3/21/12 Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Genesee River, Rochester, NY
For the past two years, Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Contaminants Biologists in New York State have been conducting a study to evaluate whether contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) pose a threat to fish and wildlife in the Genesee River, near Rochester, New York. CECs include substances such as flame retardants, discarded medicines, personal care products, plasticizers, new pesticides, and detergents. These contaminants are associated with agricultural and urban runoff, combined sewer overflows, wastewater treatment plants and industrial waste. They are becoming more widespread in the environment and are frequently not regulated by state or federal water quality programs. These substances may be toxic to fish and wildlife or have other non-lethal biological effects (for example feminization of male fish).
In 2010 and 2011, we collected fish, water and sediment from a number of locations in the Genesee River. Study partners from the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated fish for signs of internal and external tumors and other developmental abnormalities that may be caused by exposure to contaminants. Preliminary results reveal that lower Genesee River water and sediment samples contained chemicals such as hormones (estrogen), pesticides (DEET, atrazine), wastewater treatment plant indicators (caffeine, cholesterol), medicine (lidocaine), flame retardants, coal tar, detergents and plasticizers. This study is part of a larger study being conducted by the Fish and Wildlife Service throughout the Great Lakes, funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
2/21/12 Susquehanna-Chemung Action Plan Now Available!
The Susquehanna-Chemung Action Plan is a watershed management plan for the Susquehanna and Chemung River Basins. This plan uses “ecosystem-based management” approach that integrates human needs, economic issues, and environmental concerns. This two-year planning effort has culminated in a resource rich website, a GIS data viewer, and the Action Plan. All located at www.susquehanna-chemung.org. Please use these resources, implement recommendations, and communicate with Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board about how the action plan is working for you. They will be evaluating progress on this plan yearly and updating every five years.
2/1/12 Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment Presentations
Assessment work on birds, mink, and fish supported by the Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees was presented by the Trustees' Principal Investigators at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry meeting, November 13-17, 2011, in Boston, Massachusetts. The posters and platforms presented were:
Birds:
-Effects of an Environmentally Relevant PCB Mixture on Embryonic Heart Development in Gallus domesticus (Domestic Chicken).
-PCB concentrations in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs collected from the Upper Hudson River varies within a season and between years
-Differential Expression of Liver Regulatory Genes with Embryonic PCB Exposure
Mink:
-Dietary Exposure of Mink (Mustela vison) to Fish from the Upper Hudson River, New York, USA: Effects on Reproduction, Offspring Growth and Mortality.
-Dietary Exposure of Mink (Mustela vison) to Fish from the Upper Hudson River, New York, USA: Organ Mass and Pathology
Fish:
-Vulnerabilities of Atlantic Sturgeon and Shortnose Sturgeon to PCB 126 and TCDD Induced Early Life-Stage Toxicities
These posters and presentations are posted on the Hudson River NRDA web site at: http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/
restorationplans/HudsonRiver/index.html. Other documents for the Hudson River NRDA are also available at that web site.
12/6/2011 Comments on the Draft Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan Addendum plan (3.4 MB pdf) will be accepted until January 20, 2012 and should be sent to anne_secord@fws.gov. The linked document is a damage assessment plan addendum prepared by the Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Trustees. The document provides updates on the cleanup and injury investigation activities in and around Onondaga Lake and describes the Trustees' plans for future work.
10/18/11 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks public comment on draft habitat conservation plan and environmental assessment for National Grid project:
National Grid Draft HCP News Release!
NEW: National Grid Draft HCP including Appendices B and H (pdf)
National Grid Federal Register Notice
NEW: National Grid HCP Draft Environmental Assessment
For more information on the Karner blue butterfly visit our website here.
7/13/11 NiSource Natural Gas Pipeline Federal Register Notice
Draft habitat conservation plan and environmental impact statement for NiSource natural gas pipeline project is available for public comment.
Comments will be received through October 11, 2011. More information can be found here.
