First-ever releases of Poweshiek skipperling!
We’ve reached a milestone in our efforts to prevent the extinction of the Poweshiek skipperling, an endangered prairie butterfly. In June, the Minnesota Zoo successfully released two captive-reared Poweshiek skipperling butterflies at a prairie fen site in Oakland County, Michigan. The release is the culmination of a multi-year, international conservation effort to save this highly endangered species. Just days prior to the Michigan release, another recovery partner, the Assiniboine Park Zoo, successfully released six captive-reared Poweshiek skipperlings in southeastern Manitoba. It is estimated that fewer than 200 Poweshiek skipperlings remain worldwide, which means that the addition of these eight butterflies is especially significant. The Manitoba release was the world’s first release of captive-reared Poweshiek skipperlings, while the Michigan effort marks the first-ever release in the United States.
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Poweshiek Skipperling
An ear to the sky: new training helps track bats
Have you “heard” the news? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center is offering a new training course called Evaluating Acoustic Bat Surveys for ESA Compliance, which covers the ins and outs of using acoustic bat surveys for regulatory compliance. The inaugural course was held at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky from May 7 to 11, 2018 and by all accounts was a success!
Learn more by visiting DOI Learn and search for CSP 2111 in the courses.
Indiana Bat
Northern Long-eared Bat
Celebrate Pollinators!
These hard-working animals help pollinate over 75% of our flowering plants, and nearly 75% of our crops. Often we may not notice the hummingbirds, bats, bees, beetles, butterflies, and flies that carry pollen from one plant to another as they collect nectar.
Pollinators Sweeten Summer Foods
Rusty Patched Bumble Bee
Monarch Butterfly
What you can do - Midwest Plant Guide for Rusty Patched Bumble Bee
Kids and Families Learn about Pollinators
Jill Utrup and Kelly Nail, two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists from the Minnesota-Wisconsin Ecological Services office, reached out to students in the Twin Cities area at Garlough Environmental Magnet School's Environmental Explorers Fair.
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Rusty Patched Bumble Bee
Monarch Butterfly
Recognizing champions: Making a difference for threatened and endangered species
We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are pleased to announce the Midwest Region Recovery Champion Award winners for 2017. Each year we celebrate the contributions of people who have dedicated their lives to making a difference for threatened and endangered species. Help us recognize this year’s winners and learn about how they support our continued work to recover America’s most threatened and endangered animals and plants.
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Bats for the Future
One way the Service is battling for bats is through the Bats for the Future Fund. Working with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service, the Service is soliciting proposals to test or deploy white-nose syndrome treatments and management tools.
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White-nose Syndrome
