology

for sampling springsnails that has been

widely adopted by the conservation

community.

Obviously, we have much more

ground to cover, particularly in the areas

of habitat restoration and reintroduc-

tions of the snail into other sites within

its former range. But we have already

accomplished something very important:

demonstrating the collaborative work-

ing relationship between the Fish and

Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game

and Fish Department.

Mike Martinez, a ﬁsh and wildlife

biologist with the Arizona Ecological

Services Field Ofﬁce, can be reached at

mike_martinez@fws.gov. Dan Cox is a

biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish

Department and can be reached at dcox@

azgfd.gov.

Biologists examining Page springsnail habitat

Tom Gatz

Endangered Species Bulletin 17

2007 Highlights

by Valary Bloom

A Rare Plant Returns to

San Francisco Bay

Suaeda californica, or California

sea-blite, is a rare perennial subshrub

in the goosefoot family. The Fish and

Wildlife Service listed this plant as an

endangered species in 1994. The species

historically grew along high tide lines in

salt marshes of Morro Bay and central

and south San Francisco Bay, often on

salt marshes bordering sand or shell

beach edges.

The species had been absent from San

Francisco Bay since about 1960 when

several years ago two failed attempts

were made to reintroduce it to the San

Francisco Bay’s western shoreline. Seed

dispersal from one of those failed rein-

troduction attempts resulted in successful

spontaneous seedling establishment of

Suaeda californica nearby. Those plants

are now robust and producing abun-

dant seed. In historic East Bay habitat,

though, the species remained absent until

coastal plant ecologist Peter Baye and

I reintroduced it earlier this year near

Emeryville, California, in partnership

with the East Bay Regional Park District

(EBRPD) and with funding through the

Service’s Sacramento Ofﬁce.

In March 2007, we introduced 14

transplants along the high tide line of

Suaeda californica was reintroduced into this habitat near Emeryville.

Valary Bloom Margo Bors

Suaeda californica

18 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

EBRPD’s Eastshore State Park in Alameda

County. We backﬁlled each transplant

site with a mixture of sand and partly

decomposed leaf/macroalgal litter from

nearby drift-lines, then watered with

commercial fertilizer. No signiﬁcant rain

fell after the transplanting and a week

of warm, dry weather followed. A visit

in April revealed the death of only four

transplants, presumably from insufﬁcient

moisture. The remaining 10 plants,

however, were healthy and thriving.

Moderate to heavy seed production on at

least half the plants is expected later this

year, based on observed ﬂowering.

The recovery needs of Suaeda califor-

nica will be detailed in the recovery plan

for tidal marsh species of northern and

central California, which is being pre-

pared by the Service’s Sacramento Ofﬁce.

This reintroduction project kicked-off

implementation of the California Sea-blite

(Suaeda californica) Reintroduction Plan,

San Francisco Bay, California, an effort

also funded by the Sacramento Ofﬁce.

Implementation was designed to use

volunteers from the general public and

non-proﬁt conservation organizations,

including local Audubon and California

Native Plant Society chapters, to conduct

annual monitoring and light maintenance

activities. We expect this demonstration

project to provide scientiﬁcally sound

evidence of reintroduction success with

Suaeda californica in San Francisco Bay,

a major milestone on the species’ road to

recovery. Demonstrating the feasibility

and cost-effectiveness of this project may

encourage other restoration and rein-

troduction efforts aimed at declining or

regionally extirpated estuarine plants.

So far, the results are encouraging!

Valary Bloom, a ﬁsh and wildlife

biologist in the Service’s Sacramento Fish

and Wildlife Ofﬁce, can be reached at

valary_bloom@fws.gov or 916-414-6600.

Suaeda transplant

Peter R. Baye

Endangered Species Bulletin 19

2007 Highlights

20 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s

Fisheries and Habitat Conservation (FHC)

Program works in a multitude of ways

to recover animals and plants listed

under the Endangered Species Act and to

restore populations of native species to

avoid the need for future listings. One

of the Service’s most diverse programs,

FHC works for healthy ﬁsh and wildlife

populations, healthy habitats, healthy

people, and a healthy economy.

Division of Habitat and Resource

Conservation

•Branch of Advanced Planning and

Habitat Conservation

•Branch of Resource Management

Support

•Branch of Habitat Assessment

The Division of Habitat and Resource

Conservation implements various pro-

grams to conserve and protect endan-

gered species. It works with federal,

state, and local partners to develop

comprehensive, science-based restoration

and/or conservation planning for infra-

structure development and other activities

that support Endangered Species Program

priorities, as well as those for migra-

tory birds and the National Fish Habitat

Action Plan. States and other partners use

the National Wetlands Inventory’s digital

wetlands maps and status and trends

information for conservation issues.

The division also provides support and

guidance for Service implementation of

the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, Marine

Mammal Protection Act, and Sikes Act.

For more information, visit http://

www.fws.gov/habitatconservation.

Division of Environmental Quality

• Branch of Environmental Response

and Restoration

• Analytical Control Facility

• Branch of Environmental

Contaminants

• Branch of Invasive Species

This division is a national leader

dedicated to protecting ﬁsh, wildlife, and

their habitats from pollution’s harmful

effects. It works with partners to 1) con-

serve trust resources and their supporting

habitats through contaminant prevention,

2) restore and recover trust resources

and supporting habitats harmed by

environmental contamination and other

stressors, and 3) provide environmental

contaminant expertise and high-quality

scientiﬁc data to support sound manage-

ment of trust resources. Additionally,

we work with partners to 1) prevent

the introduction and spread of aquatic

nuisance species (ANS), 2) detect and

rapidly respond to new introductions, 3)

control established ANS where possible,

4) increase public awareness of invasive

species issues through education and

outreach programs, and 5) through the

regulatory process, prevent the importa-

tion and interstate transport of injurious

wildlife species.

For more information, go to:

http://www.fws.gov/contaminants.

Division of Fish and Wildlife

Management and Habitat Restoration

• Branch of Fish and Wildlife

Management Assistance

• Branch of Habitat Restoration

Our mission is to

provide leadership

in sustaining and

enhancing ﬁsh,

wildlife, and their

habitats for the beneﬁt

of the American

people and to engage

citizens in the shared

stewardship of our

Nation’s natural

resources.

by Amy DeWeerd and

Tiffany Parson

Fisheries and Habitat

Conservation

The Nature Conservancy

Helping to Avoid Listing and

Promote Recovery

Endangered Species Bulletin 21

2007 Highlights

The Fish and Wildlife Management

Assistance and Habitat Restoration

programs deliver scientiﬁc informa-

tion to federal partners, states, tribes,

landowners, and others for cooperative

projects. Through the Partners for Fish

and Wildlife and National Fish Passage

programs, we work with a diversity of

interests to restore and improve ﬁsh

and wildlife habitat. The division also

manages Alaska subsistence ﬁsheries,

and works with tribes to coordinate ﬁsh

and wildlife management. The Coastal

Program and National Coastal Wetlands

Conservation Grant Program are respon-

sible for evaluating and mapping impor-

tant habitats, restoring degraded habitats,

and providing grants to states for coastal

wetlands conservation.

For more information, go to:

http://www.fws.gov/ﬁsheries/FWSMA.

Division of the National Fish

Hatchery System

• Branch of Hatchery Operations and

Maintenance

• Branch of Budget and Performance

Management

• Branch of the Aquatic Animal Drug

Approval Partnership

As the national leader in ﬁsh propa-

gation and rearing techniques, genetic

and broodstock management, refugia,

ﬁsh health, and research, the National

Fish Hatchery System works with

partners to restore and maintain ﬁsh

and other aquatic organisms, such as

toads, salamanders, mussels, insects, and

plants. The division manages 70 federal

hatcheries. Its seven Fish Technology

Centers are leaders in science-based

management, developing new technol-

ogy for aquaculture. Nine Fish Health

Centers monitor the health of aquatic

animals in hatchery facilities and in

the wild. The Aquatic Animal Drug

Approval Partnership assists in acquiring

drug approvals from the Food and Drug

Administration beneﬁting aquaculture

programs, commerce, and conservation.

For more information, go to: http://

www.fws.gov/ﬁsheries/nfhs/contact.htm.

The following articles show how

these complementary programs work to

help prevent the need to list species and

promote species recovery.

Amy DeWeerd and Tiffany Parson are

ﬁsh and wildlife biologists in the Service’s

FHC Program. They are co-chairs for

FHC’s 2007 annual Congressional out-

reach event.

Left photo: The green pitcher plant (Sarracenia

oreophila) is an endangered carnivorous plant that

depends on wetlands.

Opposite page photo: Using National Resource

Damage Assessment and Restoration settlement

funds from a PCB-contaminated site, the Fox

River/Green Bay Natural Resource Trustee Council

supported the Nature Conservancy’s project to

acquire and restore native habitat in the Mink River

watershed.

Pete Pattavina/USFWS

22 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

The Division of Habitat and

Resource Conservation (HRC) is often the

ﬁrst Fish and Wildlife Service program

engaged to prevent the decline of species

so that they will not need Endangered

Species Act protection. But if a species is

listed, HRC is also frequently instrumental

in its conservation. We accomplish this

by ensuring that federal navigation, ﬂood

control, energy, and transportation proj-

ects are designed to minimize adverse

environmental impacts on ﬁsh and

wildlife and their habitats. A few of our

recent environmental successes include:

Bringing Back the Platte

Described by early explorers as “a

mile wide and a foot deep,” Nebraska’s

by Dave Stout

Platte River provided a cornucopia of

habitats for species now endangered, like

the whooping crane (Grus americana),

least tern (Sterna antillarum), piping

plover (Charadrius melodus), and pallid

sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus). These

creatures and many others occurred

commonly in the Platte River valley until

people began altering the landscape.

Cities diverted river water to quench

the thirst of growing populations, and

farmers took more to provide for an

expanding agricultural economy. By the

early 1980s, more than 70 percent of the

river’s annual ﬂow was being diverted for

human uses. What was once a mile-wide

river with countless unvegetated sandbars

and wet meadows took on the closed

form of an eastern forest. Something

clearly needed to happen before the

open Platte River environment and the

species it supported remained only in

history books.

What began as the Platte River

Management Joint Study evolved into

an agreement among the governors of

Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming,

and the Department of the Interior for

the management of endangered species

habitats along the central Platte River

in Nebraska. The agreement ensures

adequate instream ﬂows, enhancement

and restoration of degraded habitats, and

facilitation of water development activi-

ties in the basin.

Tourists throng along the river to

view the seasonal spectacle of skies full

of cranes and other migratory birds, and

they bring more than $30 million a year

Conserving hibernating clusters of the endangered

Indiana bat will be enhanced through streamlining

the environmental review process in Ohio.

Species Recovery Through

Habitat and Resource

Conservation

Andrew King, USFWS

The once “mile wide and foot deep” Platte River has been reduced in size from upstream water withdrawals.

The newly-enacted interstate agreement should bring back much of the habitat used by endangered birds that

has been lost to vegetation encroachment.

USFWS

Endangered Species Bulletin 23

2007 Highlights

into the local economy. Public attitudes

are changing; people no longer see the

Platte as simply a source of irrigation

water but as a centerpiece of Nebraska’s

cultural and natural heritage.

