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Atlantic Loggerhead Recovery Team Meeting

Meeting Minutes

18-23 April 2004

National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV

Team members in attendance (in alphabetical order):

• Alan Bolten - University of Florida
• Mark Dodd - Georgia Department of Natural Resources
• Sandy MacPherson - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Jack Musick - Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary
• Barbara Schroeder - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service
• Blair Witherington - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Rapporteur:

• Kristy Long - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service

Next meeting The Team tentatively scheduled the next meeting for 4-8 October 2004 and discussed having a conference call in September 2004. A complete draft recovery plan will be sent to the Team for review prior to the October meeting. At the meeting, we will discuss any additional changes needed in the draft plan, come to closure on the threats tables, and come to closure on the implementation schedule.>

Recovery criteria: The Team reviewed and modified the recovery criteria it had previously drafted for each recovery unit.  The Team decided to add an appendix including summary tables of data used to calculate nesting trends and the minimum detectable trend as these data were subsequently used for developing recovery criteria for each recovery unit.  Dr. Selina Heppell’s analysis will be footnoted in the criteria as well.

The Team discussed linking recovery tasks to the recovery criteria (by listing implementation task numbers after each recovery criteria), similar to the format of the manatee recovery plan.  The Team also discussed the value and appropriateness of linking recovery implementation tasks to threats in the threats analyses tables to better show the linkages among threats and recovery tasks aimed at addressing those threats.

The Team decided to include a table in the Introduction section of the recovery plan that includes life history traits and related statistics (e.g., clutch size, incubation duration, clutch frequency, inter-nesting interval, remigration interval, survivorship estimate by life stage, duration of each life stage, growth rate by life stage, size distribution by life stage).  When appropriate, these traits/statistics will be broken out by recovery unit.

The Team spent a considerable amount of time refining the step down narrative and recovery actions section.

Assignments:

Prepare a list of the beaches used for determining the average number of nests in Florida Panhandle Recovery Unit - BEW.

Get clarification on whether there should be a total estimated cost column in the implementation schedule - BAS.

Send life history traits and related statistics to SLM for inclusion in the Life History Traits table - ALL TEAM MEMBERS.

Compile all sections, edit as appropriate for consistency and technical accuracy, and send a complete draft recovery plan to the Team for review prior to the October meeting - ABB, SLM, BAS.

Send information to SLM on loggerhead nesting beaches in municipal and county park ownership in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia - MGD.

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