5/23/11 American Eel Embryos
American eels, Anguilla rostrata, do not reach full maturity until after they complete their migration to their spawning areas, in the Sargasso Sea. In fact, the exact locations of the spawning areas are unknown and researchers have never seen or collected sexually mature adult American eels and eel larvae. In addition, researchers have had limited success in raising eels in a laboratory setting until recently. In 2007, researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth were able to mature adult American eels in the laboratory and get them to reproduce! Now that researchers have been able to rear American eel larvae in the laboratory, we can begin to explore factors that may be impacting reproduction in this elusive species. A NYFO/University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Environmental Contaminants Off-Refuge Investigation, “Reproductive effects of contaminants on artificially matured and fertilized American eels, Anguilla rostrata” is currently investigating the role of parentally transferred contaminants on embryo and early larval development. The photo below shows embryo development at 17 days.
2/21/11 Stream Restoration Stabilizes Utility Pole and Helps Habitat
New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) contacted Carl Schwartz of the New York Field Office for technical assistance on a restoration project on Cayuga Inlet in the Town of Newfield, Tompkins County. The project is on land owned by the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Local stream instability had undermined one NYSEG power line pole and was threatening another along a 1,000-foot reach. Rather than armoring the banks with riprap, potentially exacerbating the problem, Carl incorporated natural channel design principles to develop a restoration plan that would not only protect NYSEG’s poles but would also restore dimension, pattern, and profile through the reach and provide excellent fish habitat in this cold water stream.
10/14/10 Status-change proposal for Atlantic Sturgeon:
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed to list as threatened or endangered, three distinct population segments (DPS) of the Atlantic sturgeon in the Northeast Region. Threatened status is proposed for the Gulf of Maine DPS and endangered status is proposed for the New York Bight DPS and Chesapeake Bay DPS. You can access the proposed rule here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-24459.pdf (5.13 MB pdf)
NMFS has also simultaneously published a proposed rule to list two Atlantic sturgeon DPS (Carolina and South Atlantic) in the Southeast as endangered: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-24461.pdf (1.6 MB pdf)
9/22/10 Leedy's roseroot scientific name modified
Sedum integrifolium ssp. leedyi has officially been renamed to Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi (=Sedum integrifolium ssp. l.)
8/11/10 Agreement helps eastern NY landowners protect butterfly habitat
An innovative program balances endangered species habitat protection and private land management to benefit Karner blue butterflies. Two New York state-protected butterflies - frosted elfin and Persius duskywing - may also benefit along with other species sharing the same habitat. The Safe Harbor program encourage private landowners to protect habitat by holding them responsible only for the amount of habitat available when they sign up for the program, regardless of the additional habitat resulting from the landowners' good management.
News Release
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3/15/12 Hudson River Trustees Release Restoration Planning Fact Sheet
The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees have released a Fact Sheet, dated March 2012, entitled "Hudson River Restoration Planning." Past and continuing discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have contaminated Hudson River natural resources. The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees – New York State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior – are working cooperatively to conduct this NRDA to assess and restore those natural resources injured by PCBs. This fact sheet describes the Trustees' approach to restoration planning. Restoration is the goal of NRDA. It is an active component of damage assessment that can be seen and felt for generations. The Trustees encourage the public’s continued participation in this process. Please visit this link for a copy of the Fact Sheet. Other documents for the Hudson River NRDA are also available at that web site.
2/2/12 NOAA lists five Atlantic sturgeon populations under Endangered Species Act - See pdf for more information.
11/1/11 New Candidate Notice of Review
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its Candidate Notice of Review, a yearly appraisal of the current status of plants and animals considered candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act. More information can be found here.
10/5/11 New Ruling for Hellbenders
The final listing rule of Endangered Status for the Ozark Hellbender Salamander, and the final rule of Inclusion of the Hellbender, including the Eastern Hellbender and the Ozark Hellbender, in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is now posted on the FWS website. You can find more information here.
9/28/11 90-Day Finding on 404 Species
The Service is seeking to add a total of 404 species to the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants under a decision known as a 90-day finding. More information can be found here.
6/29/11 Long-eared bat and Eastern small-footed bat Federal Register Notice
The substantial 90-day finding on a petition to list the northern long-eared bat and eastern small-footed bat as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act was published in the Federal Register on June 29, 2011. The actual finding is now available on the Federal Register's online public inspection desk (pdf).
6/6/11 Golden Winged Warbler Federal Register Notice:
The 90-Day Findings for the golden-winged warbler has been published in the Federal Register. Please use the link below to view the Findings.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-06-02/pdf/2011-13731.pdf
The Federal Register notice describes how you may submit information/data for the status review initiation. Information is requested by August 1, 2011.
