“We are very hopeful that the majority of these candidates will make it across the finish line to endangered species listed status,” Nicole Rosmarino, Wildlife Program Director of WildEarth Guardians, told me.

All the plant and animal candidates still need to go through a process in which the government decides whether or not to propose them. This is followed by an official public comment period where anyone including scientists can send in information regarding the status and the threat to the species. After that, the US Fish and Wildlife Service will make the final determination on whether or not to add the species to the threatened or endangered list. “So there’s still a process to go through but this agreement ensures that the process will happen in a timely manner,” Nicole explained. “Within the next 5 ½ years we will get a more definitive answer for each of these 251 species and whether or not to process each one.”

When I asked about the current state of some of the species, Nicole mentioned a Top 40 List, some of which have already been listed. “Some of those species have not been seen for years so they desperately need this decision and the government needs to get on with the business of searching for them and protecting them when they find them. The wait can mean extinction and that’s why it’s so important that we get past this hump where the species can languish without that definitive answer.”

The Agreement is likely to fix some current listing problems. An example is the Canada Lynx in New Mexico. “In other areas in the lower 48 the Canada Lynx is listed, but it’s not listed in New Mexico,” Nicole continued. In 2007 WildEarth Guardians and several other groups submitted a lengthy petition advocating that the Canadian Lynx be protected in New Mexico. “There were Lynx’s coming down from Colorado into New Mexico but as soon as they crossed the state line they had no endangered species legislation. So under the Agreement we’re going to get a final answer for Lynx in New Mexico by the end of fiscal year 2013 – September 20, 2013.”

Once listed, species get special status. “The Endangered Species Act is incredibly important for ensuring that species don’t go extinct,” Nicole concluded. “Over 99% of the plants and animals that are listed under it haven’t gone extinct.”

If you’d like more information, check out the related page on WildEarth Guardians’ website.

Desert tortoises are considered threatened in the wild. The release is the outcome of a project that the San Diego Zoo, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Bureau of Land Management, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife, has been working on since 2009. Since joining this partnership, the Zoo added veterinary services to diagnose and treat tortoises on site, modified enclosures to add space for quarantine and create predator-proof hatchling pens, and established biosecurity and processing protocols. They conducted outreach programs to educate the surrounding communities and tortoise custodians and doubled its full-time staff. Conservation research projects and a pet desert tortoise pick-up service were implemented.

The Team has attached VHS radio transmitters to the shell backs of the released tortoises so they can track them. 24 of the 36 tortoises are also donning GPS units that will provide detailed data about the animals’ movements and their preferred environment. As well, data collectors have been set up inside and outside of tortoise burrows, to provide temperature and humidity readings so the Team will know the best conditions into which to release the tortoises.

The Team’s actions and research are designed to give desert tortoises the greatest chance for survival. Let’s hope the tortoises are one species that can be saved.

Under the ESA, a species must meet one of the following five criteria to be considered for protection and listing, found in Section (4)(a)(1) of the Act:
The species in question must have
• (A) the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat
• or range;
• (B) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;
• (C) disease or predation;
• (D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms;
• (E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.

However, even when a species clearly meets the criteria for protection, it might not be covered, reports Sign On San Diego.  The Hermes copper, a rare butterfly found in southwest San Diego County, is an example. A subject of concern since 1980, the Hermes copper relies on a specific host plant to lay its eggs. This plant, along with much of the sage scrub community, has been in decline. As a result, over half of the known Hermes copper butterfly populations have been lost. Despite these obvious threats, the butterfly was not placed on the protected species list. Jane Hendron , a spokeswoman from FWS, blames the result on a lack of funds:

“It has nothing to do with (whether) there is room on the list,” she said. “It has everything to do with higher priority actions that we are required to take because we have court orders. We have limited funds.” Indeed, the FWS has only $22 million dollars to work with for endangered species listings.

Some groups have become so frustrated with inaction that they have resorted to legal measures. Along with five other conservation groups, the Center for Biological Diversity recently filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The groups allege that the FWS failed to respond to a 2010 petition which sought protection for 403 species in the southeastern United States waterways. The Endangered Species Act requires the FWS to determine the validity of any petition within 90 days and to render a decision on species protection within one year.

Unfortunately, incidents such as the Hermes butterfly decision and the southeastern species petition are only going to become more common unless funding and support for the FWS and endangered species increases.

The US Fish and Wildlife service funds these amazing LCC’s, which are symbiotic scientific partnerships that allow protection projects to hit the ground running. The Alaskan study will investigate the effects of climate change on the diverse species of fish and wildlife in the region. We cannot wait to see the results!