Restoring an Atlantic Fishery

Our reviews of Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission dam licens-

ing laid the groundwork for restoring

Atlantic salmon and other migratory ﬁsh

in Maine’s Penobscot River. The HRC

activities have resulted in an innovative

agreement involving the Service, the state

of Maine, the Penobscot Indian Nation,

the dam’s owner, and several non-gov-

ernmental organizations. The Penobscot

River Restoration Project calls for three

of the dams on the lower part of the

Penobscot watershed to be sold to the

Penobscot River Restoration Trust, which

is made up of non-governmental organi-

zations and the Penobscot Indian Nation.

Two of the dams will be removed,

and the third will be decommissioned

and equipped with a novel ﬁsh bypass

system. By recycling generating turbines

from the removed dams to other projects

in the watershed, coupled with other

modiﬁcations, Pennsylvania Power and

Light will replace over 90 percent of the

power that would be lost from the dam

removals. The project began in 2005,

with dam removals and other improve-

ments scheduled to occur as early as

2009.

Streamlining Transportation in Ohio

The Ohio Department of

Transportation (DOT) and the Service’s

Ohio Ecological Services Field Ofﬁce

have worked in recent years to stream-

line the environmental review of fed-

eral transportation projects in Ohio.

Interagency consultations evaluated

potential effects on endangered species

such as the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis).

In 2006, they agreed on an approach that

eliminates the need for Service review of

transportation projects that both parties

agree are innocuous. Now, the Ohio

DOT coordinates with the Service on

only half as many projects, allowing

both agencies to focus on higher priority

consultations—those more important to

ﬁsh and wildlife conservation.

Dave Stout, Chief of the Division of

Habitat and Resource Conservation in

the Service’s Arlington, Virginia, national

headquarters ofﬁce, can be reached at

703-358-2161.

USFWS

Veazie Dam, one of the dams to be removed to enhance ﬁsh passage.

24 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

The Fish and Wildlife Management

Assistance (FWMA) Program plays a vital

role in restoring and maintaining the

Nation’s ﬁsh and wildlife resources. It

functions like a general practitioner in the

medical ﬁeld; its biologists monitor the

health of ﬁsh and wildlife, diagnose ail-

ments, prescribe remedies, refer speciﬁc

problems to specialists, and coordinate

diverse efforts to restore and maintain

health. The program helps to avoid

the need for listing actions under the

Endangered Species Act (ESA)—in other

words, it keeps the patient out of the

intensive care unit. The American people

beneﬁt from healthier ecosystems and

enhanced ﬁshing and other recreational

opportunities.

In 64 FWMA ofﬁces throughout the

country, over 300 ﬁsh and wildlife biolo-

gists work with other federal agencies,

states, tribes, foreign governments, and

private citizens to restore, manage, and

Fish and Wildlife

Management Assistance

by John Castellano, Jarrad

Kosa, Lauren Ris, and

Leslie Hartsell

conserve native ﬁsh and wildlife and

their habitats. Here are a few examples:

Coaster Brook Trout

The “coaster” brook trout (Salvelinus

fontinalis) spends most of its time in

the nearshore waters of the upper Great

Lakes, migrating into streams to spawn.

Spending part of its life in open waters,

it grows much larger than brook trout

that live entirely in streams. It once was

abundant along the shores and in the

tributaries of Lake Superior. However,

during the past century, populations

were severely depleted and in some

cases eliminated, requiring urgent action

to prevent the need for listing this ﬁsh

under the ESA.

To begin the restoration process,

FWMA and its partners developed the

Brook Trout Restoration Plan for Lake

Superior. Guided by the plan, FWMA

works with a variety of interests to

Apache trout

USFWS

Endangered Species Bulletin 25

2007 Highlights

conduct coaster brook trout surveys

and habitat assessments, propagate the

coasters in the National Fish Hatchery

System and state hatcheries, collaborate

with the National Wildlife Refuge System

to develop the Whittlesey Creek National

Wildlife Refuge to protect stream habitat,

and restore habitat by funding ﬁsh pas-

sage projects on two Indian reservations.

As a result, coasters are now returning to

historic streams in the upper Great Lakes.

Apache Trout

Native Apache trout (Oncorhynchus

apache) in the southwestern United

States were once on the verge of extinc-

tion and were listed as endangered.

Those populations that remained were

found only on lands of the White

Mountain Apache Tribe in eastern

Arizona.

In cooperation with the tribe and

other interests, FWMA biologists initiated

activities to locate remnant populations,

identify and restore habitat, and work

with national ﬁsh hatcheries to reestab-

lish self-sustaining stocks. In all, FWMA

identiﬁed genetics of 13 existing popula-

tions of Apache trout, removed non-

native trout from parts or entire reaches

of 14 streams, identiﬁed eight natural

barriers that protect existing populations

from non-native trout, constructed 30

barriers in 26 streams to protect new

populations of Apache trout, established

eight new populations in restored habitat,

and restored portions of 21 streams.

As a result, self-sustaining Apache

trout populations now exist in 21 streams

comprising over 140 miles (225 kilome-

ters) of historic habitat. A continuing

success story, the Apache trout has

improved in status enough to be reclas-

siﬁed from endangered to threatened,

and it is on the verge of becoming the

ﬁrst ﬁsh species to be delisted through

recovery.

Niangua Darter

The Niangua darter (Etheostoma

nianguae), a Missouri ﬁsh, became a

threatened species in 1985 when res-

ervoir construction blocked upstream

movement and sent it into decline.

Niangua darters live in the rifﬂe-pool

complex of clear upland creeks and small

rivers in the Osage River basin and rely

on continuously ﬂowing streams with

silt-free gravel and rock bottoms. Once

occurring widely in the southern portion

of the Osage River watershed, Niangua

darters are now found only in a few

small, fragmented populations. Another

cause of the population fragmentation

was poorly designed low-water road

crossings that block Niangua darter

movement. These conditions made the

darter increasingly sensitive to environ-

mental extremes (primarily drought), and

the fragmentation has resulted in reduced

or eliminated gene ﬂow and genetic

diversity.

Despite these challenges, the Fish

and Wildlife Service and its partners are

working to protect and increase Niangua

darter populations. To date, 16 projects

and 54 surveys have been completed

within watersheds that support the spe-

cies. Most have resulted from coopera-

tive efforts with the Partners for Fish and

Wildlife Program. Restoration projects

include developing or improving ripar-

ian areas, stabilizing banks along highly

eroded streams, constructing alternative

watering sources for livestock, and modi-

fying or replacing stream crossings within

the darter’s range.

Cooperators across the Nation are

looking to the FWMA program to help

meet their needs for monitoring, coor-

dinating, and implementing ﬁsh and

wildlife management and restoration

plans. We will continue to work across

borders of states, Indian reservations,

and other nations to conserve ﬁsh and

wildlife resources.

John Castellano, Jarrad Kosa, Lauren

Ris, and Leslie Hartsell are ﬁsh and

wildlife biologists in the Fish and Wildlife

Management Assistance Program.

Niangua darter

Tim Rothert/Missouri Department of Conservation

26 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

Two of the Fish and Wildlife

Service’s most popular and effective pro-

grams for voluntary, citizen and commu-

nity-based conservation initiatives are the

Partners for Fish and Wildlife and Coastal

programs. They are a bridge to owners

and managers of non-federal lands for

development of partnerships to beneﬁt

trust species. The approach is simple:

engage willing partners to conserve wild-

life values on their property through the

use of non-regulatory incentives.

The Partners Program is active in all

50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other

trust territories. It is the Service’s premier

program for cooperative conserva-

tion with private landowners, farmers,

ranchers, and resource-based industries.

Between 2003 and 2006, the program

implemented over 500 projects beneﬁting

threatened and endangered species. The

Coastal Program focuses on large-scale,

long-term collaborative resource plan-

ning and implementation in high-priority

coastal areas.

Through our partnerships, we have

worked to conserve coastal and interior

wetlands, streams and rivers, marshes

and estuaries, and upland grasslands and

forests from coast to coast. As of 2006,

the two programs have:

• restored or enhanced more than

850,000 acres (344,000 hectares) of

coastal and interior wetlands;

• restored or enhanced more than

1.9 million acres (0.8 million ha) of

coastal and interior prairie, shrub,

and forest upland habitat;

• restored or enhanced more than

8,500 miles (13,675 kilometers) of

riparian and instream habitat;

Partnerships for Shared

Stewardship

by Leopoldo Miranda-Castro

• protected more than 1.2 million acres

(0.5 million ha) of habitat through

conservation easements;

• implemented more than 41,000 land-

owner and cooperative agreements;

and

• leveraged federal tax dollars by

a ratio of at least 4 to1 through

partnerships.

Most of these projects beneﬁt threat-

ened and endangered species as well as

candidates for listing. The following case

studies show how the programs work:

Beaver Cave Project

Cave systems in the Southeast pro-

vide essential habitat for a number of

listed bats, ﬁsh, and invertebrates, as

well as candidate species. The Beaver

Cave beetle (Pseudanophthalmus

major) is endemic to the Beaver Cave

system in Harrison County, Kentucky.

Until 2006, it was a candidate for list-

ing under the Endangered Species

Act. The landowner approached the

Partners Program, Kentucky Department

of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and

Natural Resources Conservation Service

to design and implement a conserva-

tion project that removed the need to

list this species. This project would not

have been possible without planning

and collaboration among the landowner,

several Service programs, the Natural

Resources Conservation Service, the Farm

Service Agency, the Kentucky Division of

Conservation, the Kentucky Department

of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the

Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission,

and the Kentucky Division of Forestry.

The Partners Program provided techni-

cal assistance and funding for a major

The gate at Beaver Cave protects this underground

ecosystem.

USFWS

Brighamia rockii is one of the listed plants found on

Mokapu Island (opposite page).

Photo courtesy of the Botanical Society of America

Endangered Species Bulletin 27

2007 Highlights

stream crossing, built in conjunction with

the Farm Service Agency’s Conservation

Reserve Program, to help exclude cattle

from the stream, thereby reducing sedi-

ment and animal waste in the water. The

landowner reorganized his cattle grazing

regime to exclude livestock from Beaver

Creek tributaries on his property. The

Kentucky Division of Conservation then

assisted in installing a feeding area.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and

Wildlife Resources, using federal funds,

provided an additional stream crossing.

The Natural Resources Conservation

Service partially funded the installation

of a gate to protect the cave and cleaned

out a sediment-ﬁlled sinkhole.

Most of the animal waste and sedi-

ments from the dairy operation have

been removed and or ﬁltered from the

tributary ﬂowing into Beaver Creek. This

action greatly improved water qual-

ity in the Licking River watershed and

aided in restoration of the listed fanshell

(Cyprogenia stegaria) and clubshell

(Pleurobema clava) mussels.

Paciﬁc Species

In the U.S. Paciﬁc islands, the Coastal

Program works with landowners,

nonproﬁt groups, government agencies,

and others on habitat protection and

restoration, biological surveys, restoration

research and planning, and environmen-

tal education. Its area of responsibility

includes hundreds of islands distributed

over thousands of square miles of ocean

and covers over 6,500 miles (10.500 km)

of coastline. Paciﬁc island coasts and

nearshore environments include over

90 percent of the U.S. coral reefs and a

range of unique, tropical habitat types

that support many endemic species, hun-

dreds of which are listed as threatened or

endangered.

