Contacts
Sue Detwiler (907) 786-3868
Karen Boylan (907) 786-3309
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comment on the draft recovery plan for the Alaska-breeding population of the Steller’s eider. The plan is available for public review and comment through July 29, 2002.
Recovery of listed species is the goal of the Endangered Species Act. Development of a recovery plan that incorporates public comments is a major milestone along the path to recovering the Steller's eider. The draft recovery plan presents the tasks needed to recover this species and explains the process to be used to accomplish these tasks.
The Alaska-breeding population of the Steller’s eider was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1997. The causes for the decline of the Alaska-breeding population of Steller's eiders are poorly understood. Some possible factors causing the decline include predation, hunting, ingestion of spent lead shot, environmental changes, and exposure to contaminants. Many of the recovery tasks will involve research to evaluate the effects of these factors on this species.
A copy of the plan can be found by going to http://alaska.fws.gov/ and clicking on "Steller's Eider Draft Recovery Plan" under the "Hot Issues" heading.
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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 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 governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
- FWS -
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov
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