First sea turtle nests of the 2012 nesting season.
Kemps Ridley digging nest
Photo By: Britt Harman
May 18, 2012
Mobile/Baldwin Counties, AL - Sea turtle nesting season is in full swing on the Alabama Gulf Coast. Biologists and volunteers alike are scouring the beaches just before sunrise, looking for evidence of a nest.
A Kemps ridley sea turtle was discovered by natural resource advisors on May 1st, at 11:00 in the morning, nesting on the beach in Alabama, (this species nests in the daytime). Loggerheads, the most common species of nesting sea turtle in Alabama, nest at night. Typically, 55 or so sea turtle nests are laid on Alabama's nearly 50 miles of coastline per year. In 2011, we documented 84 nests, the most ever in one season since consistent surveys and records have been kept. Working under a USFWS permit, a volunteer organization called Share the Beach and staff from Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge coordinate and conduct sea turtle nest patrol in Alabama starting May 1, and monitor hatching through October each year.
Important ways visitors to Alabama's beaches in the summer can help sea turtles is to minimize their beach impacts by turning off outside artifical lights, using red filtered flashlights, filling in sand pits dug by energetic kids, and bringing in their beach equipment from the beach each night. Artificial lighting on the beach during sea turtle nesting season can disorient nesting females and hatchlings causing them to wander onto roadways or die of dehydration. Lighting can also deter nesting althogether. Sand pits and ruts can entrap sea turtles and hatchlings trying to nest or reach the water. Beach equipment such as umbrellas, chairs and toys left on the beach at night can entangle sea turtles while trying to nest.
For more Sea Turtle information go to the Alabama Field Office Sea Turtle Page.
Service Announces "EyeOnNature" Photography and Digital Art Contest in Celebration of Endangered Species Day!
An example of Digital Art.
Photo: USFWS Paul Lang.
May 1, 2012
DAPHNE, AL - The Alabama Field Office is celebrating the state's natural resources by hosting its first-ever "EyeOnNature" photography and digital art contest! High School and Middle School students in Baldwin and Mobile Counties are invited to pull out their cameras, turn on their computers and submit their best nature photographs and digital art.
The contest will feature four categories: 1) Digital Art 2) Habitat Landscape 3) People in Nature 4) Wildlife or Plants
Judges will award first through third place winners in each category, plus, an overall Grand Prize winner. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $300.00 Amazon gift card. First place winners in each category will receive a $50.00 Amazon gift card. All winners will receive a framed copy of their winning image. Winning images will be placed on display for public viewing and on the Alabama Field Office website. Students can enter up to five images.
All submissions will be posted daily on our facebook page. "Like" our page, and join the conversation about your favorite photographs! https://www.facebook.com/usfwsalabama
Submit photos via email at alphotocontest@fws.gov. The deadline for submissions is Endangered Species Day, May 18, 2012.
"We want kids to know how important it is to take care of our plants and wildlife. If we work together, we can protect our precious resources, and keep them off the Endangered Species List," explained Field Supervisor Bill Pearson. "What better way to celebrate wildlife than by capturing images of nature in the state of Alabama?"
Working Lands for Wildlife Announced in Alabama
(l-r) NRCS State Conservationist Dr. William
Puckett, US Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy
Field Supervisor Dan Everson,NRCS State
Wildlife Biologist Jeff Thurmond observe a
gopher tortoise burrow.
Auburn, Ala., March 23, 2012
Article Provided by the NRCS
Alabama's USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Dr. William Puckett and Bill Pearson, Field Supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Alabama Field Office in Daphne, announced a partnership opportunity for landowners to voluntarily restore and protect habitat for the gopher tortoise.
Today’s announcement kicks-off the sign-up for the Working Lands for Wildlife initiative. This program targets at-risk wildlife species across the country.
Funding for this initiative is provided through the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) administered by NRCS. Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis; however applications for 2012 funding must be received by the following batching dates: April 30, 2012 and May 30, 2012.
“Landowners can receive financial assistance for a number of habitat management practices such as prescribed burning,” said Puckett. Landowners with gopher tortoises on their property will rank highest for funding allocation.
