An oxbow of Cedar Creek in Greene County, Iowa after restoration by the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program to benefit Topeka shiners.
Photo by USFWS; Kraig McPeek |
April 6, 2012
What started as a pitch to a few skeptical landowners in the early 2000s, turned into a success story. Blending the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program with endangered species habitat restorations demonstrates true strategic habitat conservation - especially when it works as well as Iowa restoration efforts have for the Topeka shiner.
The Topeka shiner, listed as federally endangered in 1998, was once found in many streams and rivers throughout Iowa. Now, because of habitat reductions, that range has been reduced to the North Raccoon River and its tributaries, with smaller populations in the Boone, Rock and Little Rock Rivers. Topeka shiners prefer quiet, open pools of small prairie streams. Back in the days when Iowa was covered in prairie, these streams used to naturally meander, creating cut-offs of the outside loops of the main stream. These loops became U-shaped ponds known as oxbows, which reconnected to the stream during high water. These oxbows provided the perfect quiet, pool-like habitat that Topeka shiners prefer. The problem is that over time these naturally meandering prairie streams have been straightened and channelized causing natural oxbows to disappear, along with any natural pools found within the stream. The few oxbows that do remain along these streams have filled with sediment over time and only hold water part of the year. Topeka shiners still get in these oxbows during flood events, only to die when summer comes around and the oxbows dry up.
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About Topeka Shiner
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act. To fulfill our responsibilities, we do the following:
Candidate Conservation: identify and assess declining species that may need Endangered Species Act protection and take steps to conserve those species.
Listing: take steps to list candidate species as endangered or threatened and designate critical habitat. We also remove species from the Threatened and Endangered Species List ("delist") when they no longer need Endangered Species Act protection.
Recovery: protect, conserve and restore listed species. Recovery Report to Congress: 2009 to 2010 (PDF 3.1MB)
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Section 7 consultation guidance for Federal agencies
and their applicants (i.e., project proponents). |
Section 7 Consultation: all Federal agencies have a responsiblity to conserve threatened and endangered species and to ensure that their actions do not jeopardize the existence of any listed species. Under the authority of Section 7 of the Act, we consult with Federal agencies to help them fulfill their obligations.
Permits: issue permits to "take" listed species, under certain conditions.
Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs): work with Incidental Take permit applicants to help them prepare HCPs that minimize and mitigate the effects of their incidental take.
Grants: provide grants to States under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act. These funds may, in turn, be awarded to private landowners and groups for conservation projects.
State Field Offices
We have Ecological Services Field Offices in each of the eight upper Midwest States. For project reviews, Section 7 consultation, or information about endangered species that you do not find on this site, please contact the Field Office in your state.
“Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of
preservation than the rich array of animal life with
which our country has been blessed. It is a many faceted
treasure, of value to scholars, scientists,
and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part
of the heritage we all share as Americans.”
PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON—STATEMENT UPON SIGNING THE
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT, DECEMBER 28, 1973
