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Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office Conserving the Biological Diversity of the Great Basin, Eastern Sierra & Mojave Desert

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Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office Conserving the Biological Diversity of the Great Basin, Eastern Sierra & Mojave Desert U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office Conserving the biological diversity of the Great Basin, eastern Sierra & Mojave Desert Fall 2011 Inside This Issue: Meet The New State 2 Supervisor Whitebark Pine 2 (Continued) Mojave Desert Tortoise 3 Revised Recovery Plan Whitebark Pine Photo by Richard Sniezko/USFS Service Participated In 4 In July 2011, the U. S. Fish and Whitebark pine typically occurs on 2011 Beatty Days Wildlife Service (Service) determined cold and windy high-elevation or whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) high-latitude sites in western North Amargosa Toad 5 warranted protection under the America. It is a slow-growing, long Endangered Species Act (ESA), lived tree with a life span over 1,000 years and is considered a stone pine Nevada’s Listing 6 but that adding the species to the because of it’s stone-like seeds. Program Work Plan Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants was precluded by the need to address There are only five species of stone Nevada Fish and 7 other listing actions of a higher pines recognized worldwide, and Wildlife Office priority. whitebark pine is the only stone Listing Actions & Work pine that occurs in North America. Plan When a warranted but precluded Stone pines have five pine needles finding is made for a species, the per needle cluster, cones that stay A Message From The on the tree, and wingless seeds that 8 Service classifies it as a candidate State Supervisor for listing. While candidate species remain fixed to the cone and cannot receive no statutory protection be dislodged by the wind. Because under the ESA, inclusion on the whitebark pine seeds cannot candidate list promotes cooperative be wind-disseminated, primary conservation efforts for these seed dispersal occurs by Clark’s species. Continued on page 2 Page 2 U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service New State Supervisor Edward (Ted) Koch will now be filling Service’s Southwest Regional Office; the role as the new State Supervisor staff to the Assistant Secretary of for the Nevada Fish and Wildlife the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Office. Ted will be supervising all Parks; acting Majority Staff Director the Service’s ecological services for the Fisheries, Wildlife and Water programs in Nevada which includes Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate offices located in both Reno and Las for Idaho’s Senator Mike Crapo; Vegas. and Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture, Office of Economic Ted has 13 years of experience Assistance in Portland, Oregon. with the Service, most recently as the Service’s Bull Trout Coordinator He has published several articles in Boise, Idaho. He has a B.S. on a variety of conservation and in Environmental Biology from policy subjects, and one book, “I am looking forward to this great Southern Connecticut State “The Amphibians and Reptiles opportunity to carry out the mission University and an M.S. in Zoology of Yellowstone and Grand Teton of the Service in Nevada and build from Idaho State University and has National Parks.” He has served upon existing partnerships to experience in implementing every on the boards of several private conserve Nevada’s species and their aspect of the ESA. conservation organizations, most habitats. Idaho and Nevada share recently as president of the board of many similar conservation landscapes His previous assignments include: the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley. Assistant Regional Director for so I am confident it will be a smooth Budget and Administration in the transition.” Whitebark Pine (Continued) nutcrackers in addition to other predictions indicate a continuing birds or animals that forage on it’s downward trend within the majority nutritious seeds. of its range. While individual trees may persist, given current trends, the Approximately 44 percent of the Whitebark Pine Service anticipates whitebark pine whitebark pine’s range occurs in the Distribution forests will likely become extirpated United States in Wyoming, Montana, and their ecosystem functions will Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, be lost in the foreseeable future. and Washington. The remaining 56 On a landscape scale, the species percent of the species range occurs appears to be in danger of extinction, in British Columbia and Alberta, potentially within as few as two to Canada. three whitebark pine generations or the next 120 to 180 years. Some of the threats to the whitebark pine include habitat loss and climate change. Whitebark pine is mortality from white pine blister rust, experiencing an overall long-term mountain pine beetle, catastrophic pattern of decline, even in areas fire and fire suppression, and originally thought to be mostly environmental effects resulting from immune from these threats. Recent Fall & Winter Page 3 Mojave Desert Tortoise Revised Recovery Plan applied research and modeling in support of recovery efforts