"We are excited about our strong partnership with NRCS to conserve the iconic gopher tortoise here in Alabama," said Pearson. "We want to work with landowners on a voluntary basis to help the gopher tortoise endure on private lands. If we can do enough to conserve the species now, we can hopefully avoid the need to list it under the Endangered Species Act, our last line of defense.”
Interested producers should visit their nearest USDA Service Center to determine eligibility. Individuals are not eligible for WHIP until they have completed the Farm Bill eligibility requirements. Contact your local NRCS or Farm Service Agency Office to begin this process. NRCS field offices are listed in the telephone directory under U.S. Department of Agriculture or on-line at http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov
Alabama NRCS Website for Working Lands for Wildlife
Dan Everson's interview with Southeast Agnet Radio.
Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCAs), and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs)
Spring Pygmy Sunfish
Elaassoma alabamae
Credit: ADCNR
When a critter is close to extinction, conservationists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service take protective measures to restore the species. Adding imperiled wildlife to the Endangered Species List is the last line of defense for the animal. But the list of troubled plants, fish and animals is growing. Currently, the Service is working on a backlog of 435 species in the Southeast Region that may need protection under the Endangered Species Act. In other words, they are “candidates” for listing. While biologists collect data on these species, the Service is taking proactive measures to help boost other populations…and help keep them off the list.
In order to stop these candidates species from federal listing, more field offices are taking advantage of Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCAs), and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs). These are formal conservation agreements between the Service, Federal agencies, States, Tribes and non-governmental organizations who voluntarily commit to implement specific actions designed to remove or reduce threats to species. These agreements would cover Federal and non-Federal land, as well as private land.
The Endangered Species Act is designed to help those species desperate to survive. With the help of CCAs and CCAA’s, hopefully candidate species won’t have to reach the brink of extinction. Together, the partners can take proactive steps to enhance fish, wildlife and their habitats. If you have any questions about these agreements, email Alabama@fws.gov.
Congratulations to Our 2011 Recovery Champions!
Campbell B. Lanier, III
Credit: USFWS
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Campbell B. Lanier, III, Lanett, Alabama
When faced with the prospect that red-cockaded woodpeckers were about to vanish from his property, Campbell Lanier said, “Not on my watch.” What developed since that day is a fine public-private conservation partnership, proving that working forest landscapes can support optimal bobwhite quail hunting opportunities and aid in the recovery of endangered species. Conservation has come naturally to the Lanier Family. To restore longleaf pine forests, Mr. Lanier plants longleaf pine seedlings, conducts prescribed burns to maintain the open, park-like areas that the woodpeckers prefer, and installs artificial nesting and roosting cavities. These initiatives saved a small, remnant population and resulted in its growth to more than 20 family groups—the largest population on private property in Alabama. Mr. Lanier’s leadership has inspired other conservationists to enroll thousands of acres in the Safe Harbor Program.
Full Recovery Champions Article
Manatees Make a Splash in Mobile Bay
West Indian Manatee
Trichechus manatus
Credit: Kelly Brinkman ADCNR
The waters of coastal Alabama have been known for many things. Whether you’re fishing for speckled trout, watching the mullet jump, or lounging in a boat on a lazy Sunday afternoon, the Mobile Bay is a treasured part of Alabama’s culture. Now, this beloved bay is becoming popular for another reason. Over the past several years, biologists and residents have been tracking endangered manatees in Mobile Bay and surrounding river systems.
West Indian manatees are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. We’ve grown accustomed to thinking of them as living in Florida because that’s where they concentrate during the winter. But Mobilians are quickly learning that manatees also take lengthy vacations on the Alabama Gulf Coast.
Suzi Mutascio has lived on Dog River for 22 years. She used to think manatees in Alabama were just an old wives’ tale. But August 11, 2010 changed her view forever. That was the first time Mutascio ever witnessed a manatee capture, and the giant creature quickly won her heart.
Click here for more on this story
If you see a manatee or would like to volunteer, please call 1-866-493-5803.
