Category Archives: US Fish and Wildlife

True Wildlife Crime Saga: Grizzly Edition

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Yellowstone grizzly

A grizzly in Yellowstone, but NOT the one in the Slate article

On Oct. 2, 2011 a grizzly bear known as the Wapiti sow was put to death for the crime of killing two humans in Yellowstone National Park. The decision to kill the grizzly sow did not come easily and was dependent on DNA evidence that put her at the scene of both deaths.

In this thoughtful, lengthy article in Slate, senior editor Jessica Grose looks at the entire process, from the humans’ deaths to the grizzly’s. It features US Fish and Wildlife Service  grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen and Yellowstone bear manager Kerry Gunther. It’s worth your time, especially if you’ve ever been the one to make the tough decision to kill an animal in the hope of keeping the public safe.

Read it here: A Death in Yellowstone.

Photo by Terry Tollefsbol, courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Wind Project Guidelines Finalized

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It has taken five years, but a new set of guidelines to protect wildlife from the impacts of  land-based wind energy projects was announced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service today. If, looking them over, they seem familiar, that is because the draft guidelines were made available for comment last July.

The guidelines were developed by a committee made up of representatives from the wind power industry, non-government environmental organizations, and state wildlife departments. (There was also one representative of native tribes.)

These are just guidelines, with no regulatory teeth.

You can find the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s landing page for the wind guideline information — which includes a press release, a fact sheet, and the guidelines themselves, here.

Photo credit: Joshua Winchell, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Wind Project Guidelines Finalized

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It has taken five years, but a new set of guidelines to protect wildlife from the impacts of  land-based wind energy projects was announced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service today. If, looking them over, they seem familiar, that is because the draft guidelines were made available for comment last July.

The guidelines were developed by a committee made up of representatives from the wind power industry, non-government environmental organizations, and state wildlife departments. (There was also one representative of native tribes.)

These are just guidelines, with no regulatory teeth.

You can find the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s landing page for the wind guideline information — which includes a press release, a fact sheet, and the guidelines themselves, here.

Photo credit: Joshua Winchell, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service

Glutton for Punishment? Federal Budget

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A US Fish and Wildlife press release says that President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 discretionary budget request includes increases for endangered species, the National Wildlife Refuge system, and the cooperative landscape conservation and adaptive science program.

It proposes decreases for national fish hatcheries, the Fisheries Aquatic Habitat and Species Conservation program, and the Coastal Impact Assistance program.

Read the US Fish and Wildlife Service press release, here.

But don’t get too attached to this budget. Red state legislators hate endangered species, everybody loves fish hatcheries, and most of our nation’s population lives near a coast.

Federal News Roundup

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The US Fish and Wildlife Service has extended the public comment period on the draft policy defining the phrase “significant portion of its range” in the Endangered Species Act, to March 8.
Read the USFWS press release announcing the extension, here.
Read our previous coverage of this topic, here.

The first week in March (March 5) is also the deadline to comment on the National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy.
You can visit the NFWP Climate Adaptation Strategy website, here.
You can read the entire 115 page public review draft document, here. (PDF)
Or just read the executive summary, here.
Read a Miami Herald article on the subject, here.

Forest Service shieldAt the USDA, the Forest Service has released a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for land management planning for the National Forest System. McClatchy Newspapers article says that the new plan is stronger is some ways, but has a key provision that weakens protection for wildlife. This rule expected to become final in early March.
Read the McClatchy article, here.
Read the Forest Service’s material on the new plan, here.

Don’t forget: Endangered species habitat grants

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now accepting applications for its Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund grants. The deadline for submitting proposals is January 27, 2012. The grant pays for land or planning to protect rare species. The funds can be used for projects for species that are candidates, proposed, or listed under the Endangered Species Act.


Your state will have to kick in some of the funds, though. The grants cover 75 percent of the project cost for single state or territory; and 90 percent for two or more states or territories implementing a joint project.

Visit the US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program page for a press release announcing the grants, a 45-page document describing the grants in detail, a press release announcing the last cycle’s winner, plus a report on the winning projects. The page also includes other federal grant resources.

Photo of the endangered bay checkerspot butterfly, by John Clecker, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Ashe: Exotics Are the States’ Job

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The recent incident in Ohio, where a man released many of his exotic animal pets (including large carnivores) and then shot himself, will not lead to any changes in federal regulations of exotics, said Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at an informal talk at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Miami last week.

“Exotic pets will continue to be regulated by the states,” Ashe said. He added that the states have traditionally played the lead role in regulating exotic pets, and that they should continue to fill that role.

You certainly know your own state’s regulations, but do you know how they compare to the regulations in other states?

According to Born Free USA, West Virginia and Wyoming have no regulations on possessing exotic animals. States with some regulation, but without a license or permit requirement include Alabama, Idaho and South Carolina. In Ohio, the site says, “No person may bring into the state a non-domestic animal unless the possessor: obtains an entry permit; health certificate certifying the animal is free of infectious diseases; and a certificate of veterinary inspection. Persons in the state possessing non-domestic animals do not need to obtain a permit.”

For more information on what the requirements in those states are, see the state by state listing at Born Free USA Web site.

Photo: Dan Ashe at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference. State Wildlife Research News. Click here for terms of use.

Ozark Hellbender Federally Endangered

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Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Ozark hellbender as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). It also announced its decision to list the Ozark and eastern hellbender in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will mean that international sales of the creatures will be monitored.

The Ozark hellbender is found only in a small region in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. There are about 590 of the salamanders left in the wild.

Read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release, here.

The more widespread eastern hellbender, which shares a genus and several conservation issues with the Ozark hellbender is not included in either listing. The eastern hellbender is listed as endangered in Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana; threatened in Alabama; and is a species of special concern in New York. It is found in parts of 16 states.

Read the excellent backgrounder on eastern hellbenders from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, here.

Map: Courtesy of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

Ozark Hellbender Federally Endangered

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Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Ozark hellbender as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). It also announced its decision to list the Ozark and eastern hellbender in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will mean that international sales of the creatures will be monitored.

The Ozark hellbender is found only in a small region in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. There are about 590 of the salamanders left in the wild.

Read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release, here.

The more widespread eastern hellbender, which shares a genus and several conservation issues with the Ozark hellbender is not included in either listing. The eastern hellbender is listed as endangered in Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana; threatened in Alabama; and is a species of special concern in New York. It is found in parts of 16 states.

Read the excellent backgrounder on eastern hellbenders from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, here.

Map: Courtesy of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

California Wins Big with USFWS Grants

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Santa Cruz long-toed salamander

California scooped up nearly half of the $53 million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF) grants that were announced by the service last week. The grants are in three programs: the Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants Program, the Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program, and the Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program.The grants fund land purchases and facilitate partnerships with private landowners, conservation groups and other government agencies.


Forty-eight projects in 17 states were funded. Fifteen of those projects were in California, and they received grants totally $24.9 million.


Last year the service began accepting applications for the grants on November 16. No word on this year’s date.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s press release.


The complete list of grants awarded.


General information about the endangered species program’s grants.

Photo: One of the beneficiaries of California’s Endangered Species grant bonanza. Photo courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service