Working together: tools for helping imperiled wildlife on private lands

              Working Together

Tools for Helping Imperiled Wildlife on

Private Lands

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Private landowners, large and small, play a vital role conserving habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants. In

fact, more than two-thirds of the nation’s threatened and endangered species use habitat found on private

land. If not for the efforts of caring landowners, we would lose the rich diversity of our nation’s heritage.

Private landowner accomplishments to protect listed species have been impressive since Congress

passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) programs

described in this booklet are intended to assist landowners who want to continue the important work of

conserving species.

It is useful to think of the different programs described in the booklet as tools. Not every tool is right

for every job. The booklet is intended to guide you to some of the tools that will best fit your needs

and management goals. The USFWS Landowner Incentive Program and several U.S. Department of

Agriculture programs also provide assistance for habitat conservation. For more information, contact

either the USFWS or any of the undersigned organizations.

It is important to understand that all of the programs described are voluntary. They are designed

to allow interested landowners to fashion a conservation strategy that is consistent with their land

management objectives. We hope you will consider these programs and become a partner to help recover

imperiled species.

American Farm Bureau Federation American Forest Foundation

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

Environmental Defense National Association of Conservation Districts

From Our Partners

Cover photographs (left to right) are

courtesy of: © John Rae NYC 2004;

Dr. Michael Forstner, Texas State University,

San Marcos; the Gale Larue family; Ursula

C. Petersen, Biologist, Endangered Species

Habitat Program, Wisconsin Department of

Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection;

Thomas Meyer, Wisconsin Department of

Natural Resources.

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“Conservation districts have long

advocated that natural resources

conservation must come from

voluntary, incentive-based approaches.

For species conservation, it is clear

that success lies in flexible tools and

incentives that promote diverse habitat

yet still allow economic use of private

lands. Thank you, FWS, for collecting

information on these tools in a

landowner-friendly fashion.”

Bill Wilson

President

National Association of

Conservation Districts

“Private individuals, families, and

farmers own the bulk of the South’s

215 million acres of forestland.

Cooperative initiatives such as

Safe Harbor are critical because

they encourage stewardship and

reduce landowner uncertainty while

enhancing habitat for threatened and

endangered species.”

H. Glenn Hughes, PhD

Extension Professor

Mississippi State University

Extension Service

“The State fish and wildlife agencies

clearly appreciate the merits and value

of working with private landowners to

achieve fish and wildlife conservation

and recognize the significant

contribution of these USFWS incentive

programs to that effort.”

John Baughman

Executive Vice President

International Association of

Fish and Wildlife Agencies

“With more than two-thirds of listed

species living on private lands,

there has to be cooperation between

government agencies and landowners

if the Endangered Species Act is

going to be successful. Farmers and

ranchers of the nation understand

the need to preserve species, and they

are willing to voluntarily participate

in habitat conservation programs

that are incentive-based but still

provide protection for their private

property rights.”

Bob Stallman

President

American Farm Bureau Federation

“Working with private landowners on

conservation projects since 1995 has

affirmed our belief that landowners

are essential and willing partners in

wildlife conservation—if they have

the resources needed. Incentive tools

such as Safe Harbor Agreements

and conservation banks work for

both landowners and rare wildlife.

Financial, technical, and regulatory

incentives all encourage farmers,

ranchers, family foresters, and other

landowners to be good stewards of our

nation’s natural heritage.”

Michael Bean, Co-director

Center for Conservation Incentives

Environmental Defense

“The greatest successes occur when

landowners promote these tools to

their peers.”

Laurence Wisemen

President

American Forest Foundation

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Dear Citizens:

This booklet provides information for citizen stewards and

landowners, who embody President Bush’s vision of cooperative

conservation—a vision built upon innovation, local ideas, inspiration

and incentives, and on-the-ground action. This pamphlet highlights

tools that we hope you find useful in your conservation efforts.

