Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to List Kentucky Glade Cress and Designate Critical Habitat

May 23, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to list the Kentucky glade cress as threatened throughout its narrow range under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The mustard plant is only found in Bullitt and Jefferson Counties, where the Service also is proposing to designate about 2,053 acres as the plant's critical habitat.

“The Kentucky glade cress is one of Kentucky's rarest plants, and it exists on the outskirts of the rapidly growing metro Louisville area,” said Lee Andrews, supervisor of the Service’s Kentucky Field Office. “We hope that landowners and local governments will help us conserve this plant and its habitat through improved management and land protection efforts.”

A small, winter annual with a white to lilac colored flower, the glade cress grows in areas with flat, thin soil, such as cedar glades. It needs sunny areas with green, leafy vegetation that are wet in late winter to early spring, but then dry quickly. Natural areas surrounding the glades that are protected from disturbance are critical to maintaining the plant’s habitat.

Read the full story...

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Investigating Manatee Video

May 22, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement is leading a joint investigation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regarding a video of a man jumping onto two manatees.

They are investigating a video posted on Facebook and You Tube that shows the subject doing a cannonball on top of what appears to be a manatee and a young calf swimming near a dock.

The Service is investigating possible violations of the Endangered Species Act. Evidence obtained during the investigation may be forwarded to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida for possible prosecution.

Read the full story...

$22,000 Reward for Information Involving Bald Eagle Shootings ($11,000 per eagle/responsible subject)

May 21, 2013

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are investigating the shooting of two (2) bald eagles in eastern Tennessee. A reward of up to $22,000 ($11,000 per eagle/ responsible subject) is being offered for information leading to a conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting these eagles.

SODDY-DAISY --- Sometime during the last week of March, 2013, an injured bald eagle was found on the northern end of Chickamauga Lake along the Tennessee River in Hamilton County near Thatch Road Gravel Boat Ramp and just south of Eldridge Slough. An examination by a veterinarian at the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital determined the eagle had been shot. This was a mature bald eagle with a white head and white tail feathers. It survived the shooting and is recovering at the American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

MADISONVILLE --- Sometime during the first week of May, 2013, a second injured bald eagle was found in the area of Tellico Lake along the Tellico River arm in Monroe County. It was found on Scenic River Road where it crosses the land bridge approximately 3.4 miles from the intersection of Ball Play Road and 1/10 of a mile from the Clear Water Cove Subdivision. An examination by a veterinarian at the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital determined the eagle had been shot. It survived the shooting and is recovering at the American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This was a juvenile bald eagle and it did not have the white head and tail feathers recognized with adult bald eagles. It had mottled dark brown feathers overlaid with a few messy white streaked feathers. It typically takes an eagle 4-5 years to reach maturity and have adult plumage.

Read the full story...

Agencies Announce Funding Agreement for Federal Trout Hatchery Operation, Tennessee Valley Stocking

May 16, 2013

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and representatives from the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced Friday a new agreement that will continue popular trout stocking programs in reservoirs and tailwaters of certain TVA dams across the region.

TVA will provide more than $900,000 per year for the next three years to support federal fish hatchery operations that provide the trout for stocking. During the three-year timeframe, per an agreement signed by the four agencies, a working group will be formed with key stakeholders who benefit from the recreation-based trout stocking to identify a long-term funding source.

Currently, trout stocked near some of TVA’s dams are raised at three federal fish hatcheries operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Erwin National Fish Hatchery in Erwin, Tenn.; Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery in Celina, Tenn.; and Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery in Suches, Ga.

“Closing Dale Hollow and Erwin would have been a disaster for 900,000 Tennesseans and visitors who bought fishing licenses last year,” Alexander said. “Dale Hollow helps make Tennessee’s rivers and lakes among the most prized trout fisheries in our country. And the Erwin hatchery provides brood stocks for fishing waters across the country.”

Read the full story...

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Endangered Species Recovery Champion Award Winners

Experts from Arkansas, Florida, and Tennessee Honored

May 16, 2013

The story of endangered species conservation in the United States over the past 40 years involves many heroes.