In support of the Service’s 2005

Seabird Conservation Plan for the Paciﬁc

Region, the Coastal Program played a

central role in funding and coordinating

projects to eradicate non-native rats on

two Hawaii offshore islets, Lehua and

Mokapu. Introduced rats eat a wide

variety of native organisms, including

seabirds, plants, insects, and inter-tidal

invertebrates. Rat eradication reduces

predation and beneﬁts the following

endangered (E), threatened (T), and can-

didate (C) species that currently inhabit

the islets:

• Newell’s shearwater (T) Pufﬁnus

auricularis

• Dark-rumped petrel (E) Pterodroma

phaeopygia sandwichensis

• Peucedanum sandwicense (T)

(Mokapu is designated critical habitat

for this plant species.)

• Band-rumped storm petrel (C)

Oceanodroma castro

Both islets are designated state seabird

sanctuaries, and they support native

plants and invertebrates as well. Mokapu

Island is designated critical habitat for

three listed plants: Brighamia rockii

(E), Tetramolopium rockii (T), and

Peucedanum sandwicense (T), although

only the latter currently grows on the

island. A possible future initiative could

include the reintroduction of these

species.

The Partners and Coastal programs

produce similar accomplishments and

share a common vision of citizen-cen-

tered conservation through partner-

ships. Each program has a unique niche

and focus for carrying out the Nation’s

conservation responsibilities. We will

continue to work with our public and

private partners to assist in reaching

national goals for the conservation of

federal trust species.

For more information, visit www.fws.

gov/partners or www.fws.gov/coastal.

Leopoldo Miranda-Castro is a wild-

life biologist in the Service’s Arlington,

Virginia, headquarters ofﬁce.

* Case studies narrative information was

adapted from project descriptions originally

written in the Habitat Information Tracking

System (HabITS) by Brent Harrel (Partners

Coordinator in Kentucky) and Chris Swenson

(Paciﬁc Islands Coastal Coordinator).

Introduced rats on Mokapu Island in Hawaii were

damaging native bird populations.

Eric VanderWerf

28 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

The Fish and Wildlife Service has

been studying the effects of contaminants

on ﬁsh and wildlife since the agency’s

earliest days, but the Environmental

Contaminants Program did not began to

take form until the 1950s, when increas-

ing awareness of pollution problems

spurred the American public to demand

action. Then, in 1962, Rachel Carson,

a former Service employee, captured

national attention with her landmark

book, Silent Spring, which described the

widespread harmful effects of pesticides

on the environment. Carson’s alarming

message—that the effects of these sub-

stances on wildlife serve as indicators of

what may ultimately jeopardize our own

health—struck a chord with the American

public.

Many believe that Carson’s book

inspired the modern environmental

movement and prompted the develop-

The Environmental

Contaminants Program

by Cindy Schexnider

ment of many of the pollution prevention

laws that are in place today. After her

book was published, Congress passed

the National Environmental Policy Act

and pollution prevention laws such

as the Clean Water Act; Clean Air Act;

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and

Rodenticide Act; Safe Drinking Water

Act; Toxic Substances Control Act; and

the “Superfund” toxic waste cleanup

law also known as the Comprehensive

Environmental Response, Compensation,

and Liability Act.

Today, the Service’s Environmental

Contaminants Program includes contami-

nants specialists stationed at more than

75 locations around the country. These

scientists are on the front lines in the

ﬁght against pollution. They specialize

in detecting toxic chemicals; addressing

their effects; preventing harm to ﬁsh,

wildlife, and their habitats; and remov-

Gus Van Vliet

Old-growth habitat at Cape Flattery is now being protected for the marbled murrelet and other wildlife.

Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Marbled murrelet

Endangered Species Bulletin 29

2007 Highlights

ing toxic chemicals and restoring habitat

when prevention is not possible. They

are experts on oil and chemical spills,

pesticides, water quality, hazardous

materials disposal, and other aspects

of pollution biology. Integrated into

all other Service activities, the Service’s

contaminants specialists often work in

partnership with other agencies and orga-

nizations that rely on our expertise.

An example of the program’s work

can be seen in our response to an

oil spill off the U.S. Paciﬁc Northwest

coast that posed a serious threat to

a population of marbled murrelets

(Brachyramphus marmoratus). These

small seabirds live in nearshore marine

environments from California to Alaska

and are the only seabird to nest in

mature coastal forests. Extensive losses

of such habitat led to a decline in

marbled murrelet numbers along the

West Coast, resulting in the 1992 list-

ing of the Washington, Oregon, and

California population as threatened under

the Endangered Species Act.

On July 22, 1991, the Chinese freighter

Tuo Hai hit and sank the Japanese

ﬁshing vessel Tenyo Maru near the

entrance to the Straits of Juan de Fuca,

which separates Washington State and

Vancouver Island, Canada. The Tenyo

Maru released much of the 452,600 gal-

lons (1.7 millions liters) of fuel oil and

diesel aboard, oiling a large swath of the

coasts of Washington and Oregon. The

spill killed over 20,000 sea birds, includ-

ing marbled murrelets.

Under the 1990 Oil Pollution Act

(OPA), natural resource trustees (selected

Federal agencies, States and Tribes) hold

the parties responsible for an oil spill

liable for injury to natural resources and

to restore those injured resources. The

trustees involved in the Tenyo Maru

spill included the Department of the

Interior (represented by the Service’s

Environmental Contaminants Program),

the State of Washington, and the Makah

Tribe. Through the natural resource

damage assessment and restoration

(NRDAR) process under the OPA, the

trustees quantiﬁed the natural resource

injuries and, with public input, deter-

mined the appropriate restoration

projects.

Because habitat loss is the greatest

threat to marbled murrelets, most of the

Tenyo Maru restoration projects focused

on habitat protection and enhance-

ment. The trustees used approximately

$4.7 million of the settlement funds to

permanently protect and restore over 900

acres (365 hectares) of coastal forest in

three parcels. These included 220 acres

(90 ha) of rare coastal old growth forest

currently supporting nesting marbled

murrelets, as well as high-quality second

growth forest and younger stands of trees

that will serve as a buffer to the old-

growth stands and eventually grow into

mature forests. One parcel is now a part

of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge,

while two others are being managed

under a 200-year land use agreement

with the Makah Tribe. All of these areas

are now protected from logging, develop-

ment, and other activities detrimental to

the recovery of marbled murrelets. The

trustees also provided funding to survey

potential marbled murrelet nesting areas,

which through our partners has resulted

in increased protection of another 3,000

acres (1,215 ha) of mature forest habitat

in Washington.

In August 2006, the trustees held a

commemoration to share completion of

the restoration projects with the public

and to inform them of the needs of

Washington and Oregon’s seabirds. Held

on the Makah Reservation, where two

of the newly protected old-growth forest

tracts are located, the ceremony included

tribal traditions, complete with a smoked

salmon feast, tribal dancing, and bless-

ings for the newly protected land.

A ﬁnal summary of the entire restora-

tion can be found at http://www.fws.

gov/westwafwo/index.html.

Cindy Schexnider is an Environmental

Contaminant Specialist in the Service’s

Western Washington Fish and Wildlife

Ofﬁce.

Dancers from the Makah Tribe celebrated the

agreement to protect old-growth habitat.

Douglas Zimmer/USFWS

The National Fish

Hatchery System

by Stuart C. Leon

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fisheries Program

is steeped in the conservation traditions of America.

Throughout a history that spans 136 years, the

Fisheries Program has endeavored to respond to the

ever-changing challenges in resource conservation

wrought by constantly evolving societal demands.

This remains true today.

From the earliest beginnings of our

Fisheries Program, the Service’s National

Fish Hatchery System has been a prin-

cipal asset in responding to emerging

conservation challenges. Within the

National Fish Hatchery System, captive

propagation has been, and continues to

be, a valuable and irreplaceable tool in

the management, restoration, and recov-

ery of ﬁsh and other aquatic-dependent

species. Used in the right way at the right

time, the System employs captive propa-

gation to restore and replenish aquatic

animal populations in ways that no other

conservation tool can.

Hatcheries complement habitat conser-

vation and restoration programs. Today,

the System’s 70 National Fish Hatcheries,

USFWS

Fish hatcheries raise more than ﬁsh.

Wyoming toads (above) are being

propagated at Saratoga National

Fish Hatchery in Wyoming, and

the Genoa National Fish Hatchery

in Wisconsin produces several

species of mussels.

30 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

nine Fish Health Centers, seven Fish

Technology Centers, and Aquatic Animal

Drug Approval Partnership program all

play a signiﬁcant role in conserving our

Nation’s ﬁsh, mussels, aquatic insects and

plants, and amphibians. In doing so, we

also help provide recreational opportuni-

ties to America’s 34 million anglers, who

spend $36 billion annually in pursuit of

America’s favorite pastime.

I am honored to be associated with

the many outstanding professionals that

comprise the Service’s Fisheries Program.

Our workforce is diverse and among the

most technically competent; it includes

ecologists, culturists, geneticists, veteri-

narians, statisticians, disease pathologists,

aquaculture drug researchers, and facility

maintenance experts. They are vested

with the responsibility for recovering spe-

cies listed under the Endangered Species

Act, restoring native aquatic populations,

mitigating for ﬁsheries lost as a result

of federal water projects, and providing

ﬁsh to beneﬁt tribes and national wild-

life refuges. The National Fish Hatchery

System works closely with other Service

biologists and with states, tribes, and

the private sector to complement habitat

restoration and other resource manage-

ment strategies for maintaining healthy

ecosystems that support healthy ﬁsheries.

In the following articles, we highlight

a few of the valuable contributions the

National Fish Hatchery System makes

to species recovery. From the saga of

the Lahontan cutthroat trout to the less

visible but equally dramatic struggle for

survival of the Higgins eye pearlymus-

sel, Service ﬁsheries biologists and our

partners are working hard to restore

aquatic wildlife for the beneﬁt of future

generations.

Dr. Leon is Chief of the Division

of the National Fish Hatchery System

in the Service’s Arlington, Virginia,

headquarters ofﬁce.

Andrew Starostka/USFWS

Wells “Geno” Adams with a

pallid sturgeon collected in

St. Charles, Missouri.

Endangered Species Bulletin 31

2007 Highlights

A Living Fossil

Fights for Survival

by Jeff M. Finley and

Craig Springer

Some call the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus

albus) a living fossil. This large ﬁsh arose in the

Cenozoic Era like a dinosaur, then survived the cold

crunch of advancing glaciers and lived to thrive in

the big, muddy rivers of middle North America. Only

recently has the pallid sturgeon experienced changes so

extreme as to threaten its survival. In a century’s time,

habitat destruction, pollution, dams, changes in river

ﬂows, over-ﬁshing, the caviar trade, and hybridization

in the Missouri River basin drove the pallid sturgeon to

the brink of extinction.

and it lives beyond 60 years. But maturity

comes slow; it takes females a decade to

ripen, and even under ideal conditions,

spawning is sporadic and infrequent,

perhaps every other year.

The pallid sturgeon’s life characteris-

tics—a long life and slow growth—may

contribute to its decline. This ﬁsh grows

to a size of more than ﬁve feet (1.5

meters) and 80 pounds (36 kilograms),

USFWS

Wyatt Doyle, Branch Chief of the

Columbia Fishery Resources Ofﬁce,

holds two stocked ﬁngerling pallid

sturgeon after recapture.