Aldo Leopold, a visionary 20th century conservationist, imagined a

nation of citizen stewards. Environmental progress, he proposed,

ultimately resides in the efforts of all of us to apply a caring hand to

the landscape. It resides in our own actions, in our backyards, at our

places of work, on our farms and ranches and factories, and in our

communities.

Citizen stewards like yourselves have the sort of “on-the-ground, in-the-

dirt, everyday, nose-to-the grindstone” knowledge that improves

land management decisions. You have knowledge of time, place, and

situation—the details that make one location different from another

and that determine what works where.

The Fish and Wildlife Service embraces cooperative conservation—

and encourages citizen stewardship through a variety of policy tools

that help the Service work with landowners to protect wildlife. One

Texas rancher, using these tools, summed up his experience saying,

“We’re just ‘wildlifing’ it all over the place, and we’re happy to do it.”

Through an expanding set of cooperative conservation tools, the

Service is helping nurture a nation of citizen stewards ‘wildlifing’

it all over the place. As this booklet describes, a power company in

Georgia is helping reintroduce a fish, the robust redhorse, back into

the Ocmulgee River using a Candidate Conservation Agreement with

Assurances. More than 300 landowners have enrolled over 3.6 million

acres in 32 Safe Harbor Agreements that protect 36 species listed as

endangered or threatened—species such as the northern aplomado

falcon, San Joaquin kit fox, and red-cockaded woodpecker.

In Wisconsin, under a Habitat Conservation Plan, 38 partners

including timber companies, The Nature Conservancy, state agencies,

local highway departments, power companies, and other landowners

are protecting over 250,000 acres of habitat for the endangered

Karner blue—a butterfly. Across the nation, other habitat plans are

helping conserve 590 species on over 39 million acres.

This upwelling of citizen stewardship across the Nation marks

a coming of age of cooperative conservation. Through these

efforts, our children and grandchildren will continue to

enjoy this nation’s rich natural diversity. I thank each of

you who are lending a caring hand to our lands, waters,

and wildlife.

Gale A. Norton

Secretary

Department of the Interior

From Our Secretary

Courtesy of Tami A. Heilemann, DOI

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Fish and Wildlife Programs

More than one tool may describe the status of species on your property and meet your specific goals.

To assist you in learning our language, a glossary of terms is on page 22.

Question Your Needs and Concerns Tool

Do you have a listed

species (or habitat for one)

on your land?

Would you like to manage your land in a way

that aids in species recovery and provides

flexibility in the use of your land?

Take a look at Safe Harbor

Agreements—pages 6, 7

Are you considering an activity that could

adversely impact the species or its habitat?

A Habitat Conservation Plan may cover

your land-use activities and conserve

listed species—pages 8, 9

Would you like to manage your land in perpetuity for the

species if you could generate income by doing so?

Conservation Banks may be of

interest to you—pages 10, 11

Are you considering a Habitat Conservation Plan

or permanently protecting the habitat?

A Section 6 Grant may be a

source of funds—pages 12, 13

Do you have a candidate

or at-risk species

(or habitat for one)

on your land?

Would you like to conserve the species

to prevent the need to list under the

Endangered Species Act?

See Candidate Conservation Agreements

with Assurances—pages 14, 15

Explore Candidate Conservation

Agreements—pages 16, 17

Would you like to help to maintain or restore

habitat for imperiled species on your property?

Private Stewardship Grants may be a

source of funds—pages 18, 19

Partners for Fish and Wildlife may be a

source of funds—pages 20, 21

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A Texas Cattle Rancher Who “Became a Believer”

“We’re just ‘wildlifing’ it all over the place, and we’re

happy to do it,” Bob Long said. Long is enhancing

habitat on his 550-acre property to benefit the Houston

toad, an endangered species. His Safe Harbor

Agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service will

expand areas for Houston toads to use for breeding,

foraging, and hibernating.

After fencing off ponds, Long has done the same for

a major wetland and while providing new livestock

watering facilities, he’s using rotational grazing to

prevent cattle from trampling toads during the six-month

breeding season. Along with keeping trees

for shade—particularly important during Texas

summers—Long has removed invasive eastern red

cedar, planted native bunchgrasses, and conducted

prescribed burns to clear low-growing scrub so that

the Houston toad can move through corridors that link

ponds and woodlands.

