Information meetings set for September
SACRAMENTO, California - Strategies for recovering the Pacific coast population of the (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus), a small threatened shorebird, are the subject of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service draft recovery plan now available for public review and comment through December 12, 2001. The Pacific coast population of the western snowy plover was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1993.
Snowy plovers are small, pale-colored shorebirds with dark patches on either side of the upper breast. Western snowy plovers are one of two recognized subspecies of snowy plovers in North America. The coastal population, about 2,000 birds, breeds along the Pacific coast from southern Washington to southern Baja California, Mexico. Recent research has identified 157 current or historical snowy plover breeding or wintering locations--5 in Washington, 19 in Oregon and 133 in California. In Baja California, breeding plovers concentrate at coastal wetland complexes as far south as Bahia Magdalena, Mexico.
Plovers forage for invertebrates on wet sand areas of intertidal zones, in dry, sandy areas above high tide lines, on salt pans and along the edges of salt marshes and salt ponds. They nest on coastal sand spits, dune-packed beaches, gravel bars, beach strands with little or no vegetation, open areas around estuaries and on beaches at river mouths and gravel bars from early March to the third week in July. Both eggs and nests are extremely difficult to see even at close range. Chicks leave the nest within hours of hatching but cannot fly for about a month. Western snowy plovers are site-faithful nesters, returning to successful nesting sites year after year.
The Pacific coast population of the western snowy plover is threatened primarily by human disturbance, loss of nesting habitat to development, encroachment of European beachgrass on nesting grounds and, at some sites, predation by crows, ravens, foxes and domestic dogs and cats as well as other native and non-native predators. Natural factors, such as inclement weather, have also affected the quality and quantity of snowy plover habitat.
The draft recovery plan is divided into six recovery units: (1) Oregon and Washington; (2) Northern California (Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties); (3) San Francisco Bay (locations within the counties of Napa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo); (4) Monterey Bay (including coastal areas in the counties of Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma); (5) San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties; and (6) Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The San Francisco Bay unit was designated as a separate recovery unit because the habitat is almost exclusively salt ponds. The recovery plan proposes establishing working groups to assist in the development and implementation of management plans for each of these recovery units.
Other recommended actions necessary for the recovery of the western snowy plover include monitoring and managing breeding habitat and wintering and migration areas in a systematic way to maximize survival and productivity; developing mechanisms for long-term management and protection of plovers and their habitat; undertaking scientific investigations to facilitate recovery efforts; and establishing an international conservation program with the Mexican government to protect snowy plovers and their habitats in Mexico.
If recovery measures succeed, the western snowy plover could likely be removed from the endangered species list as early as 2025.
Snowy plover recovery efforts have accelerated since this species was federally listed as a threatened species in 1993. Activities include:
The State of Washington has a recovery plan for the snowy plover that recommends such strategies as protection of the population, evaluation and management of habitat and initiation of research and education programs.
The State of Oregon