32 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

The Fish and Wildlife Service listed the

pallid sturgeon as an endangered species

in 1990. Since then, natural resource

agencies, governments and citizens from

Louisiana to Montana have joined forces

to recover this ancient ﬁsh. The Neosho

National Fish Hatchery in Missouri is one

of six federal and state hatcheries raising

pallid sturgeon for stocking into the

Missouri River.

Only in its ﬁfth year of raising pal-

lid sturgeon, Neosho NFH continues to

increase its production from wild-caught

ﬁsh, both by reﬁning culture techniques

and increasing the amount of tank

space. Like most pallid sturgeon raised

at hatcheries, the ﬁsh receive either a

colored latex tag or coded wire tag along

with an individually numbered PIT (pas-

sive integrated transponder) tag before

stocking. This helps biologists distinguish

between wild and hatchery-raised pallid

sturgeon, yielding a better understanding

of the species in the wild.

“The Middle Basin Workgroup

determines how many ﬁsh we produce;

they set the stocking goal,” says Neosho’s

manager, David Hendrix. “The Service’s

Columbia Fishery Resources Ofﬁce in

Missouri does the follow-up on survival,

and those tags in the ﬁsh tell us where

they came from. The hatcheries are a

management tool to keep the ﬁsh from

going extinct.”

In 2004, Neosho’s original sturgeon

building was expanded through a

partnership with the Army Corps of

Engineers. This addition allows the hatch-

ery to spawn and rear an estimated 4,000

pallid sturgeon each year. A building

under construction will allow the facility

to produce another 10,000 ﬁsh per year.

The expanded Neosho facility will prove

vital in rearing pallid sturgeon, as will

the Corps-funded renovation of hatcher-

ies like Miles City State Fish Hatchery

in Montana, Gavins Point NFH in South

Dakota, and the Blind Pony State Fish

Hatchery in Missouri, all of which have

expanded to stock pallid sturgeon.

Over 150,000 pallid sturgeon have

been stocked since the ﬁsh was listed.

The efforts to raise pallid sturgeon are

the result of cooperation between the

Corps and Service to bring the Corps’s

federal projects into compliance with

the Endangered Species Act. “We are

committed to protection and recovery of

threatened and endangered species like

pallid sturgeon,” says Brigadier General

Gregg Martin, Northwestern Division

Commander.

At the lower end of the species’

natural range, biologists at Natchitoches

NFH in Louisiana have spawned pallid

sturgeon for release in the Mississippi

River. They stocked nearly 12,000 ﬁsh in

autumn 2004. No pallid sturgeon have

been stocked there since 2004 because

biologists believe the ﬁsh is doing well

enough in the lower basin; these ﬁsh

tend to grow faster due to warmer tem-

peratures, thus reaching maturity sooner.

Assistant Hatchery Manager Dr. Jan Dean

continues to advance our understanding

of the ﬁsh by creating a larval identiﬁca-

tion series, which allows hatchery and

ﬁeld biologists to identify pallid stur-

geon in their rapidly changing early-life

forms and distinguish them from the

more common shovelnose sturgeon

(Scaphirhynchus platorynchus). Dean

is also on the leading edge of research

with the Service’s Jackson, Mississippi,

Ecological Services Field Ofﬁce to study

USFWS

Pallid sturgeon eggs were collected

in the past for the caviar trade.

Endangered Species Bulletin 33

2007 Highlights

ﬁsh movement in the wild. And move

they do; one of the ﬁsh recently caught

by Dean and Paul Hartﬁeld of the

Jackson Ofﬁce was spawned and tagged

at the Blind Pony State Fish Hatchery,

more than 300 miles (480 kilometers)

away.

Next up the Missouri River from

Neosho is Gavins Point NFH in South

Dakota. This hatchery also was retooled

to handle pallid sturgeon. Hatchery

Manager Herb Bollig and crew have been

spawning pallid sturgeon since the early

1990s. The facility houses the only pallid

sturgeon brood stock in the world: 10

year-classes of 88 families, comprising

thousands of ﬁsh. They are still imma-

ture, and Bollig expects a few more years

to pass before they start producing eggs.

With so few wild ﬁsh left in the Missouri

River, this brood stock is critical to the

species’ survival. Inspections by Service

biologists at the Fish Health Center in

Bozeman, Montana, lend an extra level

of security, ensuring that the brood stock

remains robust. A new well coming

online should ensure the ﬁsh get disease-

free water.

Farther upstream, wild adult pallid

sturgeon are brought to Garrison Dam

NFH in North Dakota, spawned, and

returned to the wild. Some of the wild

adults get a radio transmitter surgically

implanted so management biologists can

learn more about habits and habitats.

Their offspring are eventually released

into the Missouri River as well. Hatchery

Manager Rob Holm says the adults

in the wild are getting old. Some ﬁsh

that have been caught over time have

lost weight, underscoring the need for

maintaining a captive brood stock. But

the problem for pallids remains one of

habitat. Captive propagation and milt

(ﬁsh sperm) preservation only buy some

time to ﬁx habitat problems, says Holm.

“Our milt cryopreservation repository

captures the existing genetic makeup of

the species,” Holm says. “If the necessary

habitat changes can be made in the next

50 years to facilitate recovery, we want

as genetically a diverse group of sturgeon

as possible to release back into the wild,

and the National Fish Hatchery System

makes this possible.”

Yvette Converse, Assistant Director of

the Bozeman Fish Technology Center in

Montana, agrees on the need to address

habitat: “In the long-term, we don’t

want to be dependent on hatcheries for

recovery, but want to have the habitat

suitable for ﬁsh survival in the wild, and

that may take decades. Water manage-

ment may be the biggest obstacle for

pallid sturgeon recovery.” In the mean-

time, the Bozeman Center has expertise

to offer. Physiologist Dr. Molly Webb

has conducted blood assays, using blood

chemistry and hormones to identify an

optimal time to spawn ﬁsh. Those assays

could ultimately mean less stress on an

aging and obsolescent population of wild

ﬁsh, as well as on captive stocks, and a

greater yield of offspring. Biologist Kevin

Kappenman conducts thermal studies,

looking at egg maturation, hatching and

larval rearing development with chang-

ing temperatures—information useful for

better captive propagation.

Hatchery-raised pallid sturgeon

released into the Missouri River now

have a greater chance to ﬁnd some of

the shallow-water habitats that are critical

for their survival. The Corps undertook

an aggressive effort in 2004 to create an

USFWS

Biologists with the Service and

USGS surgically implant a sonic

transmitter into a pallid sturgeon for

tracking research.

34 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

estimated 1,200 acres (485 hectares) of

new habitat in the lower reaches of the

Missouri, where habitat loss in the past

has been so great. The Columbia Fishery

Resources Ofﬁce (FRO) monitors some

of the newly created habitat to see if it

is used by both wild and hatchery-raised

pallid sturgeon. This information will

help guide the designs of future habitat

restorations and determine if a greater

diversity of habitat types is necessary.

In addition to the habitat work, the

Columbia FRO is responsible for pal-

lid sturgeon recovery in some 300

miles of the Missouri River, stretching

from Kansas City to St. Louis. Dr. Tracy

Hill, Columbia’s Project Leader, chairs

the Middle Missouri River Basin Pallid

Sturgeon Workgroup, a multi-stakeholder

forum for coordinating conservation

efforts, and is a member of the Pallid

Sturgeon Recovery Team. The recovery

team is making great strides in scientiﬁc

and technological breakthroughs.

Since 1999, Columbia FRO biologists

have managed to capture only 123 pallid

sturgeon in the lower 200 miles (320 km)

of the Missouri River. Seventy-four of

those ﬁsh were produced by state and

federal hatcheries. Forty-two ﬁsh had no

tags and were thought to be wild ﬁsh.

Seven others were of unknown origin but

were suspected to have been stocked.

An important milestone on the road to

recovery occurred in 1999 when biolo-

gists from the Columbia FRO discovered

a freshly hatched larval pallid sturgeon in

the naturally formed Lisbon side chute of

the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife

Refuge. This is the only veriﬁed case of

natural reproduction within the lower

Missouri River in more than 50 years. The

Lisbon chute, created during the great

ﬂood of 1993, has since been a hot spot

for collecting pallids.

Columbia FRO collected 44 pallid stur-

geon in 2005. However in 2006, it could

collect only 21 ﬁsh despite a signiﬁcant

increase in the sampling effort. The 2006

results are vexing and perplexing, and

they show there is still much to learn. A

myriad of complications face this ancient

and extremely rare ﬁsh. Success is incre-

mental, on the river or in a hatchery.

Jeff M. Finley is a biologist in the

Columbia FRO, and Craig Springer is a

biologist in the Division of the National

Fish Hatchery System in Albuquerque,

New Mexico.

USFWS

Endangered Species Bulletin 35

2007 Highlights

The Return of a

Lake-dwelling Giant

by Craig Springer

Jay Bigelow holds a male Lahontan

cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki

henshawi), one about three years old

and 16 inches (40 centimeters) long, and

admires the sunlight reﬂecting off the

black-spotted silvery-white ﬂanks. It’s

part of a unique brood stock he’s devel-

oping. Bigelow supervises operations at

the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery in

Gardnerville, Nevada, on the banks of

the Carson River. The hatchery is part

of a larger integrated ﬁsheries com-

plex that includes the Nevada Fishery

Resources Ofﬁce and Marble Bluff Fish

Passage Facility. These stations coordi-

nate programs to plan and implement

the recovery of the threatened Lahontan

cutthroat trout.

One of 13 cutthroat trout subspecies

in the American West, this ﬁsh evolved

in ancient Lake Lahontan, which at its

maximum size inundated about 8,600

square miles (22,300 sq. kilometers) of

northwestern Nevada and parts of sur-

rounding states. As glaciers retreated at

the end of the last ice age, an attendant

climate change dried the basin, and

Lake Lahontan receded to form the few

isolated lakes found today. With gradual

climate change, the Lahontan cutthroat

trout developed into a ﬁsh able to with-

stand environmental extremes that today

readily kill other ﬁsh species. Two forms

of the Lahontan cutthroat arose: one

accustomed to life in ﬂowing waters; the

other, a lake-dweller.

Pyramid and Walker lakes at the

bottom of the present-day basin held

native Lahontan cutthroat trout. These are

terminal lakes, meaning that water leaves

them only by evaporation. As a result,

their mineral content is extremely high.

Craig Springer/USFWS

A Lahontan cutthroat trout

photographed in a shallow stream.

In its lake habitats, Lahontan

cutthroat trout can grow to larger

than 60 pounds.

36 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

Lahontan cutthroat trout not only tolerate

this condition, they evolved to thrive

in it. These lake-form ﬁsh had other

remarkable adaptations. The numbers

of cartilaginous ﬁlaments or gill rakers

inside their throat are exceedingly high,

indicating a habit of feeding on micro-

scopic animals. The ﬁsh also has a diges-

tive track for preying on ﬁsh. For eons

it was atop the food chain, wreaking

havoc on ﬁsh like the cui-ui (Chasmistes

cujus) and tui chub (Gila bicolor), and

most likely cannibalizing its own. In its

lake habitats, the Lahontan cutthroat trout

grew to phenomenal size. The largest

known specimen tipped the scale at 62

pounds (28 kilograms) in 1916.

