Preventing Extinctions

The world’s rarest plants and animals are concentrated on islands, where they evolved in isolation into unique, rare life forms. When gain a foothold on islands, they quickly overwhelm and devastate native island life. Without intervention, many native plants and animals will disappear forever.

Yet—there is hope. Island Conservation prevents extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. Your support is vital to all we do. Together, we are making the difference between survival and extinction. A Critically Endangered Waved Albatross chick on Isla de la Plata, .

Your support has protected this and other native species on Isla de la Plata.

Thank you! Island Rescue: Leveraging Our Work to Make a Global Difference

Thanks to the invaluable support of donors like you, Island Conservation has protected 890 populations of 305 species on 48 islands across the world—from Alaska to , from the Galápagos to Southwest Pacific atolls. Our strategies are complex, but our recipe is simple: we remove invasive vertebrates, such as feral goats and rats, from islands. These actions are essential to the survival of native species, many of which only have their home islands as habitat. As you will read in the following pages, in 2010 we protected native plants and animals on the islands of San Nicolas and Desecheo, and laid the groundwork for restoring the Juan Fernández Archipelago and many other islands.

But our work is far from over. Our efforts to catalog the world’s threatened insular vertebrate species have identified that 38% of all International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ranked Critically Endangered (CR) or Endangered (EN) animals occur on islands and are threatened by invasive species. By restoring these islands, we will ensure the long-term survival of these incredible species. To do this, we must leverage our work and apply our conservation strategies to the most important islands in order to prevent the greatest number of imminent extinctions.

Over the coming year, we and partners around the globe, with your support, will embark on an unprecedented initiative to protect the world’s most imperiled island species from extinction. Rescuing this island life must involve the active participation of signatory nations to the Convention on Biological Diversity as well as a host of others, from multilateral agencies (e.g. Global Environment Facility) to international, national and local NGOs, foundations and individuals. Once initiated, the goal of the global initiative is to protect, over five years, at least 50 Critically Endangered or currently perched on the brink of extinction.

Please join us as we set forth on this truly transformative journey. Now, more than ever, we need your support.

Sincerely,

William Waldman Walter Sedgwick EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD CHAIR Impact Across The Globe

Desecheo 2 Higo Chumbo Cactus, Desecheo Anole

Conservation Measures 4 Measuring the Impact of Our Work

Palmyra 6 Pisonia Forest, Coconut Crab, Seabirds

Farallones 7 Ashy Storm-petrel

Updates 8 San Nicolas Island, Isla de la Plata, Rat Island, Galápagos and Juan Fernández

Island Conservation 100 Shaffer Road Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA Financial Report 10 Phone +1.831.359.4787 Board, Advisory Board www.islandconservation.org

Endangered Ashy Storm-petrel Partners 11 photo ©Annie Schmidt Supporters Remaining photos © Island Conservation

1 Threatened Desecheo Endemic Higo Chumbo Cactus Desecheo Anole

Desecheo Island is the In 1912, President Taft set aside , 13 miles off the northwest corner of Puerto Rico, only place in the world as a preserve and seabird breeding ground. At the time, it was the site of the largest Brown Booby where the Desecheo Anole, Desecheo Ameiva colony in the world. Once alive with the calls of tens of thousands of seabirds, the 358-acre island and Desecheo Dwarf grew strangely silent in recent years. Invasive black rats, feral macaques and goats chewed up much Gecko are found. of the native dry forest and plants—necessary habitat for nesting seabirds—and ate bird eggs and chicks. Native plants have grown rarer, as have three lizards found nowhere else in the world: the Desecheo Anole, Desecheo Ameiva and Desecheo Dwarf Gecko.

Since 2008, Island Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Puerto Rican partners have worked together to reverse the damage by removing invasive species from the island. The endemic, night-flowering Higo Chumbo Cactus (listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act) was discovered in greater numbers in 2010 after the removal of feral goats and more than 90% of the invasive feral macaques.By mid-2012, the island will be completely free of invasive species, after which a dramatic recovery of nesting seabirds and native animals and plants is expected.

