News Release

Contacts

Bob Williams, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office (775) 861-6300

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan for recovering the endangered Carson wandering skipper is now available. Recovery plans are blueprints for actions by federal and state agencies and private organizations to conserve the ecosystems upon which listed species depend and to recover species to levels where protection under the Endangered Species Act is no longer necessary.

"The Recovery plan identifies tasks that, when accomplished, will move us forward to downlist and ultimately delist the Carson wandering skipper," said Bob Williams, Field Supervisor of the Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office.  "We will continue working closely with our partners and private landowners to recover the species."

The endangered Carson wandering skipper (Pseudocopaeodes eunus obscurus) has been identified in grassland habitat in three counties in northeast California and northwest Nevada.  Recovery tasks in the Carson Wandering Skipper Recovery Plan include:  protecting the habitat where the Carson wandering skipper is known to occur; surveying for additional populations; developing and implementing habitat restoration and management for the skipper; and developing and implementing outreach programs to inform the public about this endangered species.

Copies of the Carson Wandering Skipper Recovery Plan are available by contacting the Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office at 1340 Financial Boulevard, Suite 234, Reno, Nevada 89502, (775) 861-6300, and at the following website:  http://www.fws.gov/nevada .

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 548 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.