Cover graphic: Judy Fieth Cover photos: Foraging piping plover - Sidney Maddock Piping plover in flight - Melissa Bimbi, USFWS Roosting piping plover - Patrick Leary Sign - Melissa Bimbi, USFWS Comprehensive Conservation Strategy for the Piping Plover in its Coastal Migration and Wintering Range in the Continental United States INTER-REGIONAL PIPING PLOVER TEAM U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Melissa Bimbi U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4, Charleston, South Carolina Robyn Cobb U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2, Corpus Christi, Texas Patty Kelly U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4, Panama City, Florida Carol Aron U.S. Fish and Wildlife Region 6, Bismarck, North Dakota Jack Dingledine/Vince Cavalieri U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3, East Lansing, Michigan Anne Hecht U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5, Sudbury, Massachusetts Prepared by Terwilliger Consulting, Inc. Karen Terwilliger, Harmony Jump, Tracy M. Rice, Stephanie Egger Amy V. Mallette, David Bearinger, Robert K. Rose, and Haydon Rochester, Jr. Comprehensive Conservation Strategy for the Piping Plover in its Coastal Migration and Wintering Range in the Continental United States Comprehensive Conservation Strategy for the Piping Plover in its Coastal Migration and Wintering Range in the Continental United States PURPOSE AND GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE OF THIS STRATEGY This Comprehensive Conservation Strategy (CCS) synthesizes conservation needs across the shared coastal migration and wintering ranges of the federally listed Great Lakes (endangered), Atlantic Coast (threatened), and Northern Great Plains (threatened) piping plover (Charadrius melodus) populations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2009 5-Year Review recommended development of the CCS to enhance collaboration among recovery partners and address widespread habitat loss and degradation, increasing human disturbance, and other threats in the piping plover’s coastal migration and wintering range. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill further increased concerns regarding piping plover conservation in the nonbreeding portion of the range. This CCS provides a unified summary of the biology, habitat, and threats to nonbreeding piping plovers. It also identifies the planning, coordination, protection, and research actions needed to reduce threats to nonbreeding piping plovers and their habitat. The CCS is intended to serve as an integrated resource for biologists, land managers, regulators, and others seeking to conserve nonbreeding piping plovers. The primary geographic focus of this CCS is the U.S. coastal nonbreeding range of the piping plover from North Carolina to Texas. While we recognize that piping plover protection in Mexico and the Caribbean is very important, this document only provides cursory information about the non-U.S. wintering range. Piping plover conservation actions in other countries are strongly encouraged, and parallel planning documents may be warranted. Current information indicates that piping plovers do not concentrate in large numbers or make extended stopovers at inland migration sites outside of their breeding range. Conservation planning for inland migration habitats, currently considered a lower priority, can be re- evaluated if existing or foreseeable threats during inland migration are identified. RELATIONSHIP OF THIS STRATEGY TO RECOVERY PLANS Implementation of actions described in this CCS will support attainment of relevant reclassification and delisting criteria contained in approved USFWS piping plover recovery plans (USFWS 1988b, 1996, 2003). The pertinent recovery plan tasks are listed in the introduction to each recommended action in this strategy. Information summarized in this document may also inform improvement of criteria in future recovery plan revisions, including the revised recovery plan for the Northern Great Plains population (in progress in 2012). Likewise, experience with implementation of actions associated with the CCS may guide updated estimates of time and cost to achieve reclassification or delisting in the future. Comprehensive Conservation Strategy for the Piping Plover in its i Coastal Migration and Wintering Range in the Continental United States ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Hundreds of biologists from all levels of government, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions, as well as unaffiliated individuals have provided important information reflected in this conservation strategy. Although they are too many to name individually, we cannot overstate the value of their generous contributions. We also recognize the collective on-going efforts to conserve piping plovers throughout their range. * * * DISCLAIMER: This document describes actions to address threats and conservation needs for piping plovers. It does not obligate any party to undertake specific actions and may not represent the views or the official positions or approval of any individuals or agencies involved in piping plover recovery. NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL: Permission to use copyrighted images in this document has been granted by the copyright holders. These images are not placed in the public domain by their appearance herein. They may not be copied or otherwise reproduced, except in their printed context within this document, without the written consent of the copyright holder. Recommended citation: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2012. Comprehensive Conservation Strategy for the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) in its Coastal Migration and Wintering Range in the Continental United States. East Lansing, Michigan. An electronic copy of this document is available at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/EastLansing/ ii Comprehensive Conservation Strategy for the Piping Plover in its Coastal Migration and Wintering Range in the Continental United States TABLE OF CONTENTS PURPOSE AND GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE OF THIS STRATEGY .............................................................. i RELATIONSHIP OF THIS STRATEGY TO RECOVERY PLANS ........................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................ ii DISCLAIMER .............................................................................................................................................. ii NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL ............................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. iii PART I: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND HABITAT PREFERENCES OF NONBREEDING PIPING PLOVERS ........................ 4 Description ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Temporal and Spatial Distribution ................................................................................................... 4 Survival ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Habitat Use ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Winter Site Fidelity ........................................................................................................................ 11 Intra- and Inter-specific Interactions .............................................................................................. 12 KEY THREATS TO PIPING PLOVERS IN THEIR COASTAL MIGRATION AND WINTERING RANGE.............. 13 Loss, Modification, and Degradation of Habitat ................................................................................. 13 Development and Construction ...................................................................................................... 13 Dredging and Sand Mining ............................................................................................................ 16 Inlet Stabilization and Relocation .................................................................................................. 19 Groins ............................................................................................................................................. 21 Seawalls and Revetments ............................................................................................................... 22 Sand Placement Projects ................................................................................................................. 23 Loss of Macroinvertebrate Prey Base due to Shoreline Stabilization ............................................ 25 Invasive Vegetation ........................................................................................................................ 27 Wrack Removal and Beach Cleaning ............................................................................................. 28 Accelerating Sea Level Rise and other Climate Change Impacts ........................................................ 29 Weather events..................................................................................................................................... 31 Storm Events .................................................................................................................................