In 1905, the Bureau of Reclamation’s

ﬁrst water development project, the

Newlands Project, altered water avail-

ability and ﬂow to Lahontan cutthroat

trout. Pyramid and Walker lake levels

dropped as farmers diverted water to

irrigate ﬁelds, and ﬁsh lost their access

from Pyramid Lake to their spawning

gravels in the Truckee River. Due to

a lack of available spawning habitat,

Pyramid Lake was devoid of the trout

by 1939. Although reduced numbers of

river-dwelling Lahontan cutthroat trout

remained, the native strain of lake-

dwelling trout that carried the genes for

tremendous growth in the face of harsh

conditions appeared to be extinct.

At some point in the past, trout were

transferred from Pyramid Lake into a

small ﬁshless stream, Morrison Creek,

on Pilot Peak in Utah, an event that

proved priceless for conservation. When

and by whom the transfer was made is

unknown. Fast forward to the 1970s. As

a precaution against extinction, Bryce

Nelson of the Utah Department of

Natural Resources later transferred some

of the Morrison Creek ﬁsh to nearby

ﬁshless Bettridge Creek on Bureau of

Land Management lands. Genetic stud-

ies commissioned by Lisa Heki, Project

Leader of the integrated Lahontan NFH

Complex, and conducted by Dr. Mary

Peacock, University of Nevada-Reno,

found that the ﬁsh surviving in the Utah

streams are pure representatives of the

original lake-dwelling form of Lahontan

cutthroat trout.

Through Heki’s 12 years of recov-

ery work, the Lahontan National Fish

Hatchery has moved from a focus on a

short-term put-and-take sport ﬁshery to

a facility centered on the recovery of a

native threatened species, but one with

even greater sport ﬁshing qualities. Heki

is optimistic. “Yes, it can be done, and

quicker than people believe—if there is

cooperation,” she says. “Twenty years

down the road, we could have 20- to

30-pound cutthroat trout running the

river right through downtown Reno.”

Building brood stocks from wild ﬁsh

takes time. Bigelow and crew carefully

manage the brood stock to maintain

a robust line and genetic integrity. To

“keep the wild in the ﬁsh,” fertilized eggs

from Morrison Creek trout are brought to

the hatchery and infused into the brood

stock. The hatchery complex has a

partner in Steve Doudy, a conservation-

minded citizen who owns the land over

which Morrison Creek ﬂows.

In 2001 the hatchery achieved suc-

cess in its hatching efforts, and in 2004

the hatchery placed 13,197 ﬁsh into

Pyramid Lake. There they are expected

to signiﬁcantly contribute to the recre-

ational ﬁshery managed by the Paiute

Indian tribe.

The hatchery continues to meet rigor-

ous demands for ﬁsh health. Some of the

ﬁsh will be stocked in California’s Fallen

Leaf Lake and perhaps in Lake Tahoe.

The ﬁsh culture expertise will be applied

as eggs are incubated at the Marble Bluff

Fish Passage Facility, located near the

terminus of the Truckee River above

Pyramid Lake. To imprint the young ﬁsh

on the river water and get the adults

to swim back through the passage into

the Truckee to spawn, the eggs will be

incubated in Truckee River water. It will

be a few years before success can be

measured, but now this unique ﬁsh has a

real chance for recovery.

Craig Springer/USFWS

Hatchery Supervisor Jay Bigelow feeds the facility’s Lahontan cutthroat trout.

Endangered Species Bulletin 37

2007 Highlights

Hatcheries Are for

More Than Fish

by Richard Shelton

Native mussels may be the most

endangered aquatic animals. Here in

Arkansas, they were once found in great

abundance within many streams. But

pollution, over-harvest, impoundments,

and dredging changed the character of

streams and took a toll on many aquatic

organisms.

Native Americans found mussels a

dependable food source, and they used

the shells for tools, art, and jewelry. From

the 1800s until the 1940s, mussel shells

were used extensively for buttons until

the advent of Bakelite plastics. “Mussel

shelling” has seen a resurgence in recent

years; they have become valuable not

only for their own freshwater pearls but

for shipment to Asia for use as “seed” for

more valuable saltwater oyster pearls.

Mussels occupy a valuable ecological

niche; they provide a food source for

ﬁsh and mammals and provide a natural

ﬁltering mechanism, which also makes

them excellent biological indicators of

aquatic health.

Mussels have a complex life cycle.

They begin as larvae, or glochidia as they

are called. The glochidia must attach to

speciﬁc host ﬁsh species, upon which

they transform and grow until dropping

onto the stream bottom and maturing

into adults. Each species of mussel has a

speciﬁc ﬁsh host that it must ﬁnd when

it is ready to spawn. Some mussels have

developed ingenuous adaptations to lure

ﬁsh close enough for implantation, such

as appendages that resemble worms.

When pollutants or other processes cause

a decline in either the mussel population

or the ﬁsh host species, the reproductive

cycle is broken and entire mussel com-

munities may collapse.

Perhaps the most insidious threat to all

freshwater mussels is the invasive zebra

USFWS

Mussels collected during a

stream survey.

Hatchery biologist Josh Seagraves

(left) and Assistant Manager

Dewayne French record data from

the aquatic habitat system used

to hold ﬁsh for mussel host ﬁsh

research.

Richard Shelton/USFWS

38 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). A native

of Europe, the zebra mussel was acci-

dentally introduced into the Great Lakes

in the 1980s when foreign ships dumped

bilge water containing zebra mussel

larvae. This thumbnail-sized invader has

a propensity to attach in huge masses

to any hard object, including the hard

shells of other mussels. Zebra mussels

can cover and even smother beds of

native mussels. They have already spread

throughout much of the Mississippi River

drainage by attaching to the bottom of

boats and barges or entering the cooling

system of boat motors. Without natural

predators, it is a virtual certainty that

this pest will eventually inhabit most

North American streams, with predict-

ably devastating effects on native mussel

populations.

To address the threats to native mussel

species, the Mammoth Spring National

Fish Hatchery has dedicated its facilities

and expertise to helping endangered

mussels for the past decade. Its biolo-

gists have teamed with Arkansas State

University to learn the basic life history

of the animals, learning the techniques

needed to grow and spawn them. Part of

that effort is to discover the speciﬁc host-

ﬁsh species. These ﬁsh are often obscure

or rare, and much remains to be learned

about them as well.

Due to the threats posed by a zebra

mussel invasion of southern waters,

Mammoth Spring biologists investigated

the utility of holding native mussels

in ponds, essentially providing refugia

against loss of wild populations. Over

two years, about 850 mussels of 25 spe-

cies from the White River system were

held while their growth and survival

were monitored. Juveniles were reared

for release into native habitats to restore

depleted populations. As early as 1995,

Mammoth Spring staff propagated native

mussels and reared them to the juvenile

stage for release into Leading Creek.

During these efforts, important life

history traits continue to be discovered.

We now know more about propagating

the endangered speckled pocketbook

(Lampsilis streckeri), the threatened

Arkansas fatmucket (Lampsilis powellii),

and the threatened Ouachita creekshell

(Viliosa arkansasensis) for reintroduction.

Mammoth Spring biologists are investigat-

ing the life histories of two additional

endangered mussels, the pink mucket

(Lampsilis abrupta) and fat pocketbook

(Potamilus capax), both of which could

be affected by future highway projects

in Arkansas. The Arkansas Highway and

Transportation Department is an impor-

tant partner with the Fish and Wildlife

Service in conserving these native

mussels.

The breadth of projects undertaken

and the lessons learned show that ﬁsh

hatcheries are for more than ﬁsh. In an

ecological sense, the ties that bind ﬁsh

and mussel are strong, and conserving

mussels beneﬁts ﬁsh and other animals.

Richard Shelton is the manager of

Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery

in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas.

Richard Shelton/USFWSDewayne French/USFWS

Dr. Jerry Farris of Arkansas

State University (left), Bill Posy

of the Arkansas Game and Fish

Commission, and diver Josh

Seagraves (USFWS) search for

endangered mussels in a stream.

Dewayne French studies mussel glochidea.

Endangered Species Bulletin 39

2007 Highlights

The Texas Blind

Salamander

by Craig Springer

Pallid and spindly, eyeless and other-worldly, Texas

blind salamanders (Typhlomolge rathbuni) make their

living in the watery labyrinth of the Edwards Aquifer

in central Texas. Top predators, they eat crustaceans,

snails, and probably each other in the wild. Their entire

lives are spent in water and in the darkness of caves.

They have no reason to come into daylight, as indi-

cated by the vestiges of eyes (which begin as tiny black

dots and quickly disappear early in life) and by the

lack of pigment. It was by accident that they were even

discovered and by happenstance that the discoverer

launched their conservation.

the precursor to today’s U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service. The well serviced the

National Fish Hatchery at San Marcos,

Texas. The uniqueness of the habitat and

In 1896, specimens of Texas blind

salamanders welled up 190 feet (58

meters) into the light of day via a well

casing sunk by the U.S. Fish Commission,

Cannibalism has been noted with

Texas blind salamanders.

Joe Fries/USFWS

The Texas blind salamander is

a cave-dwelling, unpigmented

amphibian with reduced, vestigial

eyes. Adults reach an average length

of about 4.7 inches (12 centimeters).

40 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

its good water inﬂuenced renowned U.S.

Fish Commission ichthyologist Barton

Evermann to locate the hatchery there.

He wrote, “The river has its rise in a

number of springs at the foot of a lime-

stone ledge or hill just above town. All

these springs together form a large, deep

stream, from the bottom of which, near

the upper end, wells up the principal

spring.” Four years later, Evermann facili-

tated the collection and description of the

eyeless salamanders from the springs that

had so impressed him.

The facility, today known as the

San Marcos National Fish Hatchery and

Technology Center, works with the

Service’s Austin Ecological Services Field

Ofﬁce to recover the rare amphibians,

arguably among the country’s rarest and

most unusual animals.

Fish biologist Joe Fries guides con-

servation initiatives for the species at

the Technology Center, maintaining

tanks and keeping salamanders collected

from different sites separate to ensure

genetic diversity. Almost anything learned

through the work is new information, he

says.

“We know they are highly endemic

and rare, but just how rare we can’t say

for sure,” says Fries. “They are hard to

research because they are so hard to get

to; that’s why we’re looking into their

life-history in captivity.”

Keeping salamanders at the facil-

ity serves a dual purpose. Maintaining

captive populations allows biologists to

gain important information about the

species—its growth rates, eating habits,

temperature tolerances, and reproduc-

tive ecology. The facility also serves as

a refuge. Captive animals are a back-up

population in the event of a dramatic loss

in the wild. And that speaks to threats;

what goes into the Edwards Aquifer goes

through Texas blind salamanders.

The region is known for its karst

topography. Karst is a three-dimensional

landscape shaped by the dissolution

of soluble carbonate bedrock, such as

limestone, that is highly fractured and

contains subsurface drainage systems,

often including caves. Aquifers formed

in karst topography are usually quick

to recharge from surface drainage. A

diesel spill, or other contaminants such

as run-off of agricultural chemicals,

within the recharge zone of the Edwards

Aquifer could cause serious harm to the

water quality, and thus to Texas blind

salamanders.

Water quality aside, there is the issue

of water quantity. As the human popula-

tion grows, so does its demand for water.