Additional information on golden-winged warblers can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/MidwestBird/
birds_golden_winged_warbler.htm
3/2/11 New England Cottontail Landowner Outreach
Endangered Species Biologists, Noelle Rayman and Robyn Niver, participated in a New England Cottontail (NEC) Landowner Outreach meeting on March 2nd. This meeting was developed and held by the New York NEC Working Group which includes biologists from the Service, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Our goal is to work with private landowners to restore and manage NEC habitat. We provided information on NEC biology and status, Endangered Species Act regulatory issues, and NRCS/FWS habitat restoration programs. This was the first landowner outreach effort conducted in New York for NEC to date and the meeting went quite well.
3/24/11 Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan Update
The USFWS has updated the Karner Blue Buttterfly Recovery Plan (2003). The update involves the addition of the Michigan Oak Openning Potential Recovery Unit (PRU) in southeast Michigan. A KBB reintroduction project is underway at Petersburg State Game Area in this PRU.
More information is available here:
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/
insects/kbb/index.html
Please also see our karner blue butterfly site.
11/15/10 Hudson River Trustees Release Fact Sheet for Mink Field Study
The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees have released a Fact Sheet, dated November 2010, entitled, "Mink Injury Investigations for the Hudson River NRDA, 2010-2011." This fact sheet provides information on a proposed field investigation of Hudson River mink being conducted as part of the Hudson River NRDA.
Natural resources of the Hudson River have been contaminated through past and ongoing discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees -- New York State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior -- are working cooperatively to conduct a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to assess and restore those natural resources injured by PCBs. Many species of mammals, including mink, rely on the Hudson River and its floodplain for food and shelter. Previous studies have shown that PCBs can injure mink, reducing kit survival and causing jaw lesions, among other effects. Hudson River mink are exposed to elevated levels of PCBs. Mink collected by trappers in the vicinity of the river contain relatively high concentrations of PCBs in their bodies. The Trustees plan to assess mink occupancy in the Upper Hudson River and Mohawk River watersheds through the use of scent stations and digital cameras to document mink visitation.
Please visit the following website for a copy of the Fact Sheet: http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/
restorationplans/HudsonRiver/index.html. Other documents for the Hudson River NRDA are also available at that web site.
2010 Outreach brochure download:Borrow an exhibit!
See our exhibits catalog (846 kb pdf) and get on our schedule to display one for the public visiting your nature center!
Please note: Download is intended for duplex printing and folds into a trifold brochure.
Exhibits delivered are by USFWS and may include
outreach materials such as magnets, coloring books etc.
Also, in celebration of Endangered Species Day, May 21, 2010, here are some coloring book links:
Climate Change "Barry the Bald Eagle" Coloring book (12.5 MB pdf)
EPA Kid's Coloring Book (pdf, 3.2 MB)
USFWS Kid's Coloring Book (pdf, 940 kb)
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2/14/12 FWS Lists the Rayed Bean and Snuffbox Mussels as Endangered The final rule, posted in the Federal Register, can be viewed here.
11/1/11 Hudson River Trustees Release USGS Report on Organochlorine Contaminants
The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees have released a data report, dated August 1, 2011, entitled "Organochlorine Contaminants in Tree Swallow Nestlings and in Adipose Tissue from Great Blue Heron Nestlings." This data report contains U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Final Report FY-00-31-05 dated November 30, 2000, corrected June 2011, entitled, "Chemical Contamination of Nestling Tree Swallows, Great Blue Herons, and Resident/Nesting BAld Eagles Along the Hudson River." This report addresses tree swallow and great blue heron samples collected from the Hudson River in 1998-1999 and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Columbia Environmental Research Center in Columbia, Missouri. This work was conducted as part of the Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). Natural resources of the Hudson River have been contaminated through past and ongoing discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees -- New York State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior -- are working cooperatively to conduct this NRDA to assess and restore those natural resources injured by PCBs. Please visit this website to read the data report.