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service honored 61 of these heroes for their outstanding efforts to conserve and protect endangered and threatened fish, wildlife and plants by designating them 2012 National Recovery Champions. Among the award winners were a team and a university that helped the Service remove the Magazine Mountain Shagreen, a snail only found on Magazine Mountain in Arkansas, from the Endangered Species list.

At the same time, two Service biologists from Florida were honored for their work to prevent the extinction of the rare Florida grasshopper sparrow.

“Recovery Champion awards acknowledge individuals and groups who have excelled in their efforts to protect and recover our most imperiled species,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “They exemplify the dedication and determination that has helped save countless animals and plants from extinction and that continues to raise the bar in the field of endangered species conservation.”

Read the full story...

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Delists Magazine Mountain Shagreen – First Invertebrate Recovered under the ESA

May 14, 2013

In the highest parts of Arkansas’ Ozarks, the slow-moving Magazine Mountain shagreen snail won the race to become the first invertebrate to be delisted under the Endangered Species Act.

“Today we are excited to announce that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is delisting the Magazine Mountain shagreen,” said Cindy Dohner, Southeast Regional Director. “The recovery of this species was made possible through collaborative efforts of our partners at the U.S. Forest Service, the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to remove threats and protect the habitat of the Magazine Mountain shagreen. The delisting of this snail is another Endangered Species Act success story.”

When the Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973, this landmark legislation allowed for the protection of wildlife, both vertebrates and invertebrates (including snails, mussels, crustaceans, etc), and plants. In the South, the Service is working to recover more than 340 federally listed species – more than 100 of these are invertebrates. Nationally, the Service is working to recover about 600 listed animals. More than a third of them are invertebrates.

Read the full story...

When Push Comes to Shove

The Florida manatee is thriving in Kings Bay, and so is tourism. Therein lies the problem.

May 9, 2013

By: Mel White, National Geographic

Manatee. Credit: Jim Reid, USFWS. Click to download.

The welcome sign on the outskirts of Crystal River isn’t the kind you see every day: “Manatee Information: Tune to 1610 AM,” it reads. Then, too, not many towns have a red-white-and-blue statue of an endangered marine mammal in front of City Hall.

Stop to ask where you can see these aquatic celebrities, and you learn that a couple dozen local dive shops offer snorkeling tours in Kings Bay. Or you can rent a kayak and paddle to one of the warm springs where manatees hang out in winter. Or if you want to watch from dry land, you can head over to the canal west of Three Sisters Springs.

At the canal it takes only a few minutes before the first manatees cruise below, pale ghosts in the jade green canal. They pass alone, or with a single calf, or occasionally in groups of three or four. There’s a constant flow of people coming and going too.

Read the full story...

Service Estimates Economic Impacts and Releases Draft Environmental Assessment of Critical Habitat Designation for Neosho Mucket and Rabbitsfoot

May 8, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is releasing the estimated cost and economic impacts and draft environmental assessment of the proposed critical habitat designation of two freshwater mussels, and is seeking public comment.

Last year, the Service proposed to list the Neosho mucket as endangered, and the rabbitsfoot as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service also proposed to designate critical habitat for these two mussels in 43 critical habitat units encompassing 2,138 river miles of stream channel in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. 

Read the full story...

Secretary Jewell Tours Everglades, Affirms Administration’s Unprecedented Commitment to Restoration Efforts in South Florida

Meets with Stakeholders and Employees; Briefed on Projects to Restore Quality, Quantity, Timing and Distribution of Water and Efforts to Combat Invasive Species

May 1, 2013

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fl. – In one of her first trips as Secretary of the Interior, and as part of the Obama Administration’s unprecedented commitment to the restoration of the Everglades, Sally Jewell today toured Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park, pledging continued strong support for the restoration efforts that have picked up speed during the past four years under the Obama Administration.

“President Obama has kept his commitment to the people of Florida to make the Everglades restoration a high priority in his administration and together we have made great strides in getting the water right and reducing the threats to this great ecosystem,” said Jewell. “We still have much work to do, from addressing invasive species to developing new water projects, and we will work with the state, Native American Tribes, local governments and all the stakeholders to get the job done.”

Read the full story...