News
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Mallards fueling for their migration in a cooperative agriculture field. Photo by USFWS.
Public input requested on environmental assessment for genetically engineered crops on national wildlife refuges in the Southeastern United States
March 19, 2020 | 2 minute read
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has prepared a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the potential use of genetically engineered crops (GECs) on national wildlife refuges in the southeastern United States. The National Wildlife Refuge System, the public lands network managed by the Service, employs a number of wildlife management practices to deliver specific conservation objectives on each of the nation’s 568 national wildlife refuges. The use of GECs by farmers on refuges in the Southeast Region can help refuge managers meet the purposes of the refuge and provide wildlife forage for birds and other wildlife. Read the full story...
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*Lepanthes eltoroensis*. Photo © O Monsegur.
Partners celebrate recovery of tiny orchid in Puerto Rico
March 9, 2020 | 3 minute read
Thanks to a successful conservation partnership involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, a tiny orchid, Lepanthes eltoroensis, is being proposed for delisting from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Plants. The orchid is restricted to one general area within El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico at elevations above 2,461 feet. However, the orchid’s estimated population has increased from around 140 individuals, when it was listed as an endangered species in 1991, to a current estimate of about 3,000 individuals. Read the full story...
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*Lepanthes eltoroensis*. Photo © O Monsegur.
Se celebra la recuperación de una pequeña orquídea en Puerto Rico
March 9, 2020 | 4 minute read
Gracias a la exitosa colaboración de conservación entre el Servicio Federal de Pesca y Vida Silvestre, El Servicio Forestal Federal y el Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico, se ha propuesto remover a Lepanthes eltoroensis, una pequeña orquídea, de la lista federal de especies amenazadas y en peligro de extinción. Esta orquídea está restringida a un área específica en elevaciones sobre los 2,461 pies dentro del Bosque Nacional El Yunque. Read the full story...
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Louisiana pinesnake. Photo by Michael Sealy, USFWS.
Service finalizes 4(d) rule to aid conservation of Louisiana pinesnake and support landowner efforts
February 26, 2020 | 3 minute read
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a special 4(d) rule for the Louisiana pinesnake, tailoring conservation protections for the snake while ensuring greater regulatory certainty for landowners. The Louisiana pinesnake was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2018 and landowners play a critical role in its conservation and recovery. “Conservation agencies, non-profit groups and the timber industry are all taking steps to reverse the decline of the Louisiana pinesnake and its habitat,” said Leopoldo Miranda, Service regional director for the South Atlantic Gulf and Mississippi Basin. Read the full story...
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Black pinesnake. Photo by Jim Lee, The Nature Conservancy.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalizes Critical Habitat for threatened black pinesnake
February 25, 2020 | 3 minute read
Daphne, Alabama — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the black pinesnake, a non-venomous constrictor found only in Mississippi and Alabama. This native reptile was listed as threatened under the ESA in 2015 following population declines due to habitat loss and degradation. The black pinesnake is native to longleaf pine forests, one of the world’s most ecologically diverse natural places and one that is in peril. Read the full story...
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Florida bristle fern. Photo by Keith Bradley.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes Critical Habitat for the endangered Florida bristle fern
February 21, 2020 | 3 minute read
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to designate critical habitat for the rare Florida bristle fern under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service listed the Florida bristle fern, a plant found only in Miami-Dade and Sumter counties in Florida, as endangered in 2015. The Service also announced availability of a draft economic analysis on the proposed critical habitat designation. The public is invited to submit comments on the, critical habitat designation and draft economic analysis during a 60-day comment period ending April 24, 2020. Read the full story...
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New videos released on the history and future of prairies in the Piedmont
February 14, 2020 | 2 minute read
The Piedmont Prairie Partnership, a group of non-profit, state, and federal agencies, just released two videos documenting the history of the Piedmont prairies and the restoration work in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Historically, much of the Piedmont was covered by prairies, some with scattered trees and some without. These open areas, maintained by fire, elk, bison and other animals, supported large numbers of flowering plants, pollinators, and wildlife including bobwhite quail. Read the full story...
