Texas Partners Program Receive Championship Award, FWS Southwest Region Credit: USFWS.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Texas Partners Program Receives Champion Award

May 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Region is pleased to announce the Regional winner of the Endangered Species Recovery Champion Award, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program in Texas for their ongoing efforts to work with private landowners on behalf of listed species. Since the Program’s inception in Texas in the early 1990s, well over 100 private landowner agreements have been signed. Working with private landowners, the Texas PFW program has helped increase populations of the golden-cheeked warbler, black-capped vireo, and Attwater's greater prairie-chicken to name just a few.

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USFWS Earth Day 2012 Logo. Credit: USFWS.

Earth Day 2012!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest Region celebrated Earth Day 2012 in many ways — from wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries and ecological field stations to partner events in local towns, parks and surrounding areas — people of all ages attended Service events and learned ways to make a better planet for fish, wildlife and their habitat. The Service’s Earth Day portal provides a range of easy to do action items that you can do year-round. There is plenty you can do with your families and friends at home, in your neighborhood or at school. Plant a tree, pick up trash, recycle, use green products and use water more efficiently...the opportunities are endless!

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News Release

Sonoran Desert Bald Eagle. Credit: USFWS.

Service Determines Bald Eagle in the Sonoran Desert Does Not Warrant Protection under List of Endangered and Threatened Species

April 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the results of a revised 12-month finding on a petition to list the Sonoran Desert Area population of bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). After review of the scientific and commercial information used in its previous determination, the Service has found that the Sonoran Desert Area population of bald eagle does not qualify as a distinct population segment (DPS) and listing the Sonoran Desert Area population of bald eagle is not warranted at this time.

Pursuant to a November 30, 2011, court order, the Service drafted a new 12-month finding on the petition to list the Sonoran Desert Area population of bald eagle as a DPS. The court ordered the Service to base this new 12-month finding on the information that was used to reach the February 25, 2010, 12-month finding that this population was not a listable entity under the ESA.

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12-Month Finding

Preliminary Strategy for Jaguar Recovery is Complete

April 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Jaguar Recovery Team have completed a Jaguar Recovery Outline to provide a preliminary strategy for jaguar conservation until a full recovery plan is completed. The recovery outline will be used to develop a full jaguar recovery plan (scheduled for completion in December 2013) and is being used, together with other information, to inform the Service’s critical habitat proposal that is under development and due this summer.

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Spring snail. Credit: © Bill Radke..

Two Arizona Springsnails to Receive Endangered Species Act Protection

April 2012
Two springsnail species in eastern and southern Arizona have been added to the list of animals protected under the Endangered Species Act – the Three Forks springsnail as endangered and the San Bernardino springsnail as threatened. The listing includes the designation of critical habitat for each species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially proposed protection last April.

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Q & As

A banded adult bald eagle perches on a tree. Credit: USFWS

Service Proposes to Revise Eagle Permit Regulations, Seeks Public Comment on Future Improvements to Permit Program

April 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to revise regulations governing the issuance of permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act in order to facilitate development of renewable energy and other projects, while ensuring that those operations minimize and avoid impacts to bald and golden eagles. The Service is also inviting ideas from the public on how the permit program can be improved.

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News Release

The golden-cheeked warbler, an endangered neotropical migrant bird that breeds in central Texas, is among the species that will benefit from the grants. Credit: USFWS

Service Awards $3.7 Million in Grants to Support Bird Conservation

April 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces more than $3.7 million in Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation grants for 28 collaborative projects that will support bird conservation throughout the Western Hemisphere. Matched by $14 million in contributions from partners, the projects will support habitat restoration, environmental education, population monitoring, and other priority activities within the ranges of neotropical migratory birds in the United States, Canada, Mexico and 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

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Press Release

Reward Offered in Mexican wolf shooting in Arizona

April 2012
PINETOP, Ariz. – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Special Agents and Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) law enforcement personnel recovered the carcass of a Mexican wolf pup on March 27, 2012, found next to Forest Road 249 west of Alpine, Ariz. They identified it as female pup fp1247, produced by the Hawks Nest Pack in 2011.

A preliminary exam failed to reveal an obvious cause of death. The carcass was shipped to the National Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Lab in Oregon for a complete necropsy, where they determined the wolf died of a single gunshot wound.
If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are requested to contact the FWS Special Agent at (928) 213-8017 or AGFD Operation Game Thief at (800) 352-0700.

The FWS is offering a reward of up to $10,000 and AGFD Operation Game Thief is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the illegal shooting death of this wolf or any other Mexican wolf. Other nongovernmental organizations and private individuals have pledged an additional $46,000 for a total reward amount of up to $57,000, depending on the information provided.

