Endangered Species Update articles from July - September 2006

Endangered Species Update archives from July - September 2006

Rethinking regional habitat conservation plan monitoring programs: an innovative approach in San Diego, California.
July 1, 2006... Abstract Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) have become a common, albeit still controversial, method for conserving endangered species at the regional level while balancing the social and economic needs of a region. Since 1982 when Congress...

Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) population Survey in Emas National Park, Brazil--a proposed monitoring program.
July 1, 2006... Abstract The population density of giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) at Emas National Park in central Brazil was estimated to determine the most suitable method to monitor this population. The data obtained is expected to underpin...

A preliminary checklist of mammals and plants: conservation status of some species in Salonga National Park.
July 1, 2006... Abstract The Salonga National Park, the world's second largest tropical forest park and the largest in Africa (UNEP 20004; Gauthier-Hion et al. 1999; Kemf and Wilson 1997; Thompson-Handler et al. 1995), is located in the central basin of...

Coexisting with Large Carnivores: Lessons from Greater Yellowstone.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Coexisting with Large Carnivores: Lessons from Greater Yellowstone Edited by Tim W. Clark, Murray B. Rutherford & Denise Casey Island Press, Washington, DC 2005 Large mammalian predators form a basis for much conservation research for...

Focus on nature[R]: insight into the lives of animals.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... There's no reason to have eyes when you live in total darkness. Instead, air movement from prey is felt by the sensitive hairs on your eight legs. Hidden deep within the moist darkness a KAUA'I CAVE WOLF SPIDER, or Pe'e pe'e maka 'ole,...

Giant anteater born at Santa Barbara Zoo.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... In keeping with the theme of this Endangered Species UPDATE, we are delighted to report that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited Santa Barbara Zoo (www.sbzoo.org) celebrated the birth of a female giant anteater (Myrmecophaga...

Trumpeter swan pair bred by Lincoln Park Zoo first to nest in Illinois since 1847.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Two trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) bred and released into the wild by the AZA-accredited Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago (www.lpzoo.com) have made history by hatching two healthy chicks. This is the first known wild trumpeter swan nesting in...

Aquarium of the Pacific helps establish sustainable seafood forum.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The AZA-accredited Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA (www.aquariumofpacific.org) is partnering with Kings Seafood Company and Santa Monica Seafood to create a Sustainable Seafood Forum. Why would an aquarium want to promote the...

Threatened silverspot butterflies released.(News From Zoos)(Oregon Zoo )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Oregon Zoo (www.oregonzoo.org), an AZA-accredited institution, released 22 pupae and 18 larvae of the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) at The Nature Conservancy (TNC)'s 280-acre Cascade Head Preserve this...

Seven black-footed ferrets to be reintroduced.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Of the 24 endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) kits born at AZA-accredited Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (www.cmzoo.org) this year, seven have been sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Black-Footed Ferret...

Oregon Zoo leads pygmy rabbit breeding efforts.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Washington pygmy rabbit is geographically separated from populations of other pygmy rabbits and critically endangered in Washington State. Only 40 individuals of this subspecies existed in the wild a few years ago, and that number has since...

AZA Zoos aid in Mexican gray wolf recovery.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Following the near extinction of the United States population of gray wolves in the early 1900s due to increased human settlement, five wolves were found alive in Mexico between 1977 and 1980. This species was listed as federally endangered in...

Threatened snowy plover chicks raised and released by Oregon Coast Aquarium.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Two abandoned snowy plover eggs were brought to the AZA-accredited Oregon Coast Aquarium (www.aquarium.org) earlier this year and hatched at the aquarium's new Western Snowy Plover Exhibit. This fall the chicks, which had reached adulthood,...

Defense and conservation: compatible missions.
July 1, 2006... The Department of Defense (DoD) manages approximately 29 million acres (12 million hectares) of land throughout the nation. Access limits due to security considerations and the need for safety buffer zones have shielded these lands from...

Wildlife conservation and the U.S. Army.
July 1, 2006... Conservation of natural resources on the Army's 15 million acres (6 million hectares) has long been part of its heritage. In the 1870s, the Army sent cavalry troops to what are now Yosemite National Park and other future parks to protect...

Desert tortoises get help from the Marines.
July 1, 2006... Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) have crawled the Mojave Desert since California's southern interior was covered with green ponds and wetlands. Millions of years have altered the landscape dramatically, turning it into an arid expanse...

Eggert's sunflower prospers at Arnold AFB.
July 1, 2006... For more than seven years, the Eggert's sunflower (Helianthus eggertii) was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In 2005, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed this plant from the list, recognizing that it no...

