Endangered Species Bulletin articles from March 2002

Endangered Species Bulletin archives from March 2002

Lands of contrast, diversity, and beauty.
March 1, 2002... Despite their popular image as hot, dry, virtually lifeless wastelands, deserts support a deceivingly rich level of plant and animal life with a high degree of biological diversity. But just what is a desert? Mark Dimmitt of the...

Endangered species and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
March 1, 2002... The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a nonprofit research and education institution located in the city of Tucson, is a combination zoological park, botanical garden, nature center, and museum. Our multiple functions are reflected in our...

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
March 1, 2002... Pima County, Arizona, covers a vast land base in the southwestern United States and includes a community of diverse cultures and interests. Within the boundaries that encompass our nearly 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares) of Sonoran...

The Chihuahuan Desert: diversity at risk.
March 1, 2002... The Chihuahuan Desert is a land of superlatives. Covering nearly 250,000 square miles (647,500 square kilometers), it is the largest of the North American deserts. Jutting mountains and low basins form a range of habitats suitable for a broad...

Restoring a desert oasis.
March 1, 2002... Just east of Death Valley, where a mere 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) of rain falls annually, lies the oasis of Ash Meadows, Nevada, an unusual system of wetlands, springs, and seeps. Plentiful sources of water in this part of the vast Mojave...

Desert fish: life on the edge.
March 1, 2002... Fairbanks Springs, a small oasis in the Nevada desert, resembles a large hot tub from the bottom of which someone forgot to scrub the algae. Fortunately, algae thrive in this spring pool, for they are integral to the life cycle of the Ash...

Life in Mauna Kea's alpine desert.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... High above the sunny beaches, rocky coastline, and lush, tropical forests of the Big Island of Hawai'i lies a unique environment unknown even to many residents. The harsh, barren, cold alpine desert is so hostile that it may appear devoid of...

The Tarahumara frog: return of a native.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... For almost two decades, the Tarahumara frog (Rana tarahumarae) has been absent from the southern Arizona canyons and deep plunge pools to which it had adapted over millennia. Today, the Tarahumara Frog Conservation Team, a consortium of...

Leading-edge science for imperiled, bonytail.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The grasslands of southeastern New Mexico, known mostly for cattle, crops, and an occasional UFO crash report, seem an unlikely place for leading-edge biotechnology. But the little town of Dexter, essentially a service center for ranchers and...

Las Vegas places its bets on habitat plan.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... More than 100 people gathered at the Red Rock National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 1, 2000, to celebrate the approval of the Clark County Multi Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

Arizona tribal partnerships for wildlife.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Arizona's 23 Native American tribes own 20 million acres (8 million hectares), or about 28 percent of the state. Most of these holdings are relatively undeveloped, making tribes an important focus of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's...

New Mexico's little known treasures.
March 1, 2002... Many of the 27 plants and 13 animals in New Mexico that are listed nationally as endangered or threatened species can be considered desert natives. The types of challenges facing these species are illustrated by two of our state's lesser known...

Rio Grande silvery minnow.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In contrast to some fish eggs that take months to incubate, Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus) eggs hatch in about 24 hours into larvae that can swim in just 3 to 4 days. It is no surprise that a species so programmed for survival...

Black-footed ferrets return to Mexico.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... This past October 2, on a moonlit night outside the town of Janos in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, a captive-bred black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) peered out of his cage, reluctant to venture into the vast Chihuahuan Desert. For two...

Region 1. (Regional News and Recovery Updates).(Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has received approval to expand the Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in southern Washington state by 40 acres (16 hectares) to encompass the Gamble Tract....

Region two. (Regional News and Recovery Updates).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (Hybognathus amarus) The Rio Grande silvery minnow has been the focus of intensive interagency negotiations and recovery planning lately, as a newly developed multi-stakeholder program comprising public and private...

Region 5. (Regional News and Recovery Updates).(West Virginia )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... West Virginia Species The Service's West Virginia Field Office has updated the 1990 recovery plan covering the two endangered Appalachian subspecies of northern flying squirrels. The updated plan amends the guidelines for habitat identification...

Listing actions.
March 1, 2002... From September through November 2001, the Fish and Wildlife Service published the following proposed and final Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules in the Federal Register. The full text of each action can be accessed through our website:...

Box score: listing and recovery plans as of May 31, 2002.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... U.S. ENDANGERED THREATENED TOTAL SPECIES GROUP U.S. FOREIGN U.S. FOREIGN LISTINGS W/PLANS MAMMALS 65 251 9 ...