Noted for its metallic green body and bright, emerald-green eyes, the Hines emerald dragonfly once occurred in Ohio, Alabama, and Indiana, but has been extirpated from this part of its historic range. The Service listed the species as endangered in 1995.
The Hines emerald dragonfly is threatened by loss of its specialized wetland habitat, which includes groundwater-fed wet prairies, marshes, sedge meadows and fens in areas overlying dolomite bedrock. These wetlands support the dragonflys aquatic larva for 3 to 4 years and also serve as breeding areas for adults. Adults also require open, vegetated areas in and near wetlands and forest edges as feeding and perching areas.
The recovery plan for the Hines emerald dragonfly was developed for the Service by a team from universities and local, state and federal resource agencies, in cooperation with stakeholders. Measures outlined in the plan to help the Hines emerald avoid extinction and recover include protection and management of existing populations, additional studies, searches for more populations, information and education, reintroduction and augmentation, and monitoring of recovery progress.
Recovery actions outlined in the plan will benefit not only the Hines emerald dragonfly but entire natural communities and other environmental amenities such as drinking water, said Service biologist Kristopher Lah. These actions are expected to be implemented over a period of years, by a range of partners and agencies, as we move this species away from extinction and toward recovery.
Most remaining populations of the Hines emerald dragonfly inhabit forest preserves, national forests, state wildlife areas, nature preserves and private sanctuaries, but even these populations are vulnerable to off-site impacts to groundwater that feeds the species unique habitats. The dragonfly is also vulnerable to more direct threats such as road building or other development projects that may damage or destroy its wetland habitat. These dolomite wetlands and prairies support a community of other rare plants and animals, including the threatened lakeside daisy.
Lah said the Hines emerald dragonfly plays many roles in the natural communities it occupies, including both predator and prey. Adults forage on many flying insects, including mosquitoes, and the species in turn is a food source for birds and sometimes fish. Because the Hines emerald fills a niche as both predator and prey and requires unpolluted water, it can serve as an indicator of ecosystem health and drinking water quality.
The resources and effort we devote to Hines emerald dragonfly recovery are investments in the quality of our own environment, Lah said.
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 healthy and diverse plant communities that support the species. Material Service Corporation, a limestone quarrying operation in Romeoville, Illinois, has conducted several research projects and habitat management for the two dragonfly populations on their lands. Commonwealth Edison of Lockport, Illinois, when upgrading a rail line running through dragonfly habitat, used innovative steel railroad ties rather than creosote ties which might leach contaminants into adjacent wetlands, where the species spends the first three years of its life in the nymph or larval form.
Further searches for the dragonfly are ongoing or planned for all states where the species occurs. Hines emerald dragonfly workshops have been held in Wisconsin and Missouri to inform people about the species. Research is being conducted in Wisconsin and Illinois on the larval and adult ecology of the species; results will be used to further conservation efforts for the dragonfly.
Copies of the recovery plan are available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago Illinois Field Office, 1250 South Grove, Suite 130, Barrington, Illinois 60010, telephone 847-381-2253. TTY users may contact the Chicago Field Office through the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877 8339. It will also be available on the Services website at http://midwest.fws.gov/endangered
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.
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