Now, with help from the Service’s Partners for Fish and

Wildlife Program, he’s putting in a pipeline to divert

water from a creek to the ponds during drought. In

addition, Long will plug a drainage ditch and reopen

an inlet to restore a 28-acre marsh to benefit Houston

toads and other wetland dependent wildlife. “You can

say that I’m a landowner willing to try innovative

measures,” he said.

Safe Harbor

Agreements

What are SHAs?

Agreements that provide regulatory

assurances for landowners who voluntarily

aid in the recovery of species listed under the

Endangered Species Act.

What is the landowner’s role?

Voluntarily agrees to implement management

actions that will contribute to the recovery

of a listed species for a specified period of

time. Works with the Service to develop a

management plan and the agreement.

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: Receives regulatory

assurances that he or she can alter or modify

property enrolled in the SHA and return it to

originally agreed upon “baseline” conditions at

the end of the agreement (even if this means

incidentally “taking” the covered species).

For the species: Progress towards recovery.

Who can participate?

Any non-Federal property owner. Whole

parcels or portions of the owner’s property

may be enrolled in the SHA.

Property owners also can enroll in an existing

programmatic or “umbrella” SHA that is

designed for a region or an entire State and

is administered by a State or local agency or

other entity.

Courtesy of Dr. Michael Forstner, Texas State University, San Marcos

“We just found out three years ago that we had Houston

toads. As a matter of fact, it was kind of a shock to us . . .

the survey showed that we had 25 calling toads at

night, the largest number in the county.”

—Bob Long

Courtesy of the Long Family

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Environmental Defense, a nonprofit organization, was

the key in reaching out to Long and provided funding

for biologists to conduct population surveys for the

toad on his property. Long is helping Environmental

Defense and the Service promote Safe Harbor

Agreements with private landowners.

Long also is working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife

Department and the Texas Department of Agriculture.

His Safe Harbor Agreement will last until 2014, when

he will decide whether to renew it.

His family has lived in Texas for generations. “I do love

the land,” Long said. “This is my heritage.”

For more information:

www.fws.gov/endangered/recovery/harborqa.pdf

www.fws.gov/endangered/policy/safe_har.htm

www.fws.gov/endangered/index.html

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

Safe Harbor

Agreements

Private landowners are crucial for the

recovery of listed species that occur

mostly or solely on privately owned land.

Through SHAs, landowners can put their

conservation ethic to work, confident that

their efforts will not result in increased

restrictions on how they can use their

land.

Voluntary actions by landowners with

SHAs may include habitat maintenance

or restoration activities or reintroducing

a listed species on their land.

Courtesy of Mike Barnett, Texas Farm Bureau

“Incentive programs, such as those

represented by Safe Harbor Agreements, are

much more effective in preserving species

than the use of regulatory approaches.

Partnership agreements that recognize

the property rights of landowners while

enhancing habitat present opportunities to

make all participants winners.”

— Daniel Dierschke (second from left), Texas Farm Bureau,

District 8 Director. Also pictured are Bobby Long,

landowner (far left), Melinda E. Taylor, Environmental

Defense (third from left), and Bob Long.

David Wolfe

Environmental Defense

Biologist

© John Rae NYC 2004

By June 2005, more

than 325 landowners

had enrolled over 3.6 million

acres in 32 Safe Harbor Agreements.

Among the 36 listed species

covered are the northern aplomado

falcon, red-cockaded woodpecker,

California red-legged frog, gopher

tortoise, San Joaquin kit fox, and

Schaus swallowtail butterfly.

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Karner Blue – A Butterfly Captivates Wisconsin

“Instead of hearing, ‘I don’t have that butterfly on

my property,’ I hear, ‘How can I get some of that wild

lupine seed?’ ‘You should see the lupine patch

I have going!’ or ‘I saw my first Karner

blue on my land!’” That’s

Dave Lentz, Karner Blue

Habitat Conservation

Plan coordinator

with the Wisconsin

Department of Natural

Resources, talking

about small, private

landowners.