Reducing the amount of water in the

aquifer could reduce available habitat.

The threats of pollution and aquifer

overpumping were what led to listing the

species in 1967 as endangered.

Although salamanders at the

Technology Center have laid eggs and

produced offspring, the survivors have

yet to reproduce. Eggs from the ﬁrst-

generation of captive salamanders have

disappeared and were probably cannibal-

ized. In his studies, Fries is striving to

ﬁll in knowledge gaps, closely following

the species to bring about its recovery in

anticipation of its eventual delisting.

A lifetime naturalist, Barton

Evermann served as Chief in Charge

of the Division of Scientiﬁc Inquiry

of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries from

1891 to 1910 during which time he

chose San Marcos, Texas, as the

site for a federal ﬁsh hatchery.

Later Dr. Evermann was Director

of the museum at the California

Academy of Sciences.

Endangered Species Bulletin 41

2007 Highlights

Hatchery Breeds

Wyoming’s Rarest Toad

by Craig Springer

Detroit. Toledo. Cincinnati. New

York City. Saratoga. They all hold captive

populations of an endangered amphib-

ian, the Wyoming toad (Bufo hemiophrys

baxteri). Small captive populations of the

rare toad live in eight city zoos across the

country, all participating in the American

Zoo and Aquarium Association’s Species

Survival Plan (SSP), a systematic arrange-

ment to keep the toad from going

extinct. But it’s near a small Wyoming

town where the Saratoga National Fish

Hatchery has one of the largest captive

populations, which should contribute in

large measure to the toad’s recovery.

The Wyoming toad’s natural range is

within roughly a 30-mile (48-kilometer)

radius of Laramie. Following a population

crash, the toad was listed as endangered,

and most of its habitat is now protected

as part of the Mortenson Lake National

Wildlife Refuge. As is the case with most

listed species, the major factor behind

the decline was habitat loss. Irrigation

out-competed wetlands for water, and

matters were made worse by continued

drought. Sensitivity to herbicides was

a factor, too. Then there’s the chytrid

fungus (Batrachochytridium dendroba-

tidis). Chytrid infections seem to play a

large role in suppressing the animal, says

David Paddock, the lead toad biologist at

Saratoga NFH.

As part of the recovery program,

Wyoming toads were brought to the

Saratoga NFH for propagation. Captive

breeding began in earnest in 1999.

Since that time, an average of 6,863

Wyoming toads have been released each

year. Between 1999 and 2003, Saratoga

produced an average of 55 percent of

the toads released to face the rigors

of the wild in the Laramie basin. Just

last year, tadpoles from Saratoga were

released onto two new private land sites

covered under Safe Harbor Agreements,

a wonderful arrangement made possible

by the Service’s Cheyenne Ecological

Services Ofﬁce and the Laramie Rivers

Conservation District.

The Saratoga facility also produces

trout for restoration into the wild.

Paddock is a ﬁsh biologist by training

and a toad biologist by necessity. But

he says animal husbandry is much the

same, whether for trout or amphibians.

He keeps toads at the hatchery carefully

isolated from the ﬁshes in their own

environment, and he adheres to strict

protocols to prevent the spread of chytrid

fungus or other disease-causing patho-

gens. Toads with chytrid are cared for

with antifungal treatments.

He says it’s easier to get the toads

to breed than one might expect. Of the

150 adult toads kept on station, breed-

USFWS

Wyoming toad eggs (above) and

toadlets at the Saratoga National

Fish Hatchery.

42 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

ing pairs are carefully selected from

a studbook—one used by all the par-

ticipating zoos in the SSP—to maintain

genetic integrity. He gets it done, he says

jokingly, “with a little wining and dining.”

Selected adults are paired off in tanks in

two inches (ﬁve centimeters) of water

ﬁlled with artiﬁcial plants, then injected

with hormones to induce production

of eggs and sperm. He leaves them to

their desires while recorded toad calls

play in the background to simulate

the competitive breeding that exists in

nature. And Wyoming toads are fecund.

Three days later, some of the 2,000

eggs start hatching, and in a matter of

days to a few short weeks tadpoles and

toadlets are forming. They also quickly

become crowded, and therein lies part

of the reason the Saratoga Hatchery is so

important to the toad’s recovery. The par-

ticipating zoos have such limited space

that breedings are few—maybe four a

year. Because of its space and expertise,

Saratoga is able to perform many more

breedings each year, 20 or more, and

that means more toads released into their

native habitat. That expertise, Paddock is

quick to note, isn’t all in husbandry. The

physical plant is irreplaceable. The hatch-

ery is plumbed with a good supply of

water, and maintenance man Pat Malone

takes care of it all.

Most of the toads are released in

the tadpole stage, and about six weeks

after eggs are laid they enter the toadlet

stage. Toadlets are released in August,

giving them a chance to acclimate to the

wild and ﬁnd quarters in small-mam-

mal burrows before the cold Wyoming

winter arrives.

Paddock and others at the hatchery

continue to improve the toad husbandry

techniques. The 2006 breeding season

saw a 17.8 percent increase in its hatch

rate over previous years. It’s probably

attributed to how they treated their

brood stock toads over the winter.

Paddock held select pairs of toads in

colder temperatures over winter to more

closely simulate the harsh weather they

face in the wild. That exposure during

hibernation may have cued something

physiologically to make the animals

more fecund. So, another refrigerated

hibernation unit is on the way to the

hatchery, and Paddock expects the

toads to show even greater reproductive

success in 2007.

The Saratoga Hatchery has a long

and productive history. Established in

1911, it created the ﬁrst brood stock of

the threatened greenback cutthroat trout

(Oncorhynchus clarki stomias). Now,

Saratoga is the ﬁrst facility in the National

Fish Hatchery System to hatch and raise

an endangered toad. It’s making its mark;

after the hatchery put toads into the wild,

there is evidence of natural reproduction

on Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, a

vital step on the road to recovery.

Tyler Fox

David Paddock examines a Wyoming toad at the

Saratoga National Fish Hatchery.

USFWS

Endangered Species Bulletin 43

2007 Highlights

by Brian Powell

A New Approach for

Monitoring Multiple

Species

The Sonoran Desert Conservation

Plan (SDCP) is an innovative and

comprehensive strategy to preserve the

biological diversity and cultural heritage

of Pima County, Arizona, in response to

unprecedented human population growth

and its associated impacts (see www.

pima.gov/sdcp). Pima County is now

implementing the SDCP through a host of

conservation measures, including devel-

opment set-asides, purchase and lease of

open space, and habitat restoration. The

Pima County Multi-species Conservation

Plan (MSCP) is an important component

of the SDCP. It will ensure that develop-

ment-related activities comply with the

Endangered Species Act (ESA) through

issuance of a section 10 “incidental take”

permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service. The Pima County MSCP cur-

rently includes coverage for 36 “Priority

Vulnerable Species” (PVS): 4 species of

plants, 8 mammals, 8 birds, 7 reptiles,

6 ﬁshes, 2 amphibians, and 1 inverte-

brate. To complete the MSCP package,

Pima County is developing a monitoring

program.

Monitoring for Conservation

Ecological monitoring is one of the

most challenging endeavors in ecol-

ogy and natural resource management.

Single-species monitoring can be expen-

sive, and the number and breadth of

species covered under most MSCPs, like

that being developed for Pima County,

creates a ﬁnancial burden if the goal

is to effectively track populations over

time. While some efﬁciency can be

gained by monitoring multiple species

using similar ﬁeld methods and employ-

ing prudent sampling design elements

(see Elzinga et al. 2001), costs can still

remain prohibitive, particularly because

many vertebrate species covered under

MSCP plans are rare and secretive. This

expense can lead to increased program

costs because of the extra level of survey

work needed to estimate population

and/or occupancy for these rare spe-

cies. In addition to cost, monitoring for

dozens of species has been problematic

from the perspective of adaptive manage-

ment, in part because causes of observed

Lorena B. Moore, www.mineralarts.com

The Pima pineapple cactus (Coryphantha

scheeri var. robustispina) is an

endangered plant native to Pima and

Santa Cruz counties in southern Arizona

and to northern Sonora, Mexico.

44 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

population changes are often unknown

or ambiguous or, in the case of migratory

species, the result of conditions outside

the control of a local manager. The high

cost and management challenges posed

by monitoring multiple species require

a new approach for MSCP monitoring in

Pima County.

A major focus of the approach being

advocated for the Pima County MSCP

involves monitoring a broad suite of

biotic and abiotic indicators (environ-

mental characteristics) that are known to

inﬂuence biodiversity over large land-

scapes. Indicators include climate (tem-

perature and precipitation), vegetation

structure and condition, water quality and

quantity, and landscape patterns (e.g.,

land use and fragmentation). Monitoring

a select group of these indicators, along

with targeted monitoring of threatened

and endangered species, will form the

foundation of the Pima County program.

Thanks in part to an ESA-section 6

grant from the Service, a design team

from Pima County and the University of

Arizona will identify the biotic and abi-

otic indicators that hold the most promise

for inclusion into the program. By taking

an integrated approach to monitoring—as

opposed to a species-level approach—

Pima County should have the best

chances of detecting and responding to

environmental changes resulting from a

broad range of stressors at many ecologi-

cal scales. When compared to monitor-

ing all proposed PVS, this approach will

also lead to greater cost efﬁciency.

A key design component of this

monitoring approach will be to link the

habitat needs of PVS to those broader

indicators of environmental conditions

through development of conceptual

models. These linkages are critical to

ensure the Service’s acceptance of the

monitoring plan.

We plan to explore monitoring part-

nerships with a host of entities in Pima

County that are either actively monitor-

ing or engaged in the planning process.

We are fortunate to have a number of

outstanding partners for this endeavor,

Illstration by Bill Singleton and George Maleski

An important focus of

the Sonoran Desert

Conservation Plan is

the protection and

restoration of aquatic

and riparian systems.

Aaron Flesch

Comprehensive planning for balancing growth and

conservation in Pima County began with the listing

of the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium

brasilianum cactorum) in 1997. The owl has since

been delisted but the conservation plan is moving

forward.

such as the National Park Service’s

Inventory and Monitoring Program, the

Bureau of Land Management, Sonoran

Institute, and the Nature Conservancy of

Arizona. There are many advantages to

realizing these partnerships, including

shared administrative and ﬁeld costs and

educational and outreach opportunities.

In addition, monitoring both on and

outside of Pima County lands will put

our county’s management activities into a

broader landscape-level context, thereby

better gauging compliance with the terms

of the ESA-section 10 permit.

Reference

Elzinga, C. L., D. W. Salzer, J. W.

Willoughby, and J. P. Gibbs. 2001.

Monitoring plant and animal populations.

Blackwell Science Inc., Malden, MA.

360 p.

Brian Powell is a Program Manager

for Pima County Natural Resources, Parks

and Recreation in Tucson, Arizona. He

can be contacted at brian.powell@pima.

gov or 520/877-6112.

Endangered Species Bulletin 45

2007 Highlights

FOCUS ON REFUGES

National wildlife refuges in

California are playing a pivotal role in

moving listed species towards recovery.

Their contributions focus on restoring

and protecting vital wildlife habitats.

