U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S.F.W.S., is the world's premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants.
Condor Recovery in California
A California condor chick's online debut this spring may have looked wobbly - a 35-second video from Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge showed an unsteady grey fur ball with a yellow head. (
www.fws.gov/cno/press) But to refuge biologists, the week-old condor and 4 fellow hatchlings represent real progress in recovery efforts for the federally endangered species.
The biologists are able to use spotting scopes to confirm egg hatchings in 2 of Hopper Mountain Refuge's 5 nests. But to see inside the other nests and view any hatchlings, the biologists have to ascend sandstone cliffs and rappel down by rope. According to Michael Woodbridge, refuge information and education specialist, if an egg hadn't hatched after about 60 days, biologists would have replaced it with one from a partner zoo. So far, 30-day checkups with blood tests show the chicks doing well.
6 months ago, the condor population reached a milestone. There are more birds in the wild than in captivity for the 1st time since captive breeding of the majestic birds began in 1987. At that time, the world population of condors had fallen to a mere 23 birds. In 1992, the U.S.F.W.S. began re-releasing captive-bred condors into the wild, while working with partners including the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Santa Barbara Zoo, Oregon Zoo and the World Center for Birds of Prey to monitor the birds and ensure genetic diversity.
Today, there are 337 condors worldwide - 183 of them in the wilds of Arizona and California.
Condors, which can live up to 40 years in captivity, begin breeding at about 6 years of age. They reproduce every other year and lay only one egg per nest; chicks stay with their parents for 8 months.
"It's a great thing to see," said Woodbridge of the recovery milestone. "It lets people know, hey, we're on the right track. We're making progress. We're not out of the woods yet - but we're getting there."
And Speaking of Breeding …
In North Carolina, 41 red wolf pups born in the wild this spring gave biologists a big reason to celebrate. The count represents a higher than average whelping rate for the 15 collared packs in the state's red wolf recovery program. (A pack typically consists of a dominant pair of breeding wolves with current offspring who eventually "disperse" to form their own pack.) The 21-year-old-program covers 1.7 million acres in 5 counties and includes 3 National Wildlife Refuges: Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge.
Generally, biologists hope that half of the population will whelp every year, says Diane Hendry, outreach coordinator for the program. "The fact that eleven litters were found for 15 packs is very encouraging for the federally endangered species."
A century ago, the red wolf was the top predator in the eastern United States. But early bounties and indiscriminate killing, coupled with habitat destruction, reduced the population to 17 by the 1970s, when the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, began a captive breeding program. In 1987, the U.S.F.W.S. released 4 pairs of wolves on the Alligator River Refuge as the 1st step in restoring a wild population.
Hendry estimates that currently, 100 to 120 red wolves live in the wild, 86 of them collared. Red wolves prey mainly on small rodents and deer. "Nutria − that's one of their favorites," said Hendry, referring to the invasive pest. Area farmers, she said, "are grateful the red wolf helps to control raccoon and nutria. They also tend to take the lame and weak of the deer population. In fact, it's now thought that deer herds can become stronger due to red wolf presence."
Selenium Threat Averted
The U.S.F.W.S. has resolved a case of chemical contamination that threatened migratory birds at Cane Ridge Wildlife Management Area, a 463-acre unit of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Indiana. The selenium contamination was traced to Duke Energy Company's discharge of waste water used to transport coal ash slurry to a storage lagoon on plant property. After the coal ash was deposited, the excess waste water was then discharged into the 3,000-acre cooling lake from which water was then released into the nearby bird sanctuary. Selenium, a coal processing byproduct, is essential for cell function, but is toxic in large amounts.
In 2007, after tests showed elevated selenium levels in fish, Duke Energy banned fishing in Gibson Lake, a cooling reservoir for Duke Energy's coal-fired Gibson Generation Station. The Service also stopped receiving water from Gibson Lake after biologists determined that eating the selenium-contaminated fish might be harmful to egg development in birds. Service biologists flagged contaminated areas with colored ribbons to discourage endangered least terns and other migratory birds from nesting there.
Last year, Service biologists took further action to protect wildlife by draining the Crane Ridge ponds, removing the fish and, in addition, plowing the pond bottoms to redistribute and bury the selenium in the soil.
Duke Energy spent $600,000 to pipe water from the Wabash River, instead of from Gibson Lake, into Cane Ridge. Duke also paid to stock 62,000 fathead minnows into the Cane Ridge ponds to lure back migratory birds. As a result, avocets, dunlins, black terns, Forster's terns, Caspian terns and 50 endangered least terns have returned.
According to the Service's Bill McCoy, who oversees Cane Ridge WMA, "We will continue to work with Duke Energy and our many other partners to ensure Cane Ridge continues to be a safe place for both people and wildlife."
