On January 10, 1986 the piping plover (Charadrius melodus) was listed as endangered and threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1985). This species breeds only in North America in three geographic regions (Figure 1). The Atlantic Coast population breeds on sandy beaches along the east coast of North America, from Newfoundland to South Carolina. The Great Lakes population historically nested on sandy beaches throughout the Great Lakes but has declined dramatically and now occurs on just a few sites on the upper lakes. The third population breeds on major river systems and alkali lakes and wetlands of the Northern Great Plains.
In the Final Rule listing the piping plover across its range, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated the Great Lakes population as endangered and the Atlantic Coast and Great Plains populations as threatened. To facilitate recovery efforts for piping plovers over this wide geographic area, the Service appointed two recovery teams. The Great Lakes/Northern Great Plains (GL/NGP) Recovery Team has developed a recovery plan (USFWS 1988a, 1994a) and makes management recommendations for those two plover populations, while the Atlantic Coast Recovery Team fulfills an identical role for plovers along the East Coast. Furthermore, two Canadian recovery teams provide guidance for activities to recover Atlantic Coast and Prairie piping plovers in that country (Canadian Wildlife Service 1989); coordination of recovery activities between the two countries is facilitated through exchange of observers (i.e., non-members) among recovery teams and frequent communications.
The plan outlined in this document is the first revision of the 1988 Atlantic Coast Piping Plover Recovery Plan (USFWS 1988e). It reports on progress to date and continuing recovery issues, and provides a strategy for the recovery of the entire Atlantic Coast piping plover population, albeit site-specific recommendations are limited to the United States part of its range.
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URL address http://pipingplover.fws.gov/
Last updated March 15, 2000