While many people are aware of the role

that the Hopper Mountain NWR Complex

has played in the comeback of the

California condor (Gymnogyps california-

nus), here are some examples of lesser

known recovery activities on California

refuges:

Least Bell’s Vireo

In 2005, a riparian woodland restora-

tion site on the San Joaquin River NWR

attracted some surprise visitors: a nest-

ing pair of endangered least Bell’s vireos

(Vireo bellii pusillus). These birds once

were common from Red Bluff southward

throughout the Central Valley and into

Baja California, Mexico, but widespread

loss of riparian habitat led to their

decline and eventual disappearance from

the area. The last conﬁrmed breeding

Bell's vireo nestlings

Refuges Help Recover

Rare California Species

Ken Griggs/USFWS

46 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

FOCUS ON REFUGES

in the Valley was in 1919, and by the

1940s the bird was no longer detected

there at all. This made the 2005 nesting

an historic event. The return of a bird

long absent from the Valley symbolized

the importance of riparian woodland

restoration on the refuge. Vireos nested

again in 2006 and 2007. Known to

exhibit high faithfulness to breeding sites

(philopatry), the birds have nested in

arroyo willows near the previous years’

nest sites. Refuge biologists are care-

fully monitoring the nests and hope that

young birds hatched on the refuge will

return to breed.

Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle

The valley elderberry longhorn beetle

(Desmocerus californicus dimorphus)

was once thought to be restricted to a

mere three river drainages in California.

After the Service listed this species as

endangered, it protected and restored a

substantial amount riparian habitat, espe-

cially at the Sacramento NWR Complex.

As of June 2007, the refuge, The Nature

Conservancy, and River Partners (an

organization founded by conservation-

minded farmers) had planted 117,235

blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana)

bushes, which are vital to the beetle, on

4,814 acres (1,948 hectares) of riparian

and ﬂoodplain habitat. This effort, along

with the work of other partners and the

discovery of additional beetle popula-

tions, may soon lead to delisting the

beetle as a recovered species.

A Mouse Relocated

The salt marsh harvest mouse

(Reithrodontomys raviventris) is an

endangered species endemic to pick-

leweed-dominated habitat along the

fringes of tidal marshes of the San

Francisco Bay estuary. Over 80 percent

of the marsh habitat around the estu-

ary has been modiﬁed or destroyed.

Protection of the remaining habitat,

along with salt marsh restoration and

enhancement, are vital to the species’

recovery. The efforts of many public

and private groups in the Bay area have

led to noticeable gains in habitat conser-

vation for the mouse and other wildlife.

One step in the mouse’s road to

recovery involved a parcel on the Don

Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR.

Refuge specialists converted acquired

agricultural land into salt marsh wetlands

covered with pickleweed. With the

habitat restored, they translocated salt

marsh harvest mice from an off-refuge

parcel that was being lost to develop-

ment. After two years, the numbers of

mice are remarkable, but some things just

don’t show up in the cold hard numbers,

such as the several male-female pairs

of harvest mice captured in the same

trap. (Without going into the scandalous

details, let’s just say that the biologists

nicknamed trap D-22 the “Honeymoon

Suite.”) The efforts of the refuge biolo-

gists and, yes, the mice appear to be

successful. Not only are the translocated

mice doing well, but the restored habitats

are also being recolonized naturally,

bringing recovery of the salt marsh har-

vest mouse another step closer.

Vernal Pools

Many refuges within the San Luis, San

Francisco Bay, and Sacramento NWR

complexes contain special wetlands

called vernal pools. These are seasonally

ﬂooded depressions in impermeable soils

that hold winter rainwater until evapora-

tion. The pools are home to specialized

plants and animals adapted to this wet/

dry regime. As the pools dry over sum-

mer months, concentric rings of colorful

ﬂowers grow in halos around the water

edges. These self-contained ecosys-

tems are home to several listed species,

including California tiger salamanders

(Ambystoma californiense), vernal pool

tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi),

vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta

lynchi), and plants such as the palmate-

bracted bird’s-beak (Cordylantus palma-

tus). In addition to restoring the natural

hydrology of the pools, Refuge staff

control harmful invasive species by using

prescribed ﬁre, carefully-monitored herbi-

cide applications, and selective grazing

A female valley elderberry longhorn beetle.

Jon Katz and Meghan Gilbart

Endangered Species Bulletin 47

2007 Highlights

Focus on Refuges: Refuges Help Recover Rare California Species

FOCUS ON REFUGES

programs. These management actions

are contributing to the recovery of the

listed species that live in the unique

vernal pool ecosystems.

Light-footed Clapper Rail

Much of the recent success towards

the recovery of the endangered light-

footed clapper rail (Rallus longirostris

levipes) is due to determined efforts

of the San Diego Bay NWR, Carlsbad

Fish and Wildlife Ofﬁce, California

Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Navy,

Chula Vista Nature Center, SeaWorld-San

Diego, San Diego Wild Animal Park,

Port of San Diego, local scientists, and

volunteers. Although the species is not

out of danger, the rail’s population has

risen from just 142 pairs in 14 coastal

marshes in southern California in 1984 to

approximately 408 pairs in 18 marshes.

The development of a captive breeding

program and translocation of birds to

marshes along the southern California

coastline were signiﬁcant steps in the

rail’s restoration. The San Diego Bay

NWR is pivotal to this program by pro-

viding a location in which young ﬂedg-

lings are acclimated before translocation

to receptor marshes.

Diane Elam (telephone 916-414-

6464), Deputy Chief of Listing, Recovery

and HCPs for the Service’s Region 8 Ofﬁce

in Sacramento, compiled these examples

contributed by NWR staff in California.

(top): California tiger salamander

(center): Light-footed clapper rail

(bottom): Riverside fairy shrimp

(left): Salt marsh harvest mouse

Endangered Species Bulletin 49

2007 Highlights

in search of prey such as elk and wild

boar. While some of the tigers have

been known to attack humans, they usu-

ally prefer to avoid people. The tigers

have been known to kill wolves that

venture into their territory.

A remaining threat to the tiger is

Russia’s own healthy economy. Wildlife

law enforcement jobs in the Russian Far

East don’t pay well, and even the most

dedicated Russian game wardens are

often easily lured elsewhere by better

pay, making it difﬁcult to keep trained

personnel on the job.

“In the scheme of international grants,

the amount of money we’ve contributed

to this effort has been relatively mod-

est,” says Bagley. “But there is no doubt

that we’ve had an impact. This is one

of those times when you can point to

something and say, yes, we’re making a

real difference. Applied research, habitat

protection, effective law enforcement and

the support of local people made pos-

sible through conservation education, are

advancing the survival of this tiger.”

Ken Burton is a public affairs special-

ist in the Service’s Arlington, Virginia,

headquarters ofﬁce.

by Ken Burton Good News for the

Amur Tiger

In a world where many animals are

under siege, the Amur tiger (Panthera

tigris altaica) – better known in the West

as the Siberian tiger – offers an encourag-

ing message: the population of this huge

cat is showing signs of recovery.

During the past 100 years, the Amur

tiger population of the Russian Far East

was decimated by forest destruction,

trophy hunting, and poaching for tiger

body parts to use in traditional Asian

medicine. By the 1940s, its numbers had

dwindled to an estimated 50 tigers. But

thanks in part to $611,131 in U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service grants that, com-

bined with partner donations and in-kind

contributions, push the total to more than

$1 million, the big, distinctive cats appear

to be rebounding in Russia.

Recent surveys indicate that 331 to 370

adult tigers and 100 young are living in

the Russian Far East, which is home to 95

percent of all Amur tigers in the world.

Service wildlife biologist Fred Bagley,

long associated with Amur tiger conser-

vation efforts, says a spike in tiger poach-

ing in the early 1990s was subsequently

met by a Russian government crackdown,

and the intensiﬁed anti-poaching efforts

have paid off.

Some estimates place the global tiger

population in the 3,900 to 5,100 range,

down from perhaps 100,000 more than

100 years ago. The Amur tiger is one

of ﬁve remaining tiger subspecies in the

world. Eight subspecies once roamed

the earth, but three became extinct in the

20th century. While most Amur tigers

live today in the Russian Far East, a much

smaller number are known to inhabit

China, and a few may occur in North

Korea.

The demand for tiger parts for use in

traditional Asian medicine has played

a major role in the decline of the Amur

tiger population. Despite medical

evidence to the contrary, belief persists

that tiger parts can curb ailments ranging

from impotence to arthritis, skin disease,

fever, and more.

During the last period of heightened

poaching, Russian conservation workers

estimated that as many as 60 tigers were

killed each year. But the Amur tigers’

situation has shown marked improve-

ment. Local government in the Russian

Far East, says Bagley, is committed to

helping rescue the tigers, and the Service

has remained a ﬁrm partner in the effort.

Service grants have helped pay for

vehicles, uniforms, fuel, and even salaries

for Russian game wardens who have

had success in deterring poachers. It’s a

relationship that has had positive results.

“It’s hard to ﬁnd another place in the

world where tigers are doing as well,”

Bagley says.

Left alone in the wild, the tigers do

well. Amur tigers breed easily, and even

though the number of young in the

current decade has given cause for some

concern, the number of cubs born to

each litter has increased slightly, granting

some stability to the gradual population

increase.

Amur tigers, which can weigh up to

600 pounds (270 kilograms) at maturity,

are loners that travel enormous distances

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

50 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

by Michelle H. Reynolds

and Thierry M. Work

Translocation and Disease

Monitoring of Wild Laysan

Ducks

The Laysan duck (Anas laysa-

nensis), also known as the Laysan teal

because of its small size, is a critically

endangered waterfowl species that once

occurred widely across the Hawaiian

Archipelago. For the past 150 years,

however, it was restricted to a single

population on Laysan, a 4-square-kilo-

meter (1.5-square-mile) island with a

hypersaline shallow lake. Laysan is part

of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife

Refuge in Papahanaumokuakea Marine

National Monument.

Evidence suggests that the Laysan

duck’s disappearance from the rest of

the Hawaiian Islands was partly due to

the introduction of predatory non-native

rats during human colonization of the

Hawaiian Islands about 1,000 years ago.

Rats never became established on Laysan

Island. However, in the 1800s, people

who came to Laysan to harvest guano

introduced rabbits that largely denuded

the island’s native vegetation and led to

the extinction of several native species,

including the Laysan rail (Porzana palm-

eri) and Laysan millerbird (Acrocephalus

familiaris familiaris). Fortunately,

Laysan ducks survived this onslaught,

and subsequently the rabbits were extir-

pated from the island in the early 1900s.

Small, isolated island populations

have high extinction risks. On Laysan,

numbers of the duck ﬂuctuate and have

seldom exceeded 600 individuals. The

Laysan duck is vulnerable to extreme

weather, diseases, introduction of mam-

malian predators, and global sea level

Female Laysan duck with ducklings at

Midway Atoll.

USGS Translocation Project leader, Michelle Reynolds, USGS Biotech James Breeden, and USFWS Assistant

Refuge Manager, Matt Brown, band a juvenile ﬂedgling Laysan duck at Midway Atoll NWR.

James H. Breeden, Jr.