2 Coming Soon: The Return of Native Species

Desecheo Ameiva Ameiva desechensis This small, gray lizard lives on the island’s rocky coasts in habitats that provide both maximum sunlight and nearby canopy cover. It is most active at midday, when it forages on insects and larvae found by digging into decomposed tree trunks. Invasive macaques on Desecheo Island destroy the lizard’s natural habitat, while invasive rats directly predate on eggs and juveniles.

Brown Booby Sula leucogaster In the early 1900s, Desecheo Island was a major nesting ground for thousands of seabirds. Up to 15,000 Brown Boobies relied on the island for nesting—it was the bird’s largest rookery in the world—along with large populations of Red-footed Boobies, Brown Noddies, Bridled Terns and more. Devastated by invasive vertebrates, the last Brown Booby found nesting on the island was recorded in 1985.

Desecheo Dwarf Gecko Sphaerodactylus levinsi Few scientific studies have been conducted on this tiny lizard due to its size, muted coloration and secretive nature, combined with the island’s isolation and restricted access. In the process of restoring Desecheo Island, Island Conservation biologists are studying the gecko to learn more about its habitat, population size and behavior. 3 Conservation Measures

(Left) Monitoring native species Island Conservation launched its Conservation Measures program in 2008 to ensure on Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico that our island restoration efforts are successful and that imperiled species are being (Center) Black Oystercatcher protected. This program documents the results of our work by monitoring, measuring eggs now safe from the threat of rats on Rat Island, Alaska. and mapping targeted species and their habitats to understand how island ecosystems and native species respond to restoration techniques. (Right) Field crews evaluate seabird recovery on Rat Island, Alaska following the removal of Our standardized methods include using satellite imagery to map vegetation change, invasive rats. inventorying and deploying trained experts to identify bird nests and measure breeding success. We evaluate islands before and after the removal of invasive species, and where possible, we compare restoration efforts to control islands where no invasive vertebrates are being removed, or where they have never been present, to provide a yardstick for recovery expectations. The program is implemented by independent external partners to provide an unbiased evaluation of our work’s effectiveness.

4 From Action to Impact

Threatened Higo Chumbo Cactus Harrisia portoricensis In 2003, only nine of the endemic and Threatened Higo Chumbo cactus plants could be found on Puerto Rico’s Desecheo Island. But in 2010, following the removal of invasive goats and the majority of invasive macaques from the island, Island Conservation field surveys counted 33 thriving plants. Complete removal of invasive species is necessary for the island’s permanent recovery.

Giant Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia A common sea-going stowaway, Norway rats landed on Alaska’s Rat Island over 200 years ago. The invasive rats found easy prey in this Aleutian island’s abundance of birds, such as the Aleutian endemic Giant Song Sparrow. The decimated songbirds were not seen or heard during surveys conducted before the removal of rats, in 2008. But during 2010 bird counts on Rat Island, the Giant Song Sparrow was identified for the first time post-rat removal, potentially indicating the bird’s long-term return to the island.

ARU Automated Recording Units Island Conservation employs innovative techniques and tools, such as songmeters—automated recording units—to monitor the recovery of target species. These lightweight and unobtrusive instruments can be deployed for months on end, providing a cost-effective way to identify changes in bird-calling activity over time.

5 Palmyra Red-footed Booby Coconut Crab

Palmyra Atoll, in the A remote ring of islets a thousand miles south of Hawai’i, ’s native life forms Line Islands, is known are as myriad and fanciful as they are threatened: Critically Endangered Hawksbill and worldwide for its pristine coral reefs. Endangered Green Sea Turtles, rare Pisonia forest, Vulnerable Bristle-thighed Curlews, and Coconuts Crabs (the largest land invertebrate in the world). The atoll provides the only nesting habitat for migratory seabirds, such as the Red-footed Booby and Black Noddy, within 450,000 square miles of ocean. In 2009, Palmyra became a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge.

Fortunately, today Palmyra is little changed by people. It remains the only undeveloped and unpopulated wet atoll in the tropical Pacific. Yet invasive black rats, which likely landed here during World War II, prey on the island’s Pisonia forest and nesting seabirds. In 2010, Island Conservation and our partners the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conducted baseline research and risk assessments to prepare the way for the removal of rats, which was conducted in June 2011.