Not long after the butterfly

was listed as endangered,

forestry companies

contacted the DNR to

make sure that their

timber-harvesting

activities were lawful. They had been

trying to prevent the disturbance

of lupine, the host plant for the

larval stage of the Karner blue. The

discussion expanded to utility companies, similarly

committed to ensuring that mowing rights-of-way was

in keeping with conserving the butterfly. The result was

a landscape-scale Habitat Conservation Plan. Under

the Statewide HCP, the Wisconsin DNR has a permit

authorizing the “incidental take” of the species in

connection with otherwise lawful activities. Along with

avoiding harm to the butterfly and performing surveys

for it, partners conduct prescribed burns to benefit

wild lupine—deliberately making sure that sunlight

reaches it—or they plant lupine and nectar plants. Also,

partners develop community outreach tools such as

Alliant Energy Company’s brochure and International

Paper Company’s “Spotlight on the Environment”

video.

The HCP has 38 partners, including the DNR,

Wisconsin county forest departments, gas and electric

companies, timber companies, town and county

highway departments, The Nature Conservancy, and

the Wisconsin Departments of Transportation and

Agriculture. The HCP applies to more than 250,000

acres where the majority of the butterflies are found.

Nearly 350 private landowners are voluntarily

participating in a variety of activities that also benefit

the butterfly and its habitat including farmers,

family forest owners with fewer than 1,000 acres, and

individual homeowners.

Habitat

Conservation Plans

What are HCPs?

Plans that allow for economic development

in conjunction with endangered species

conservation. If an HCP meets the specified

criteria, including minimizing and mitigating

the anticipated take of listed species, the

Service issues an incidental take permit

that allows the landowner to legally take

listed species while proceeding with

development or other activities.

What is the landowner’s role?

The landowner develops an

HCP with the Service that

includes an assessment of the

likely impacts to the species from

the proposed project, the steps

he or she will take to minimize

and mitigate those impacts,

and the funding available to

implement the steps. The plan

also identifies alternative actions

to the taking and the reasons why

those alternatives are not being used.

The landowner then applies for an incidental

take permit.

An HCP may exist in your area that you can

join. Such plans are known as programmatic

HCPs and are often county- or region-wide

plans such as the San Diego Multiple-Species

Conservation Program. Plans may include

plants and nonlisted species as well as

listed species.

“We’re exploring a new approach—not a heavy-handed one, but

one where landowners embrace a stewardship ethic and apply

their knowledge. We’re trying to encourage good people to do the

right thing. So far, it’s been a validation of the voluntary strategy.”

—Dave Lentz

Courtesy of Thomas Meyer, Wisconsin

Department of Natural Resources

Courtesy of Thomas Meyer, Wisconsin

Department of Natural Resources

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With about 12,000 acres of land in more than 24

counties in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois, the

Ho-Chunk Nation, a Native American tribe, is working

on habitat projects for the species.

“I let them know that private landowners are not

obligated to do anything under the recovery plan for

endangered Karner blue butterflies,” said Wisconsin

middle school teacher Bob Welch, another partner.

With assistance from the Fish and Wildlife Service’s

Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Welch and

his wife, Deb Martin, have grown lupine from seed

from stock on their farm and worked with neighbors

in a 10-mile radius to plant more than 100 acres of the

host plant.

“By maintaining forests, barrens, savannas, and

rights-of-way, partners are implementing the HCP on

Wisconsin’s working landscape,” said Cathy Carnes,

the Service’s Endangered Species Coordinator in

Green Bay.

For more information:

www.fws.gov/endangered/HCP/index.html

www.dnr.state.wi.us

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

Habitat

Conservation Plans

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: After receiving an

incidental take permit for activities that may

result in take of listed species, he or she can

move ahead with the assurance that their

actions are not in violation of the ESA.