PEter Leary

52 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

rise. In 1993 and 1994, there was a large

die-off of Laysan ducks attributed to

emaciation and infestation with a worm,

Echnuria uncinata. Recognizing that

the Laysan duck was highly vulnerable

to extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (FWS) and U.S. Geological

Survey (USGS) developed a partnership

to translocate these ducks to Midway

Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. After

careful consideration, the agencies chose

Midway Atoll because they judged that is

has the most promising logistical feasibil-

ity and potential to support translocated

ducks. The translocation was a team

effort led by the USGS Paciﬁc Islands

Ecosystem Science Center and involving

the collaboration of the USGS National

Wildlife Health Center-Honolulu Field

Station and the FWS. The team took

great care not to translocate the internal

parasite, Echinuria, via Laysan ducks

to Midway Atoll, where it has not been

documented.

To maximize the chances for success,

we chose the healthiest candidates for

translocation. Biologists with the project

trapped the ducks on Laysan, gave the

birds a complete physical exam, and

treated them for Echinuria worms prior

to transport. In October 2004, 20 juve-

nile and pre-breeding island ducks went

on a 2- day, 600-km (370-mile) Paciﬁc

voyage by boat from Laysan to Midway

Atoll (USGS 2005). In October 2005, an

additional 22 ducks made the same trip.

All birds survived the translocation with

nutritional and veterinary support.

Understanding mortality factors and

occurrence of disease is important in

managing threatened and endangered

species. Post-release monitoring with the

aid of radio telemetry helped us deter-

mine the fate of the translocated birds

and monitor their health during October

2004-2007. Identifying the causes of

mortality and disease allows for explora-

tion of management options to address

the problems and enhance recovery of

the species. The refuge staff sent all

carcasses suitable for examination to the

USGS National Wildlife Health Center-

Honolulu Field Station for complete

examination to determine cause of death.

In other cases, suspected causes of death

were apparent from ﬁeld signs.

To date, the identiﬁed causes of

Laysan duck mortality on Midway are

varied. Causes of duck mortality on

Midway have included egg-bound

females, trauma, yolk sac infection,

emaciation, and botulism. Field evidence

also suggests mortality from attacks by

large seabirds and vagrant birds of prey.

Fortunately, we have yet to document

the presence of Echnuria on Midway,

although biologists continue to monitor

for the disease. Avian pox lesions spread

by introduced mosquitoes on Midway

Atoll are common in the native Laysan

albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) but

have not been observed in the ducks,

probably because the virus that causes

pox is speciﬁc to particular types of

birds. All mortalities observed in Laysan

During the 2005 translocaton of Laysan ducks to Midway Atoll, Therry M. Work and

Annie Marshall give one of the birds some nutritional support and a physical exam.

Cindy Rehkemper/USFWS

Despite these mortality incidents,

the Laysan duck continues to ﬂourish

on Midway Atoll, and the population

has increased after only three breed-

ing seasons. Juvenile recruitment has

exceeded adult mortality during the ﬁrst

three breeding seasons, and number of

eggs laid per female on Midway is higher

than of those on Laysan. This reﬂects the

suitability of Midway’s habitat for Laysan

ducks. Furthermore, the translocation

has established a second population

of the species and more than doubled

its range from four to nine square km

(1.5 to 3.5 square miles). All of the 42

founding birds survived the transport

to Midway and 90 percent survived

their ﬁrst year post-release, similar to

the survival rate on Laysan Island. The

ducks bred successfully after the ﬁrst

year of release, and they produced the

Endangered Species Bulletin 53

2007 Highlights

Acknowledgements

This is an interagency project.

Funding was raised through public and

non-proﬁt grants from the National Fish

and Wildlife Foundation, USGS Quick

Response Program, Friends of Midway

Atoll, FWS Paciﬁc Islands Ecological

Services, and USGS Paciﬁc Island

Ecosystems Research Center. The USGS

Paciﬁc Island Ecosystems Research

Center, USGS National Wildlife Health

Lab, Midway Atoll NWR, Hawaiian

Islands NWR, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, the

Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, and the

FWS Honolulu Ecological Services Ofﬁce

provided staff, volunteer, and logistical

support.

Michelle H. Reynolds is with the USGS

Kilauea Field Station, Paciﬁc Island

Ecosystems Research Center, at Hawaii

National Park and can be reached at

michelle_reynolds@usgs.gov. Thierry M.

Work is with the USGS National Wildlife

Health Center, Honolulu Field Station,

and can be reached at thierry_work@

usgs.gov.

Maximum

Potentially

Breeding

Adult Females

Maximum

Post-Fledgling

Population Size

Midway Atoll

Table. Annual maximum population sizes of the Laysan duck at Midway Atoll

National Wildlife Refuge. Post-ﬂedglings include adults and independent,

ﬂighted juveniles.

* Preliminary count: maximum possible adults surviving from 2006 and total marked

juveniles by Oct. 2007.

Founders

Translocated

From

Laysan IslandYear

2003 0 0 0

2004 20 0 20

2005 22 6 51

2006 0 18 104

2007 0 49 ~192 *

John Klavitter/USFWS

ﬁrst generation of ﬂedglings in 2005. On

Laysan, one-year-old ducks typically do

not successfully breed, so the productive

ﬁrst year at Midway Atoll was a pleas-

ant surprise. The total population size

of Laysan ducks on Midway has grown

from the original 42 translocated birds

to an approximate count of at least 192

post-ﬂedgling juveniles and adults (see

Table). Interestingly, we placed the

ducks translocated to Midway Atoll onto

its two islands (Eastern and Sand), and

ducks now routinely ﬂy between the

islands. On Laysan, the ducks rarely ﬂy

over the ocean.

This story is an example of what can

happen when agencies and people work

together toward a common goal. In this

case, the clear winner is the Laysan duck,

whose risks of extinction are less today

than three years ago. Depending on

habitat suitability and absence of mam-

malian predators, future translocations

may take place on other islands, thus

making the future of this endangered

species a bit less uncertain with each

additional reintroduction. A visitor

services program to Midway Atoll NWR

is beginning this year (Barry Christenson,

FWS Midway Atoll Refuge Manager,

personal communication; www.fws.gov/

midway/VSP /MidwayVSPindex.html),

allowing visitors to see Laysan ducks

in the wild during their non-breeding

season (October to March). The Laysan

duck translocation team was honored

with the FWS Recovery Leader Award in

2007 for achieving a milestone toward

the species’ recovery (see http://www.

fws.gov/paciﬁc/ecoservices/ endangered/

recovery/LaysanDuckTeam.htm).

54 Endangered Species Bulletin 2007 Highlights

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE Washington, D.C. 20240

H. Dale Hall, Director

Bryan Arroyo, Assistant Director for Endangered Species

Claire Cassel, Chief, Division of Partnerships and Outreach 703-358-2390

Martha Balis-Larsen, Chief, Ofﬁce of Program Support 703-358-2079

Douglas Krofta, Acting Chief, Division of Conservation and Classiﬁcation 703-358-2527

Rick Sayers, Chief, Division of Consultation, HCPs, Recovery, and State Grants 703-358-2106

http://www.fws.gov/endangered

PACIFIC REGION—REGION ONE Eastside Federal Complex, 911 N.E. 11th Ave, Portland OR 97232

Hawaii and other Paciﬁc Islands, Idaho, Oregon, Washington Renne Lohoefener, Regional Director 503-231-6118

http://www.fws.gov/pacific

SOUTHWEST REGION—REGION TWO P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103

Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas Benjamin Tuggle, Regional Director 505-248-6282

http://www.fws.gov/southwest

MIDWEST REGION—REGION THREE Federal Bldg., Ft. Snelling, Twin Cities MN 55111

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Robyn Thorson, Regional Director 612-715-5301

Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin http://www.fws.gov/midwest

SOUTHEAST REGION—REGION FOUR 1875 Century Blvd., Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30345

Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Sam Hamilton, Regional Director 404-679-7086

Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, http://www.fws.gov/southeast

Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

NORTHEAST REGION—REGION FIVE 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Marvin Moriarty, Regional Director 413-253-8300

New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, http://www.fws.gov/northeast

Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia

MOUNTAIN-PRAIRIE REGION—REGION SIX P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver CO 80225

Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Mitch King, Regional Director 303-236-7920

Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie

ALASKA REGION—REGION SEVEN 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503

Alaska Thomas O. Melius, Regional Director 907-786-3542

http://www.fws.gov/alaska

CALIFORNIA/NEVADA—REGION EIGHT 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825

California and Nevada Steve Thompson, Regional Director 916-414-6464

http://www.fws.gov/cno

CONTACTS

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, D.C. 20240

BOX SCORE

Listings and Recovery Plans as of March 19, 2008

ENDANGERED THREATENED

TOTAL U.S. SPECIES

GROUP U.S. FOREIGN U.S. FOREIGN LISTINGS W/ PLANS

MAMMALS 69 256 12 20 357 56

BIRDS 75 179 14 6 274 85

REPTILES 13 66 24 16 119 38

AMPHIBIANS 13 8 10 1 32 17

FISHES 74 11 65 1 151 101

SNAILS 64 1 11 0 76 69

CLAMS 62 2 8 0 72 70

CRUSTACEANS 19 0 3 0 22 18

INSECTS 47 4 10 0 61 35

ARACHNIDS 12 0 0 0 12 6

CORALS 0 0 2 0 2 0

ANIMAL SUBTOTAL 448 527 159 44 1,178 495

FLOWERING PLANTS 570 1 143 0 714 630

CONIFERS 2 0 1 2 5 3

FERNS AND OTHERS 26 0 2 0 28 28

PLANT SUBTOTAL 598 1 146 2 747 661

GRAND TOTAL 1,046 528 305 46 1,925* 1,156

* Separate populations of a species listed both as Endangered and Threatened

are tallied once, for the endangered population only. Those species are

the argali, chimpanzee, leopard, Stellar sea-lion, gray wolf, piping plover,

roseate tern, green sea turtle, saltwater crocodile, and olive ridley sea

turtle. For the purposes of the Endangered Species Act, the term “species”

can mean a species, subspecies, or distinct vertebrate population. Several

entries also represent entire genera or even families.

** Eleven U.S. animal species and ﬁve foreign species have dual status.

TOTAL U.S. ENDANGERED: 1,046 (448 animals, 598 plants)

TOTAL U.S. THREATENED: 305 (159 animals, 146 plants)

TOTAL U.S. LISTED: 1,351 (607 animals**, 744 plants)

PRESORTED FIRST CLASS

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PERMIT NO. G-77

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

Assistant Director for Endangered Species Claire Cassel, Chief, Division of Partnerships and Outreach

703-358

H Dale Hall
Bryan Arroyo

H. Dale Hall, Director Bryan Arroyo, Assistant Director for Endangered Species Claire Cassel, Chief, Division of Partnerships and Outreach 703-358-2390

Acting Chief, Division of Conservation and Classification

703-358

Douglas Krofta

Douglas Krofta, Acting Chief, Division of Conservation and Classification 703-358-2527

Chief, Division of Consultation, HCPs, Recovery, and State Grants

703-358

Rick Sayers

Rick Sayers, Chief, Division of Consultation, HCPs, Recovery, and State Grants 703-358-2106

Director Bryan Arroyo, Assistant Director for Endangered Species Claire Cassel, Chief, Division of Partnerships and Outreach

703-358

H Dale Hall

H. Dale Hall, Director Bryan Arroyo, Assistant Director for Endangered Species Claire Cassel, Chief, Division of Partnerships and Outreach 703-358-2390

Partnerships for Shared Stewardship

Abstract

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