Projects and Research
Working with others is at the core of how we operate, and through those partnerships, we develop a number of conservation projects across Arkansas.
On March 3 we proposed adding the “Ouachita” fanshell (Cyprogenia cf. aberti), to the federal list of threatened and endangered species, as threatened.
The Service also proposed critical habitat and a 4(d) rule for the fanshell. Critical habitat is an area that contains essential habitat features for the survival and recovery of a listed species. A critical habitat...
The Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office and Arkansas State Parks partnered to build 11 gates at Devil’s Den State Park on crevices that act as hibernacula for Ozark big-eared bats, Indiana bats, tri-colored bats and big brown bats. Prior to gating the colonies experienced extensive human disturbance of hibernating bats. The first-year post gating, Ozark big-eared bat use of gated...
Arkansas supports one of the most diverse mussel faunas west of the Mississippi River. Mussels are an important component of biological communities found in the State’s rivers and streams. They inhabit the bottom of rivers and streams and possess a fascinating life cycle dependent on fish. As part of their reproductive cycle, mussels developed unique lures that mimic fish and...
We work with the national wildlife refuge (NWR) system through its Inventory and Monitoring Program to fill information gaps and needs for threatened, endangered, and at-risk species that occur on national wildlife refuges. Past projects include:
Mussel community assessments at Pond Creek, Felsenthal, and Big Lake NWRs in Arkansas.
Colorless (or...
The Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) is a federally endangered subspecies restricted to north-central/western Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma. The total population is estimated at less than 2,000 individuals and past research has been limited due to species sensitivity to disturbance and the small population size. The Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office and U.S....