Working for Plovers
New video highlights interagency efforts for western snowy plover recovery
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a new video today on interagency efforts to recover the western snowy plover, a small shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The video provides an overview of the life cycle and habits of the Pacific coast snowy plover population, which breeds on coastal beaches from southern Washington to southern Baja California, Mexico. But it focuses on western snowy plovers in Oregon, where historic records indicate the species nested in at least 29 locations on the Oregon coast, compared to only eight locations now. That represents a 72 percent reduction in active breeding locations.
As early as the 1970s, observers suspected a decline in Pacific coast plover numbers rangewide. The primary cause of decline is habitat degradation and loss. Introduced European beachgrass contributes to habitat loss by reducing the amount of open, sandy habitat and contributing to steepened beaches and increased habitat for predators. Urban development has reduced the available habitat for western snowy plovers while increasing the intensity of human use, resulting in heightened disturbance to nesting plovers.
“Plovers don’t see the boundaries we humans have put on the landscape,” said Kerrie Palermo, district wildlife biologist for the Bureau of Land Management, Coos Bay, Oregon. “They nest on the beach, half of which is owned by the state of Oregon and the other half federal agencies own.”
The interagency snowy plover working group coordinates recovery efforts throughout the plover’s habitat. The plover working group includes the U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Wildlife Services, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Nature Conservancy, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
The working group’s efforts include educating the public on how they can help the plover by “sharing the beach.” Recreational activities near nests, such as dog walking, horseback riding, kite-flying, and picnicking may result in abandonment of the nest by adult plovers. Additionally, seasonal restrictions on beach use are implemented in an effort to reduce disturbance to breeding plovers from March 15 to September 15. The working group also engages in habitat restoration including the removal of European beachgrass and management of predators such as ravens, crows, foxes, raccoons, and feral cats.
“With the ‘sharing the beach’ outreach and other efforts we are doing, we’re going to help this species make it,” Palermo said. “We are quite excited about that.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a new video today on interagency efforts to recover the western snowy plover, a small shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The video provides an overview of the life cycle and habits of the Pacific coast snowy plover population, which breeds on coastal beaches from southern Washington to southern Baja California, Mexico. But it focuses on western snowy plovers in Oregon, where historic records indicate the species nested in at least 29 locations on the Oregon coast, compared to only eight locations now. That represents a 72 percent reduction in active breeding locations.
As early as the 1970s, observers suspected a decline in Pacific coast plover numbers rangewide. The primary cause of decline is habitat degradation and loss. Introduced European beachgrass contributes to habitat loss by reducing the amount of open, sandy habitat and contributing to steepened beaches and increased habitat for predators. Urban development has reduced the available habitat for western snowy plovers while increasing the intensity of human use, resulting in heightened disturbance to nesting plovers.
“Plovers don’t see the boundaries we humans have put on the landscape,” said Kerrie Palermo, district wildlife biologist for the Bureau of Land Management, Coos Bay, Oregon. “They nest on the beach, half of which is owned by the state of Oregon and the other half federal agencies own.”
The interagency snowy plover working group coordinates recovery efforts throughout the plover’s habitat. The plover working group includes the U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Wildlife Services, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Nature Conservancy, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
The working group’s efforts include educating the public on how they can help the plover by “sharing the beach.” Recreational activities near nests, such as dog walking, horseback riding, kite-flying, and picnicking may result in abandonment of the nest by adult plovers. Additionally, seasonal restrictions on beach use are implemented in an effort to reduce disturbance to breeding plovers from March 15 to September 15. The working group also engages in habitat restoration including the removal of European beachgrass and management of predators such as ravens, crows, foxes, raccoons, and feral cats.
“With the ‘sharing the beach’ outreach and other efforts we are doing, we’re going to help this species make it,” Palermo said. “We are quite excited about that.”
