Endangered Species Program

Endangered Species Act Protections to be Reinstated for Western Great Lakes Gray Wolves

Gray wolf
Gray wolf. Photo credit: Gary Kramer/USFWS


 

June 29, 2009
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit challenging its 2009 rule removing Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes. The Service has agreed to provide an additional opportunity for public comment on the rule. Until the rule is finalized, wolves in the Western Great Lakes will again be protected by the Endangered Species Act once the court approves this agreement.

News Release

Question and Answers [pdf]


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Get the Buzz on National Pollinator Week!

A leafcutting bee pollinates butterfly weed.
A leafcutting bee pollinates butterfly weed. Photo credit: Mike Higgins/USFWS


 

June 22, 2009
Celebrate National Pollinator Week, June 22-28! View the new video of Service staff and volunteers planting a Demonstration Pollinator Garden at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, which provides planting tips for your garden. Often we may not notice the hummingbirds, bats, bees and butterflies that carry pollen from one plant to another as they collect nectar. Yet without them, wildlife would have fewer nutritious berries and seeds, and we would miss many fruits, vegetables and nuts. How many pollinators can you find in your yard?

Learn More
Video

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Service Requests Proposals for Endangered Species Conservation

whooping crane
Whooping Crane. Photo credit: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS  

June 19, 2009
The Service is now seeking proposals from states and U.S. territories to acquire land or plan for endangered species conservation efforts. Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act provides grants to states and territories to support participation in a wide array of conservation projects for threatened and and endangered species, as well as for species that are either candidates or have been proposed for listing. Proposals are due by August 19, 2009.

News Release
Section 6 Grants [pdf]
Learn More

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NOAA and USFWS Protect More Gulf of Maine Atlantic Salmon to Recover Imperiled Stocks

Nashua Fish Hatchery employee with Atlantic Salmon.
Nashua Fish Hatchery employee with Atlantic Salmon. Photo credit: Beth Jackson/USFWS  

June 15, 2009
NOAA’s Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today extended Endangered Species Act protection to more Atlantic salmon by adding fish in the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin rivers and their tributaries to the endangered Gulf of Maine population first listed in 2000.

News Release

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New Safe Harbor Agreement Will Benefit Three Central California Species

Susan Moore, Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, and Richard G. Sykes, Manager of Natural Resources for East Bay Municipal Utility District, sign a Safe Harbor Agreement at the Pardee Reservoir in Amador County
Susan Moore, Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, and Richard G. Sykes, Manager of Natural Resources for EBMUD, sign the historic Safe Harbor Agreement at Pardee Reservoir in Amador County on June 2. (Photo credit: Steve Martarano/ USFWS)  

June 2, 2009
A Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA), covering 28,000 acres of East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) land in the Mokelumne watershed in parts of three counties, was signed on June 2, 2009. The SHA is the largest in California and is among the largest single-owner SHAs in the country. The 30-year agreement will help three species federally listed as threatened: the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, California red-legged frog, and California tiger salamander. Under this SHA, EBMUD will enhance, create, and manage habitat for these three species and receive a permit authorizing the incidental take of these species during specific maintenance and operation activities. SHAs encourage private and other non-federal property owners to conserve the habitat of protected species by assuring that the owners will not incur increased property use restrictions if their efforts attract and help listed species on their property.

Michael Bean, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) who worked to develop the SHA concept, played a major role in bringing the Fish and Wildlife Service and EBMUD together for this agreement. Bean recently joined federal service as counsel to the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks for Endangered Species Act matters.

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Special Topics

ESA 35

2007 Recovery Champions

Kids' poster - front
What's Weird, Wonderful, and Needs Help?

image of Working Together — 
	Partnerships for Endangered Species Recovery (Poster)
Working Together -- Partnerships for Endangered Species Recovery

Safe Harbor Video
[16 mb]

image of working together brochure cover
Working Together: Tools for Helping Imperiled Wildlife on Private Lands[PDF - 2.18MB]

Why Save Endangered Species cover
Why Save Endangered Species? [PDF - 224KB]

front cover of Conservation Profiles: Landowners Help Imperiled Wildlife
Conservation Profiles: Landowners Help Imperiled Wildlife

Printer-friendly 8.5 x 11 version

 

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Last updated: June 29, 2009