6 Endemic Farallones Endangered Farallon Arboreal Salamander Ashy Storm-petrel

The Farallon Islands Twenty-five miles west of San Francisco, the islands of the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge are home to the largest sit at the edge of the continental shelf, where the upwelling of cold Pacific currents carries breeding seabird colony in the U.S. outside an abundance of nutrients and krill, a vital link in the food chain for fish and seabirds. Alaska and Hawaii. Consequently, the Farallones host the largest seabird breeding colony in the lower 48 states. More than 300,000 individuals of 13 species are found here—a quarter of California’s breeding seabirds. About half of the world’s population of the Endangered Ashy Storm-petrel breeds here. But invasive house mice on the South Farallon Islands not only prey on seabirds, but also attract Burrowing Owls, which in turn prey on nesting seabirds.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, PRBO Conservation Science and Island Conservation have joined together to remove invasive house mice. This intervention will restore the Farallon ecosystem and protect its native seabird populations, particularly the Endangered Ashy Storm- petrel as well as the endemic Farallon Arboreal Salamander and Farallon Camel Cricket. In November 2010, Island Conservation conducted biological trials on the islands to determine appropriate restoration strategies. 7 Rat Island, Alaska San Nicolas Island, California In 2010, Island Conservation, along with the Montrose Settlements Trustee Council, U.S. Navy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed the removal of invasive feral cats from the island and re-located them to a permanent holding For over 200 years, invasive rats sanctuary on mainland California. This action protects dominated this remote Aleutian the endemic Critically Endangered San Nicolas Island island. In 2010, two years after the Fox, large populations of Brandt’s Cormorants, and the removal of invasive rats, Island endemic San Nicolas Island Night Lizard. Conservation biologists found the island alive with healthy bird chicks, unspoiled nests and the Isla de la Plata, Ecuador sounds of native seabirds.

Haida Gwaii,

Farallon Islands, California The Critically Endangered Waved Albatross breeds on Kaho’olawe Island Hawaii only two islands in the world, one of which is Isla de la Plata. Island Conservation began removing invasive Palmyra Atoll, Line Islands goats and feral cats from the island in 2008 to protect the albatross and other native plants and animals. In 2010, we declared the island free of these two invasive species. 8 The Galápagos, Ecuador Island Hopping: Highlights

Island Conservation began work with the Galápagos National Park and Charles Darwin Foundation in 2010 to save 12 threatened Galápagos species, including the Endangered Galápagos Penguin. Together we developed a plan for the removal of invasive rats from Rábida, Bartolomé and eight islets, and completed the first phase of restoration projects in the Galápagos in 2011. Juan Fernández Archipelago,

Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico

In 2010, Island Conservation, along with a team of international and local experts, visited the islands and Chañaral Island, Chile prepared a feasibility report for the removal of invasive species such as feral goats, coatis and rats. In support of the Chilean government’s commitment to restoring the archipelago, Choros Island, Chile removal of invasives is slated to begin in fall 2013.

