Fish and Wildlife Service

KOFA

2008 2009 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Winner Seokk Hong from Dallas Texas

Welcome to the Southwest Region

The Southwest Region encompasses the four states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. We work with a variety of partners -- other agencies, communities, tribal governments, conservation groups, business interests, landowners and concerned citizens in these four states -- to conserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitat for the continuing benefit of the American people.


Male lesser prairie-chicken. Photo credit: Nancy Riley, USFWS

Fish & Wildlife Service Partners with Private Landowners to Protect Prairie Chickens

April 2008
Because of the dramatic decline in lesser prairie-chicken numbers over the last fifty years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has identified the lesser prairie-chicken as a Candidate Species for Federal listing under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Researchers studying mortality factors for the birds in the southwestern United States found that collisions (mainly with fences) account for 35 percent of the hen mortalities in New Mexico. During the 7th Annual Prairie Chicken Festival in Milnesand, New Mexico, this April, the Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program installed three miles of fence markers on private landowners’ fences in the heart of the New Mexico lesser prairie-chicken population in an effort to reduce adult hen mortality and improve nesting and brood-rearing success. Read the complete article by Nancy Riley.

Young Leaders Gather for First Southwest Youth Forum on Environment

	Doctor Benjamin Tuggle joins the participants of the first Youth Forum for environment held at Sevilleta NWR. Photo credit: USFWS

April 20th, 2008
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) hosted the first Southwest Youth Forum for the Environment at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge from April 18 through April 20, 2008. The event celebrated young people throughout the southwest who have successfully completed projects and taken part in activities in the fields of wildlife and environmental conservation.

The forum was held in order to honor these young people, as well as encourage them to continue to pursue their interest in natural resource conservation. Students from ten schools throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma and their families were present to participate in hands-on research and habitat management projects. The students also presented their research projects at the forum.

The Service recently launched its Let’s Go Outside! initiative to encourage Americans to spend time outdoors. It’s a great way to foster meaningful experiences for all ages and create a life-long connection to the environment. Recent research has shown it can also improve one’s overall health and well-being.


Photo Credit: © Bob Sivinski

Critical Habitat Designated for Pecos Sunflower

The Service has published its rule (Final CH Rule) defining the habitat that is critical for the threatened Pecos Sunflower (read the news release), found in parts of New Mexico and far west Texas. The stunningly beautiful plant is part of the Aster family. It grows to between 3 and 9 feet tall and has bright yellow flowers with purplish-brown centers. Pecos sunflower looks much like the common sunflower seen along roadsides throughout the West, but differs from common sunflower by having narrower leaves, fewer hairs on the stems and leaves, smaller flower heads, and narrower bracts around the bases of the heads.


The fossil discovered on the Bosque del Apache NWR is an oreodont, a hoofed ungulate unique to North America that lived between 10 and 15 million years ago. Photo credit: USFWS

10 Million Year Old Fossil Discovered at National Wildlfe Refuge

March 10, 2008
On February 22, a fossil was discovered embedded in a rock face at Bosque del Apache NWR.

Known the world over as a premier destination for bird watching and wildlife conservation, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge recently added an unexpected and unusual species to its list of mammals that once called the refuge home. On February 22, two geologists from the New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources and a student from New Mexico Tech discovered a fossil embedded in a rock face. Paleontologists from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science have confirmed the fossil is from an oreodont, an extinct group of hoofed ungulates that were unique to North America and lived during the Miocene era between 10 and 15 million years ago.

Read the Press Release (.pdf)
For more information visit The Main Refuge website.

Please see our National Fish and Wildlife Service Web site for more information on our activities in other areas of the country.

Please take the time to email Lisa Whittle, Southwest Region Web Manager with your comments regarding the Southwest Region website redesign.

Public Invited to Participate in Preparation of Mountain Lion Management Plan for Kofa Refuge

April 28, 2008
The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has initiated a public scoping process as part of their efforts to develop a mountain lion management plan on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the scoping period gives all interested parties an opportunity to provide input by identifying concerns, potential impacts, and possible alternatives for mountain lion management. The scoping period runs from April 24 through May 24.

Comments must be submitted in writing. Electronic comments can be sent to KofaLionComments@fws.gov. Written comments may also be mailed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 356 West 1st Street, Yuma, AZ 85364.

For more information read the press release or visit the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge website.

Senior Girl Scout Organizes Teens in Texas to Help Save Wildlife and Restore Nature


Southwest Regional Director Benjamin N. Tuggle, Ph.D. recognized Sohini Bandy, a Senior Girl Scout, with an award for her leadership in organizing a riparian stream restoration in suburban Austin, Texas. Photo credit: USFWS

April 20th, 2008
Restoring habitat at the stream site depended on community volunteers – and Bandy assembled quite a number including teenagers from her Girl Scout troop, high school clubs, other friends and neighbors. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Austin Ecological Service’s office helped Bandy and her volunteers remove non-native species over the course of a few months. Bandy then held a big "planting day" to plant native species that can benefit the City of Austin’s water quality and wildlife dependent on clean water, such as the Jollyville salamander. Sohini also earned her Girl Scout Gold Award for conducting this project, and that the Gold Award is the highest honor a Senior Girl Scout can earn. The Service and its Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program provided technical advice on techniques and native species to use for the restoration.


Tim Schumann of the Austin ES office and Sohini Bandy examine plant life. Photo credit: USFWS

The stream is also a site where some Jollyville Plateau salamanders are found. The Jollyville Plateau salamander, which inhabits springs, spring runs and caves within the Jollyville Plateau area of the Edwards Aquifer in Texas, is currently a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection. The salamander is indicator species. It needs clean water to survive so the health of the aquifer is very important to the salamander. The same water is also important to the millions of people who get their drinking water from this source -- keeping the aquifer healthy for the salamander means keeping it healthy for people too.

The award was presented at the first ever U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Youth Forum for the Environment, which was hosted at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge from April 18 through April 20, 2008. Along with Bandy’s achievement, the event celebrated the young people throughout the southwest who have successfully completed projects and taken part in activities in the fields of wildlife and environmental conservation.

Last updated: May 1, 2008