The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host information workshops on the draft recovery plan for the western snowy plover in Monterey on Tuesday, September 25, 2001.
The workshops will be held from 1-3 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m. at the Monterey Conference Center, 1 Portola Plaza, in the Ferrante Room. The afternoon and evening sessions will be identical in content.
The purpose of the workshop is to give individuals the opportunity to ask questions about or comment on the plan. A brief presentation will be given on the plan, followed by a question and answer session with a panel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other members of the snowy plover recovery team. After the workshop, participants will be able to meet individually with panel members.
The plan outlines strategies for recovering the Pacific coast population of the western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus), a small threatened shorebird. The Pacific coast population of the western snowy plover was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1993.
The draft recovery plan describes the status, current management, recovery objectives and criteria, and specific actions needed to remove the western snowy plover from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species. The draft plan was developed by a 23-member recovery team, including 7 technical experts and 16 landowner, management and recreational interests representatives from the Federal, State, local and private sectors.
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.
Copies of the draft recovery plan are available by contacting the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office at the address below. The plan is also be available at the following website: http://www.r1.fws.gov">. Comments are invited until December 12, 2001, and need to be submitted to the Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825. Comments may also be submitted electronically by sending them to the following address:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices 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 fish and wildlife agencies.