9 10 2010 Supporters 2010 Partners

University of California — Santa Cruz Anngail A. Anglum* The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley American Bird Conservancy University of California —Davis Anonymous Donors Charitable Trust BC Parks US Air Force Archie W. & Grace Berry Foundation Patricia Lesage* Bell Laboratories US Environmental Protection Agency Dwayne and Anessa Barnhill* Jim Lightner Canadian Wildlife Service US - Channel Dorothy M. Beek Marion MacKinnon* Charles Darwin Foundation Islands National Park Bell Laboratories, Inc. MacKinnon Family Charitable Foundation Corporación Nacional Forestal US Navy The Beneficia Foundation March Foundation (CONA F), Chile USDA — APHIS, Wildlife Services, Scott Birkey MBA-Nonprofit Connection EcoGene National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Bobolink Foundation Martha Miniello* Environment Canada Collins, CO. Jed Boulton Stephanie McAuliffe and Sheree Rife Equilibrio Azul USDA — APHIS, Wildlife Services, Eleanor Briccetti Donna and Robert McAvoy* Durrell WildLife Conservation Trust, National Wildlife Research Center, Hilo, Kevin Buck Microsoft – California Settlement Fund UK HI. Janis Buckelew* Mulago Foundation Galápagos’ National Park, Ecuador USDA — Caribbean Islands office Ralph and Cheryl Caliri* Megan Murphy* Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve USFWS — Alaska Maritime National Yvon Chouinard National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Haida Heritage Site Wildlife Refuge Commonweal Ocean Policy Program Newman’s Own Foundation Hawaii Department of Land and USFWS — Caribbean Islands National Art Cooley Ernst and Rebecca Oddsund* Natural Resources Wildlife Refuge Complex The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Jamie O’Regan Institute for Wildlife Studies USFWS — Ecological Services in the Dawson Family Fund, an advised fund Michael and Susan Ott* Juan Fernandez Islands Conservancy Caribbean of Silicon Valley Community Foundation Darrell and Cindy Pliler* Kaho`olawe Island Reserve USFWS — Ecological Services in Hawai’i Irving Decatur and Cecile Derouin Bruce Posthumus Commission USFWS — International Affairs Dennis Township Middle School* Mark Readdie and Jennifer Lape Landcare Research, Inc. USFWS — Invasive Species Program Michael Dixon Reeds Road Elementary School* Machalilla National Park, Ecuador USFWS — National Wildlife Refuge John and Wendy Dougherty * RJM Foundation Mayaguez Zoo System Joseph and Barbara Ellis Maurice Robichaux Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Chile USFWS — Division of Migratory Bird Julie Erickson Alfred Roca National Environmental Commission Management Sally Esposito Lisa Roselli* of Chile (CONA MA) USFWS — Pacific Southwest Region Donna Evangelisto* Deborah Ruel-Schaefer* Native Range, Inc. (Region 8) Janet Eyre Frances and Bertram Sabo* The Nature Conservancy — Alaska USFWS — Pacific Remote Islands Marine Kathleen M. Filippo* Salesforce.com Foundation Chapter National Monument David and Carol Finkelstein Sandler Foundation The Nature Conservancy — Hawaii USFWS — Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Solon and Diane Finkelstein Leeanne M. Schmidt and Class S-55* Chapter Refuge Phillip and Michelle Ford* Walter and Jeanne Sedgwick New Zealand Department of USFWS — San Francisco Bay National Lesley Franz Jacob Sheppard Conservation – Island Eradication Wildlife Refuge Complex Lydia M. Garvey Virginia B. Stacy* Advisory Group USFWS — Southeast Region (Region 4) Benjamin and Karen Gery* Jonathan Steinberg Pacific Invasives Initiative White Buffalo, Inc. James and Annette Giaquinto* Peter T. Steinberg Pacific Islands Partnership Wildlife Conservation Society, Latin Amy Gillmor Ruth Steinberg Conservation Society America Keith and Lisa Gradziel* Larisa Stephan Palau National Invasive Species Tommy Hall Donny and Julie Stuckey* Council Anita Hally* Michael Sweeney Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium Karen and Rick Hargrove Jack and Rikki Swenson Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority David Hartwell Lea Taddonio and Nick Holmes Puerto Rico Department of Kevin Hayden Bernie Tershy Environment and Natural Resources Hebshi Biological Tetra Tech Quatsino First Nation HeliGal Rich and Carol Thompson* Raptor Center, University of Jon Hoekstra and Jennifer Steele William Waldman and Olivia Millard Minnesota Stephen and Mary Hughes* Weeden Foundation Royal Society for the Protection of Stephen and Sheryl Johnson* Marc Weinberger Birds (Montserrat) Wesley Jolley Jessica Welch Servicio del Parque Nacional Elise Jones* William Wilkes Galápagos, Ecuador Derry and Charlene Kabcenell William K. Bowes Jr., Foundation Simon Fraser University Alan and Ruth Keitt Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation Tides Foundation Janning and Scott Kennedy Cathy Wood* Tlatlasikwala First Nation Steve and Evelyn Knaebel Mary and John Wegmann Torres Asociados LTD, Chile Kate Kreiss Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile Donald and Jennifer Lape Joseph and Barbara LaRosa*

*Donated in memoriam of Mr. Guy Buckelew 11 12 Invest in Island Species We are deeply grateful to our many supporters. Your generous tax-deductible contributions make a critical difference in protecting island species around the world. Thank you!

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