In defense of coral reefs.
July 1, 2006... Coral reefs are the world's most biologically diverse marine ecosystems. They consist of a vast assemblage of plants, animals, and microbes, many of which are still scientifically unknown. Reef ecosystems provide habitat and food for fish,...

Army's Hawaiian plant propagation aids recovery.
July 1, 2006... The Army Garrison Hawaii has eight training areas on the islands of O'ahu and Hawai'i (the "Big Island"). Within the boundaries of these areas, there are more than 100 endangered species, including birds, several snails, and a large number of...

Cooperative manatee research in Puerto Rico.
July 1, 2006... The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) inhabits the coastal waters of eastern Mexico, and Central America, northern South America, and the Greater Antilles. Puerto Rico may be its only stronghold in the Greater Antilles. Significant...

Army National Guard discovers a tough little shrimp.
July 1, 2006... Idaho National Guard biologists Jay Weaver and Dana Quinney recently made a memorable discovery: a new species of giant predatory fairy shrimp. This crustacean lives in the waters of two desert playas (temporary lakes) on the Orchard Training...

Partners save the Sonoran pronghorn.
July 1, 2006... The endangered Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) of Arizona and Mexico is among one of the Department of Defense's most eye-catching tenants. This graceful holder of the North American land speed record can run at speeds up...

Fort Riley's prairie partnership.
July 1, 2006... As Lewis and Clark made their way up the Missouri River in 1804, they traversed the northeastern corner of Kansas and came upon something unexpected: the end of the deciduous forest and the beginning of the vast tallgrass prairie. At that...

What's the rush at Warren Grove Gunnery Range?
July 1, 2006... A large population of the Knieskern's beaked-rush (Rhynchospora knieskernii), a threatened plant, was discovered recently at the Air National Guard's Warren Grove Gunnery Range in New Jersey. Until the discovery, fewer than 50 occurrences had...

Woodpeckers find a home at Fort Bragg.
July 1, 2006... Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall occupy over 160,000 acres (65,000 hectares) of North Carolina. Both are located within an area known as the Sandhills Region, and they cover parts of six counties. These reservations, along with adjacent areas,...

North Carolina plant is (re)discovered!
July 1, 2006... An extremely rare species of flowering plant with bright yellow bloom clusters has found a niche at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in coastal North Carolina. The showy coastal goldenrod (Solidago villosicarpa) apparently prefers habitat...

Of tanks and birds.
July 1, 2006... The limestone bedrock trembles as Abrams tanks rumble by seeking their targets. Overhead, an Apache attack helicopter provides surveillance. In the distance, the din of machine gun fire and artillery is heard. In nearby vegetation, a female...

Managing habitat for owls at Fort Huachuca.
July 1, 2006... Birdwatchers know southeast Arizona as one of the premier birding destinations in the United States. The diversity of habitats on or adjacent to Fort Huachuca--from San Pedro River riparian forests to montane grasslands, high elevation...

DOD develops sound monitoring efforts.
July 1, 2006... Ever wonder what the Department of Defense uses its high-tech surveillance equipment for? Most would answer, "To gather intelligence on a particular target." And this would be true, especially if the surveillance subject is a threatened or...

Conservation tools workshops in Georgia.
July 1, 2006... How do you enlist the support of private landowners around military installations to promote good habitat conservation practices? This is the question a group of natural resource professionals decided to tackle in the last few months of 2005....

Compatible land use partnerships.
July 1, 2006... There was a time when many military installations were considered remote. They had few neighbors, generated few complaints, experienced few environmental restrictions, and conducted their business relatively unimpeded. However, that era is...

Defense's TES document repository.
July 1, 2006... Imagine a single source for scientifically relevant, but otherwise unavailable, information on threatened and endangered species (TES). Now, imagine having that source right at your fingertips. Finally, imagine this source is free and open to...

Listing actions.
July 1, 2006... Proposed and final listing rules were published from January 1 to June 1, 2006, for the following species: Proposed Rules Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) Saying that gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have recovered from the...

The conservation of pollinating species.(PARTNERS FOR POLLINATORS)
July 1, 2006... Pollinating animals are critically important to the maintenance of virtually all terrestrial ecosystems, yet the population status of most pollinating species often goes unnoticed. Butterflies, moths, bats, birds, bees, beetles, flies, ants,...

Forging partnerships for habitat restoration.(PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE)
July 1, 2006... The majority of our Nation's fish and wildlife resources are found on privately owned lands. Because the habitat needs of most endangered and threatened species cannot be met solely on public lands, voluntary partnerships with private...

Box score: listings and recovery plans as of July 1, 2006.(Statistical table)
July 1, 2006... BOX SCORE Listings and Recovery Plans as of July 1, 2006 ENDANGERED GROUP U.S. FOREIGN MAMMALS 68 256 BIRDS 76 175 REPTILES ...