within a strategic framework; and 6) implement a formal adaptive management program that integrates new information and utilizes conceptual models that link management actions to predicted responses by desert tortoise populations or their habitat. Michael Burroughs documents information on a desert tortoise (top) and Roy Averill-Murray (right) attaches a transmitter to a desert tortoise, both in the River Mountains This August, the Service released outlines actions by a revised Recovery Plan for the federal, tribal, and Mojave desert tortoise. The state agencies and revised Recovery Plan takes a new other organizations approach to reversing tortoise to remove the threats population declines through a so that the species coordinated effort of science-based is conserved into the implementation and evaluation of future, and provides conservation actions. Regional measurable criteria for recovery implementation teams determining when the will bring together partners from species is recovered. land management, scientific, Recovery plans do conservation, and land-use groups not obligate the to work together with the Service expenditure of funds or require that The emphasis on partnerships in on implementing, tracking, and actions be implemented. the revised Recovery Plan will direct evaluating recovery actions. and maintain focus on implementing Strategic elements within the revised recovery actions as well as a The ESA directs the Service to Recovery Plan include the following: system to track implementation and develop recovery plans for the 1) Develop, support, and build effectiveness of those actions. The conservation and survival of a partnerships to facilitate recovery; success of implementing the desert listed species and to periodically 2) protect existing populations tortoise revised Recovery Plan will review and update those plans. and habitat, instituting habitat rely heavily upon the involvement For instance, the revised Recovery restoration where necessary; 3) of our partners and a commitment Plan for the Mojave desert tortoise augment depleted populations in a to implementing the strategic provides a description of the species strategic, experimental manner; 4) elements listed above, coupled with and its habitat, summarizes the monitor progress toward recovery, a functioning adaptive management threats that caused the species including population trend and program. to be listed under the ESA, and effectiveness monitoring; 5) conduct Page 4 U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service Service Participates In 2011 Beatty Days Celebration the toads in their terrarium, and learned how biologists track the progress and movement of the toads with tiny glass-encased tags inserted beneath the skin on their backs. Participants used a reader to record the tag number inside an artificial toad, measured the plastic amphibian, and recorded the information in a log book. The Amargosa toad “tattoos” were by far the biggest hit among the younger set. Michael Burroughs (top right) and James Harter (top) work with local children at Beatty Days. Amargosa toad (right). By Dan Balduini, Public Affairs Officer Biologists with the Service joined belching contests, and a staff from the Nevada Department 5K run. of Wildlife (NDOW) and members of the Beatty Habitat Committee to The town of between 1,000 The table featured other educational provide information and educational and 1,200 residents sits at the items including pelts and horns from activities during the 2011 Beatty southern gateway to Death Valley, five mammals native to Nevada — Days Celebration. This was the approximately 115 miles northwest Desert bighorn sheep, mountain third year the Service has had a of Las Vegas on US Highway 95. The lion, coyote, fox, and rabbit. The presence at the weekend gathering town swells to some 6,000 during items were available to be touched — an annual celebration of the small Beatty Days, with visitors from all while biologists talked and answered Nevada town’s 107-year history and over the world. questions about the various species. heritage. The kids also had the opportunity to The main attraction at the Service make animal tracks in sand using The annual Beatty Days Celebration and NDOW table was a display with casts of their paws and hooves. features everything from gun fights live Amargosa toads (Anaxyrus and bed races to a chili cook- nelsoni). Visitors to the table had In a short day-and-a-half, 239 people off and antique car show. The the opportunity to learn about the visited the table, including 103 three-day event also offers food, species, with hands-on activities children. live entertainment, vendors and designed for children. The exhibitors, a poker run, eating and youngsters got a first-hand look at Fall & Winter Page 5 Amargosa Toad Adult Amargosa Toad (left) Amargosa toad egg mass (center) and tadpoles in restored habitat (right). Photos: Michael Burroughs and Christiana Manville and /USFWS The Amargosa toad is a member of the family Bufonidae, which includes North American true toads. The Adult toads forage at night along species is endemic (found nowhere the water’s edge and adjacent else) to Oasis Valley in southern upland areas. Toads eat Nye County, Nevada. The historical invertebrates including spiders, and current range of the Amargosa insects, and scorpions.
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