The recovery plan recommends actions by Federal and state agencies, as well as other organizations, interested in helping this endangered species. The goal of the plan is to address the threats that make this species likely to become extinct, and restore the Hines emerald dragonfly populations to health so that they no longer need the protection of the Endangered Species Act.
The Hines emerald dragonfly inhabits groundwater-fed wet prairies, marshes, sedge meadows, and fens in areas of dolomite bedrock deposits that once ringed the shores of an ancient Silurian sea that covered the Great Lakes region millions of years ago. These dolomite wetlands and prairies support a community of other rare plants and animals, including the threatened lakeside daisy.
Fragmentation and destruction of habitat are believed to be the main reasons for this species endangered status. Most of the remaining populations inhabit forest preserves, national forests and private sanctuaries, but even these populations are vulnerable to off-site impacts to the groundwater that feeds their unique habitats.
Public and private efforts to recover the dragonfly are already underway. The State of Illinois and Chicago area forest preserve districts are managing the wet prairies and marshes where the dragonflies live to maintain the healthy and diverse plant communities that support the dragonflies. Material Service Corporation, a limestone quarrying operation, has been conducting several research projects and habitat management for the two populations on their lands. Commonwealth Edison, when upgrading a rail line running through dragonfly habitat, used innovative steel railroad ties rather than creosote ties which could leach contaminants into the adjacent wetlands, where the dragonfly spends the first three years of its short life crawling around in the nymph, or larval form.
The Service is seeking public comment on this draft plan. Comments received by September 13, 1999, will be considered in the preparation of the final plan. Copies of the recovery plan are available from the Fish and Wildlife Reference Service, 5430 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110, Bethesda, Maryland 20184, telephone 301-492-6403 or 1-800-582-3421.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprising more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 ecological services field stations.
The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/