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Kemp ridley sea turtle. Photo credit: NPS.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season Begins Again on the Texas Coast - Public Asked to be Observant

April 2012
Sea turtle nesting season is expected to begin a little earlier than usual this year, in early April, due to the warm spring we have been experiencing. The number of Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests found in Texas rose from 141 in 2010, to 199 in 2011, but they still have a long way to go before biologists are comfortable with saying that the most endangered sea turtle species in the world is steadily increasing toward recovery. Biologists want to stress the importance of locating and protecting every sea turtle nest on the Texas Gulf Coast.

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Environmental Excellence for the Construction of the Texas-Chenier Visitor Center and Administration Building!

March 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is being recognized for its commitment to environmental excellence for the construction of its Texas-Chenier Visitor Center and Administration Building! The facility is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certified, the second highest rating possible for green and energy saving building construction. Two LEED plaques for the facility, along with the official GOLD certificate issued to the Service, will be awarded during a dedication ceremony that will be held at to mark the milestone. Construction of the facility marked the culmination of a long process to unite four refuges – Moody, Anahuac, McFaddin, and Texas Point – in southeast Texas. It also provides convenient location for visitors to pick up maps and learn more about the four refuges that form the Texas Chenier Plains Complex.

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Secretary Ken Salazar Announces America’s Great Outdoors Planning Process for Middle Rio Grande; Establishes Citizen Committee - Valencia, Socorro County Meetings Scheduled

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Designation of Critical Habitat and Listing for the Chiricahua Leopard Frog

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Environmental Assessment (2.6MB pdf)
Economic Analysis (1.3MB pdf)
Federal Register (6.2MB pdf)

Service Signs Conservation Agreement with Texas Comptroller and Reopens Public Comment Period for the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard

February 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today that it has signed a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts that provides for the conservation of the dunes sagebrush lizard, a species found in Texas and New Mexico that has been proposed for Endangered Species Act protection. The Service has also reopened the comment period for 15 days on its 2010 proposal to add the lizard to the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife to allow the public to review and consider the conservation measures provided in this CCAA, as well as a similar 2008 CCAA in New Mexico, as part of the agency’s final listing determination.

“We will continue to work with landowners and the states of Texas and New Mexico to develop these voluntary agreements, which will provide protections for the lizard while providing the regulatory assurance that landowners need to continue to derive economic benefits from their land,” said Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, Regional Director for the Southwest Region.

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Necropsy Results Show Mexican Wolf Died From Illegal Gunshot; Reward Offered for Information

February 2012
The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, has determined that Mexican wolf mp1242 died as the result of a gunshot wound.

On November 23, 2011, Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) personnel on the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team (IFT) were contacted by a member of the public who reported seeing an injured Mexican wolf in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests south of Big Lake, Ariz. The IFT located and observed the wolf the next day by tracking its radio collar signal. They identified it as mp1242, a young male that was born earlier in 2011 into the Bluestem Pack. After confirming the wolf was injured, the IFT initiated efforts to capture the animal and evaluate its injury.

The IFT captured mp1242 on December 3 and found that it had an injured rear leg and was in poor body condition. In phone consultation with a veterinarian, project personnel attempted to implement life-saving measures en route to the veterinarian office, but the wolf died of its injuries.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) law enforcement agents, in collaboration with the AGFD have opened an investigation. All of the Service’s available regional law enforcement resources are being utilized.

A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for any information leading to the apprehension of the individual or individuals who may be responsible for the death of this wolf. Individuals who have information are urged to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement in Albuquerque, New Mexico at (505) 346-7828 or in Alpine, Arizona. at (928) 339-4232, or AGFD Operation Game Thief hotline at (800) 352-0700. Killing a Mexican gray wolf is a violation of the Endangered Species Act, punishable by up to a $100,000 fine and/or up to a year in prison.

Critical Pipeline Replaced at Alchesay NFH

Major repairs impacting the Alchesay National Fish Hatchery (NFH) have been completed. The 3,800 foot long water supply pipeline, which ruptured in May 2009 causing the hatchery to lose one third of its available water at approximately 3,000 gallons per minute, has been replaced.

When the leak occurred, it became the Service’s number one construction priority. “This project is a great example of the Service’s commitment to Native American communities and anglers,” Said Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries Mike Oetker.

Today, the newly revamped pipeline is delivering more water to the facility than it has seen in the last ten years, at a rate of 9,000 to 10,000 gallons per minute. As of the beginning of November, 312,000 rainbow trout have been transferred from Williams Creek NFH to Alchesay NFH. A dedication for the pipeline is being planned for late spring or early summer 2012.

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Save the Date

Science Webinar Series

Beginning April 27, the Great Plains LCC will present monthly science webinars featuring GPLCC sponsored research as well as other science topics related to landscape conservation throughout the region. Please join us for these events and continue to check back for future seminars.

Webinar Registration (https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/800571945)

For more information about GPLCC sponsored projects and upcoming presentations, visit our website (www.gplcc.org.)