10/24/11 Hudson River Trustees Release USGS Report (samples from 1995)
The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees have released a data report, dated August 1, 2011, entitled "Congener-Specific Analysis of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Residues in Tree Swallow Chicks, Eggs and Other Biota from the Hudson River." This data report contains U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Final Laboratory Report FY-97-30-01 dated November 25, 1996. This report addresses samples from tree swallows (eggs, pre-fledgling chicks and adults), wood ducks (eggs and adults) and mallard ducks (eggs and adults) collected from the Hudson River in 1995 and analyzed by the USGS, Biological Resources Division, Columbia Environmental Research Center in Columbia, Missouri. Insect samples were also collected and analyzed. This work was conducted as part of the Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA).
Natural resources of the Hudson River have been contaminated through past and ongoing discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees -- New York State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior -- are working cooperatively to conduct this NRDA to assess and restore those natural resources injured by PCBs.
Please visit this website to read the report. Other documents for the Hudson River NRDA are also available at that web site.
9/19/11 Hudson River Trustees Release Report for PCB Dosing Solutions for Avian Egg Injection Studies
The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees announce the release of the document, "Preparation of Individual and Custom PCB Mixture Dosing Solutions for Avian Egg Injection Studies Associated with Injury Determinations under the Hudson River NRDA." This report addresses the preparation by the USGS of dosing solutions used in the Trustees’ avian egg injection studies in years subsequent to 2006, including dosing solutions of PCB 77, PCB 126, the spotted sandpiper PCB mixture, and the tree swallow PCB mixture.
Past and continuing discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have contaminated the natural resources of the Hudson River. The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees -- New York State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior -- are conducting a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to assess and restore those natural resources injured by PCBs. As part of the Hudson River NRDA, the Trustees are conducting an avian egg injection study. This report provides the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report on the preparation of dosing solutions used in the Trustees' avian egg injection studies as noted above.
Please visit the following website for a copy of the dosing solution report: http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/restorationplans/HudsonRiver.
7/5/11 Hi View Terrace Natural Resource Damage Settlement Restoration
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 Director has approved the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment Addendum for the Hi View Terrace Superfund Site. Pursuant to this document, the Preferred Alternative for the natural resource damage settlement for the Hi View Terrace site is the Oxbow Property Western Arm, West Seneca, New York. Through a Cooperative Agreement between the USFWS and the Town, funds (about $29,000) will be provided that will enable the Town to purchase the approximately 14 acre parcel that will be protected for conservation. See the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment Addendum
(pdf).
3/3/11 New England Cottontail Pellet Survey
Endangered Species Biologist, Noelle Rayman, assisted New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) State Wildlife Grants Biologist Paul Novak (NYSDEC Region 4) with collecting rabbit pellets in eastern New York in an attempt to determine the presence of the elusive New England Cottontail. Currently, genetic analysis of the pellets is the only reliable way to determine the presence of New England Cottontail and its likely nemesis, the eastern cottontail. Winter is the best time to do this work as pellets and rabbit tracks stand out in the snow better than on bare ground.
12/23/10 Landowners and partners restore fish passage in Waddington, N.Y.
About 18 miles of stream in Little Sucker Brook in Waddington, N.Y., were recently opened for fish passage by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
The Service removed a stone stream crossing and a small culvert meant for water passage. The culvert inhibited the migration of suckers, bullhead, walleye and other fish because of its size and location. The culvert was too high to allow flow at low water levels, and at high water levels, water rushed through too quickly for fish passage.
A contractor replaced the culvert with a bottomless arch and concrete foundation that simulate a natural stream bottom, ease water flow and fish passage, and enable the migration of fish.
The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry is studying and monitoring the area under the guidance of professor John Farrell. The landowners agreed to uphold and not disturb the restoration for 10 years and donated use of a skid steer.
This project was funded by the Fish Enhancement, Mitigation, and Research Fund (FEMRF), which was established as part of a settlement agreement with the New York Power Authority reached in the relicensing of the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project.
The Service manages the fund to benefit fish resources in the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Basin and to continue research on the American eel and other species possibly affected by the power project. The Partners program works to achieve voluntary habitat restoration on private lands to benefit Federal Trust Species.
See our set of Flickr photos, or the stream below.
10/14/10 Landowners and partners restore Blind Bay fish habitat
An excavator operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program reopens 3,000 feet of historic wetlands channels in St. Lawrence Valley, New York, in September. The Blind Bay Restoration Project, a collaboration between the Service and landowners, connects the channels to St. Lawrence River to help restore northern pike spawning and nursery habitat.
Read the News Release
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