Cane Ridge WMA, managed by the U.S.F.W.S., is a migratory bird haven along the Wabash River used by many species of shorebirds and waterfowl seeking food and rest on their way to northern nesting grounds. It is part of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Wildlife Management Area.
A Sharp Sense of Accomplishment
Wanted: Thick-skinned folks able to withstand pain, kneel long hours under the desert sun. No fear of needles. Dexterity with barbeque tongs, tweezers and trowels a plus.
The ad didn't actually say that. But that's the reality for 35 adults and children who joined a cactus salvage and replanting operation earlier this year. The plan was organized by the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and the California Department of Fish and Game's Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve in San Diego. The effort took place on the reserve, but will eventually benefit the San Diego Refuge.
Over 4 hours, the volunteers replanted about 6,000 small cholla − a spiny native cactus − rescued from bulldozers. The cholla is nesting habitat for the coastal cactus wren, a species that has suffered a sharp decline in southern California resulting from cactus damage by wildfires, agriculture and development. If all goes well, the cholla will be moved within the year to a habitat restoration area on the San Diego Refuge once the plants have grown and the restoration location is weeded, says refuge manager Jill Terp.
And what's it like to replant cactus? "It's certainly not a pain-free event," acknowledges Terp, leather gloves notwithstanding.
You use one hand to grip the cactus with barbeque tongs, and the other to dig with a trowel. "You have to be very careful," says Terp. "You can't touch this cactus with anything other than a plastic or metal tool. If you touch it with your glove, your shoe, or −heaven forbid − your skin or your clothes, it sticks right to you. We call it jumping cactus because it feels like it just jumps and attaches itself to you."
Doing the transplanting on its own rather than buying the plants from a commercial nursery saved the refuge several thousand dollars, says Terp.
Hunters and Anglers Take Aim at Invasive Species
In response to the growing concern over the toll invasive species are taking on National Wildlife Refuges: A recently released educational DVD, "Defending Favorite Places," asks hunters and fishermen to help protect the places they frequent by changing their habits to stop the spread of noxious non-native plants and animals. How? By washing seeds, spores and marine hitchhikers off boat hulls, car undercarriages, boots and waders before setting out for and leaving a refuge. By learning to recognize invasive species that pose a threat to favorite hunting or fishing spots. And by reporting to weed control experts, any such species they see in refuges, together with GPS coordinates and a photo, if possible.
Thousands of invasive plants, such as common reed, or Phragmites australis, and animals, such as zebra mussels have infested refuge lands, crowding out native species, reducing biodiversity and upsetting the ecosystem. Hunters, anglers and other refuge visitors can unwittingly further the spread of such pests when they move brush to use as a shooting blind, dump unused bait or forget to inspect the fur of their dogs or pets.
You can view the DVD or a short trailer from the movie online by visiting:
The DVD was produced by Wildlife Forever and several other environmental groups and funded by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and other federal agencies, including the U.S.F.W.S.. It follows an earlier documentary, "Dangerous Travelers," which urged road maintenance workers to help control invasive plants along roadways. The next DVD in the series, being filmed at Occoquan National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia and elsewhere, will aim its message at birdwatchers and photographers. That DVD is expected out next year.
New Trails for Birders
As the popularity of bird watching grows, new and improved birding trails are popping up around the country, many in National Wildlife Refuges. The number of bird enthusiasts − birders for short − are legion. According to the U.S.F.W.S.'s 2006 Countrywide Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, the most recent such survey,more than 47 million people in the U.S. observed wild birds around the home or traveled to see them in 2006. Birders and other wildlife watchers spent in excess of $45 billion as part of this activity.
2 new offerings:
The Makoke Birding Trail in central Iowa is less a single trail than a collection of 22 separately mapped sites, each distinct in habitat and species, and none in excess of 40 minutes from downtown Des Moines. One of those 22 sites is the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, where tallgrass prairie restoration is bringing back habitat for in excess of 200 species of birds. Among these: Henslow's sparrow, Bell's vireo, willow flycatcher and red-headed woodpecker. A guide to the trail can be found at:
http://www.iowabirds.org/places/documents/Makoke_Trail.pdf.
The new Sun and Sage Loop of the Great Washington State Birding Trail features in excess of 200 of the state's 346 annually recorded bird species. The loop has 52 stops in southcentral Washington. One of the sites (stop # 29) is Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, with its 1,700 acres of seasonal wetlands and shrub-steppe. Each fall, 30,000 waterfowl arrive at the Toppenish Refuge and stay for winter. Among them: Pied-billed grebes, northern pintails, mallards and northern shovelers. You may also spot short-eared owls. Learn more about the trail and download a guide at:
http://wa.audubon.org/birds_GreatWABirdingTrail.html.
The mission of the U.S.F.W.S. is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit
www.fws.gov.
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