Under the new grant, the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game will hire a program coordinator, ecologist and a GIS specialist. As far as their work goes, priority will be placed on projects that benefit endangered species and other species of concern. Overall, they’re hoping to increase understanding and address the biological responses of natural systems to climate change.

As well, the video shows 22 Kemp’s Ridley turtle babies that were released into a safe part of the Atlantic shore.   As I wrote in this blog’s May 5th article Conserving Turtles, Kemp’s Ridley turtles are the world’s most endangered turtles/tortoises, and live only in the Gulf of Mexico.

Altogether, over 700 turtle nests are to be relocated.  The turtle rescue group is represented on the video by volunteers and a couple of spokespeople from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.  The video is an interesting inside look at a conservation operation, thanks to National Geographic and Videographer and Field Producer Fritz Faerber.

The Initiative will pay for up to 150,000 acres of farm and ranch lands along the southern border of the US that lines the Gulf of Mexico, advises the LA Times.  Landowners are being asked to flood their fields and promote bird-friendly plants, or improve any wetlands they have on their property.

The farmers who are already participating in conservation programs such as soil erosion control, pest management and water quality improvement, are expected to lead the sign ups.  Hopefully other farmers/ranchers will also sign up for the program, which is expected to last for 3 to 5 years.

The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and is involved with establishing new waterfowl refuges as well as setting the price for any land and/or water areas that the Service is interested in purchasing.

One example is on June 16th, the US government announced that the Commission has approved a total of $35.7 million for acquiring over 319,000 acres of lands and wetlands in the United States and Canada.  In addition to protecting birds, preserved wetlands provide storm protection and prevent flooding, cleanse water, and provide people with recreation and wildlife viewing arenas.

The University, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service, has developed a plan to conserve the species.  The plan will be open for public comment from May 25 to July 15.

As with most habitat conservation plans, which are supported by the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the plan is comprehensive.  50 years for a land conservation plan apparently is considered long-term.

Over 1,000 habitat conservation plans have been granted by the U.S. federal government.  Their purpose is to ensure that operations are done in a way that is thoughtful about protected species.

Some ideas as to what this looks like in Stanford’s case are:

- Based on almost ten years of conservation biology surveys, monitoring and enhancements, Stanford’s lands will be divided into 4 habitat zones, each with a conservation program and efforts

- a 315-acre California tiger salamander reserve will be established in the lower foothills

- ponds will be created together with tunnels across a nearby major street

- impeding structures in streams that impact steelhead migration will be removed

- basking platforms will be created for Western pond turtles

If Stanford decides to develop any area within the habitat zones, the land must be offset with easements that are three times the amount of the developed land.

They’re also doing some interesting research at Stanford.  A geologist is participating in a National Academy of Sciences study that found that increased acidity of seawater and higher carbon dioxide in the atmosphere wiped out 90 percent of marine species and three quarters of land species 250 million years ago.  And that’s similar to the conditions that are being created on Earth today.

Even though such developments may make today’s habitat conservation plans obsolete, such plans are key to helping species survive.  As long as we still have viable populations of species, we can help them survive in the future.

The organizations recently released a report (The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change) showing that climate changes will increasingly disrupt bird species in all habitats.  The report, as with many like it, was the outcome of inter-organization collaboration – which in science and in conservation is so often one key to success. 

Hundreds of species of birds, already in trouble from habitat loss, invasive species and other environmental concerns, now are finding their habitat and food supply threatened.  Oceanic and Hawaiian birds are likely to suffer the most.  Migratory birds are also likely to be negatively impacted.  Can you imagine driving or bussing home from work tomorrow and finding your street has been significantly flooded or destroyed?

Just as Rachel Carson forecast in her classic book Silent Spring, birds are excellent indicators of the health of our environment, and right now they are giving us an alarming message about the health of our planet.

The report goes beyond the problem and offers a few solutions. One key, as usual, is that organizations and individuals can positively influence this situation by working together. When lands are managed in such a way that it’s good for the wildlife, including birds, it can help ease the pressures that climate change is causing. One example of this is establishing incentives to preserve forests and wetlands, which both reduces carbon emissions and provides good habitat for animals.

Also, the U.S. Department of the Interior is planning to open eight regional Climate Science Centers that will help scientists learn more about the effects and implications of global warming. Land, natural, and cultural resource managers will examine impacts and design adaptation strategies, and deliver public education. The first Climate Science Center is being established in Anchorage, linked to the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

To access the report on line and for more information visit www.stateofthebirds.org.