Tag: Recovery

The content below has been tagged with the term “Recovery.”

Articles

North Carolina dam removal helps Rocky River and the endangered fish that lives there
December 6, 2018 | 4 minute readThe Cape Fear shiner, a federally protected North American minnow found only in central North Carolina, battles to survive with only one stronghold remaining in the lower reaches of the Rocky and Deep Rivers of North Carolina’s Upper Cape Fear River Basin. Many issues have piled up against this little fish, but a massive dam of reinforced concrete, averaging 25 feet tall and 235 feet across stood out, until recently, as a monumental obstacle to the species’ recovery. Learn more...
Hoosier Dam stood 25 feet tall and 235 feet across the Rocky River in Chatham County. It blocked the endangered Cape Fear shiner from reaching habitat upstream from 1922 until October 2018. Photo by Emily Wells, USFWS.
“Journey of the Whooping Crane” follows efforts to save a rare, endangered bird
November 30, 2018 | 2 minute readIn 1940, only about 20 whooping cranes were known to exist. Today, thanks to the diligence of many partners working together in the United States and Canada, there are more than 850 cranes in North America and the population continues to increase slowly and steadily. The iconic bird is one of the success stories of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). But it remains one of the rarest animals in the world. Learn more...
Two endangered whooping cranes coming in for a landing. Photo by Greg Pope.

Overseeing the Endangered Species Act
One of the primary responsibilities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is America’s strongest conservation law. Originally passed by Congress in 1973, the ESA is jointly administered by the Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The Service has primary responsibility for terrestrial and freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine. Learn more...
Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). Photo © Karla Morales.
Project evaluations
The Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office promotes healthy wildlife and their habitat through a diverse group of programs: Endangered Species, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, Contaminants Program, Coastal Program and Project Evaluation. Learn more...
Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge. Photo © José Almodóvar.
Puerto Rican Parrot recovery program
The Puerto Rican parrot recovery program is an effort to conserve, protect and manage wild and captive parrots in order to downlist the species from endangered to threatened. Learn more...
Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata) © Alfredo Irizarry.

Recovering threatened and endangered species
After a plant or animal is listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists must determine what the species needs in order to achieve recovery, meaning it no longer requires federal protection. Learn more...
A bald eagle in flight at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner, USFWS.
Species Status Assessments (SSA)
The Species Status Assessment framework is an analytical approach developed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to deliver foundational science for informing all Endangered Species Act (ESA) decisions. An SSA is a focused, repeatable, and rigorous scientific assessment. The result will be better assessments, improved and more transparent and defensible decision making, and clearer and more concise documents. The Service is already seeing benefits from this approach. Ideally, the SSA is conducted at or prior to the candidate assessment or 12-month finding stage, but can be initiated at any time. Learn more...
Releasing golden riffleshells mussels and recording their location. Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS.

Endangered species and recovery
One of the primary responsibilities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Congress defined “species” to include subspecies, varieties, and, for vertebrates, distinct population segments. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is America’s strongest conservation law. Originally passed by Congress in 1973, the ESA is jointly administered by the Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Learn more...
Louisiana black bear female with her two cubs in a tree. Photo by Clint Turnage, USDA.

Endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes reintroduced to the wild
December 17, 2018 | 4 minute readYulee, Florida — White Oak Conservation is pleased to announce that three endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes that hatched this spring at White Oak were reintroduced to the wild last week at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge near Gautier, Mississippi. The three were released in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Audubon Species Survival Center. Only about 130 Mississippi sandhill cranes and 34 breeding pairs remain in the wild. Read the full story...
Mississippi sandhill crane incubating its nest. Photo by USFWS.
Service extends red wolf review in North Carolina
November 29, 2018 | 1 minute readIn light of a federal court ruling issued earlier this month in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is extending its review of a proposed rule to adapt its management of red wolves in the state. The additional review time will provide the Service the opportunity to fully evaluate the implications of the court decision. Read the full story...
Red wolf (Canis rufus). Photo by Valerie, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.