With Recovery Champion Award Joe McGovern, the director of land stewardship for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, was awarded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Recovery Champion Award for his work with the endangered Topeka shiner, a rare fish. McGovern received the award today at Foundation board meeting in Decorah.
Service Director H. Dale Hall recently named McGovern as one of 16 national recipients of the award, which recognizes outstanding contributions toward efforts aimed at recovering threatened and endangered species in the United States.
“ The Recovery Champion award not only recognizes the exceptional conservation accomplishments of the honorees, it also provides the public with a unique opportunity to learn about endangered species conservation,” said Hall. “These Recovery Champions are extraordinary conservationists dedicated to protecting and restoring our nation’s wildlife and ensuring that future generations of Americans enjoy the natural treasures we experience today.”
McGovern was honored for his work engaging landowners and partners in efforts to restore habitat for the Topeka shiner in west central Iowa. McGovern’s efforts brought together a broad group of stakeholders that included agricultural commodity organizations, federal and state natural resource agencies, as well as a number of partner organizations to help design, construct, and fund the habitat projects that are currently in place.
“ Joe’s work with the Topeka shiner is producing on-the-ground results for this endangered species,” said Service Midwest Regional Director Robyn Thorson. “He is directly responsible for expanding habitat for the shiner, which is now occupying a number of restoration sites. Without a doubt, Joe’s work has helped move the Topeka shiner down the road toward recovery.”
Several habitat restoration and enhancement projects were implemented through McGovern’s contacts with private landowners and conservation contractors in the North Raccoon River watershed where the majority of natural Topeka shiner populations occur in Iowa. These projects have also increased public awareness and improved landowner relations in the project area. Projects constructed on Buttrick Creek and Cedar Creek in Greene County, Iowa, have been used as examples of successful projects for other landowners, and to conduct workshops for fishery professionals.
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 95-million- acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices, and 81 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 and Native American Tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
