Lands in California and Nevada are among the worlds richest sources of renewable energy in the form of wind, solar and geothermal energy. The Pacific Southwest Region provides environmental review of renewable energy projects in support of the Department of the Interior's initiatives to advance environmentally appropriate renewable energy in California and Nevada and Klamath Basin. Learn more about our role in renewable energy development.
U.S. Fish And Wildlife’s New State Supervisor Arrives
In Nevada
October 11, 2011
RENO,
NEVADA… The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced
today that Edward (Ted) Koch (pronounced "cook") has been
selected as the new State Supervisor for the Nevada Fish
and Wildlife Office. Koch will be supervising all the Service’s
ecological services programs in Nevada which includes offices
located in both Reno and Las Vegas.
Koch has 23 years of experience with the Service, most
recently as the Service’s Bull Trout Coordinator in Boise,
Idaho. Koch has a B.S. in Environmental Biology from Southern
Connecticut State University and an M.S. in Zoology from
Idaho State University.
“Ted brings a wealth of knowledge
and experience in wildlife conservation to the Nevada
Fish and Wildlife Office,” said Pacific Southwest Region
Director Ren Lohoefener. “I had the great pleasure of
working with Ted on Idaho and Pacific Northwest issues
and I know he will help us work with the State, Tribes,
and all other partners to resolve the conservation issues
we face today and tomorrow in Nevada and the Pacific
Southwest.”Photo Caption: Edward (Ted) Koch.
Credit: USFWS News Release
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Determines
Northern Leatherside Chub Does Not Warrant Protection
Under the Endangered Species Act
October 11, 2011
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today that it has completed a status review, also known as a 12-month finding, of the northern leatherside chub, and concluded it does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We made this finding after a thorough review of all the available scientific and commercial information regarding the status of the northern leatherside chub and threats to the species.
The northern leatherside chub (Lepidomeda copei) is a small desert
fish in the minnow family that occurs in northern Utah and Nevada, southern
and eastern Idaho, and western Wyoming. Current populations are found in the
Bear, Snake, and Green River drainages. Its common name comes from the leathery
appearance created by small scales on a trim, tapering body. Northern leatherside
chub occur in small desert streams between elevations of approximately 4,100
and 9,000 feet, with low to moderate velocities. They have relatively broad
diets, eating items in both the stream drift and the substrate, with insects
comprising a large portion of diet. Photo Caption: Northern
leatherside chub. Credit: Paul Chase / Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, USFS News Release Frequently Asked Questions
Endangered Species Act Protection for Northern Leopard Frog is Not Warranted
October 4, 2011
The
northern leopard frog does not warrant federal protection
as a threatened or endangered species, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) announced today. The announcement
is the result of an evaluation of the status of the northern
leopard frogs its 19-state western range and throughout
the species’ entire range.
The Service was petitioned in 2006 to add the western U.S.
population of the northern leopard frog to the list of threatened
species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Under
the Endangered Species Act, animal populations that are
discrete, significant and threatened can be considered for
protection as a “distinct population segment” (DPS). Genetic
data analyzed indicates that, while there are genetic differences
among leopard frogs, the populations are not markedly separate.
Therefore, the western U.S. populations do not qualify as
a DPS. Photo
Caption: Northern leopard frog. Credit: Laurie Averill-Murray News Release Frequently Asked Questions About the Northern leopard frog
Four Great Basin Butterflies May Warrant Protection Under the Endangered Species Act
October 3, 2011
The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today announced that four butterfly
species native to the Great Basin of Nevada may warrant federal protection
as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Today’s decision, commonly known as a 90-day finding, is based on scientific
information about the species provided in a petition requesting protection
of the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and in the Service’s
files. The Service will now undertake a more thorough status review of the
butterflies – the Baking Powder Flat blue butterfly (Euphilotes
bernardino minuta), bleached sandhill skipper (Polites
sabuleti sinemaculata), Steptoe
Valley crescentspot (Phyciodes cocyta arenacolor), and White River
Valley skipper (Hesperia uncas grandiosa) – to determine whether
to propose adding the species to the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife. Photo
Caption: Butterfly. Credit: USFWS News
Release Federal
Register Frequently
Asked Questions
32 Species of Springsnails Warrant Review for Possible Protection
Under the Endangered Species Act
September 12 , 2011
LAS
VEGAS — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today
announced it will conduct an in-depth status review of
32 Great Basin and Mojave Desert springsnails to determine
if any or all of them warrant federal protection as a threatened
or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Today’s decision, commonly known as a 90-day finding,
is based on scientific information in the Service’s files
and provided in a petition requesting the listing of 42
species of Great Basin and Mojave Desert springsnails
in Nevada, Utah, and California as threatened or endangered
with the designation of critical habitat under the ESA. Photo
Caption: Springsnails. Credit:
USFWS News
Release Federal
Register Frequently
Asked Questions