For the species: Permanent protection and

management of habitat for specific species

covered by the HCP.

Who can participate?

Any non-Federal landowner.

As of June, 2005, incidental take

permits have been issued for

484 HCPs, covering more than 39

million acres. These HCPs assist

in the conservation of 590 species.

Among the species benefitting from

HCPs are the bull trout, Hawaiian

stilt, northern flying squirrel,

coastal California gnatcatcher,

red-cockaded woodpecker, and

willowy monardella.

“We will be building a

walking trail adjacent to

Karner blue habitat,

with interpretive signs

to let trail users know

about barrens habitat

and the butterfly.”

— Randy Poelma, Biologist

Ho-Chunk Nation

“And we work with the DNR to show people where the

habitat is, and everybody is excited about it. . . . We have

something that’s on the endangered species list that’s

flourishing around here. It’s kind of cool.”

—Carol Grassman Waarik

Drug Store Owner

Courtesy of Mike Engel, USFWS

Courtesy of Randy Poelma

of the Ho-Chunk Nation

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Dove Ridge Conservation Bank:

Preserving a California Landscape

When the California Department of Transportation

offered to buy an almond ranch and adjacent grazing

land in the Sacramento Valley as mitigation for

a highway construction project, the landowners,

Loafer Creek LLC, did some fast research about the

Endangered Species Act and vernal pools (also known

as seasonal wetlands). It turned out that the property

has value in mitigating for development elsewhere.

About 90 miles north of Sacramento, the 2,400 acres

are particularly valuable because of a stream that runs

through them as well as vernal pools that are home to

the threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp, endangered

vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and endangered Butte

County meadowfoam, a plant.

Loafer Creek LLC had planned to develop the

property, but, decided to preserve it after conducting

meticulous biological inventories. Working with the

Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies, the

company established the Dove Ridge Conservation

Bank. The bank’s property is preserved in perpetuity

through an easement, management plan, and

endowment.

Conservation

Banks

What are conservation banks?

Conservation banks are lands that are

permanently protected and managed as

mitigation for the loss elsewhere of listed

species and their habitats. Conservation

banking is a free market enterprise based on

supply and demand of mitigation credits. By

mitigating multiple development projects at

a single site, a conservation bank, all parties

involved, including the species benefit from

economies of scale.

What is the landowner’s role?

Contacts the Service to see whether his or her

land is suitable. Appropriate land generally has

habitat and is occupied by one or more listed

species or is located strategically to contribute

to the recovery of such species. If the habitat

is suitable, the landowner agrees to preserve

and manage this land in perpetuity. He or she

is given “mitigation credits” to sell to other

landowners who need to mitigate their land

development impacts on listed species.

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: Retains title to his

or her land while making money selling

mitigation credits.

For the species: Provides permanently

preserved habitat, generally in larger parcels

than would otherwise occur, specifically

managed for them.

“After the studies, the company decided to

buy a Bell 407 helicopter, along with remote

sensing cameras, infra-red cameras, and

topographical technology to measure within

10 centimeters of the property. Now, with

more investors and 20,000 acres in the county,

we’re trying to protect the whole watershed.”

— Angi Orlandella, Technology and Landscape

Applications Director, Loafer Creek LLC

Above: Vernal Pool

Fairy Shrimp

Left: Vernal Pool

Tadpole Shrimp

Courtesy of William Leonard

Courtesy of Larry Serpa

Courtesy of Chris Stewart/San Francisco Chronicle

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In return, Loafer Creek LLC has a total of 466

“preservation credits” which have been selling for

$100,000 each.

Loafer Creek LLC started out as a California-based

real estate development company. They’ve added

mitigation banking, conservation land acquisitions,

and other environmental services to their business and

are now working with the Army Corps of Engineers,

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the

State Water Resources Control Board to add wetland

mitigation banking to increase the site’s marketability.

The Dove Ridge Conservation Bank has demonstrated

that permanently setting aside large parcels of

environmentally sensitive land in perpetuity, while

allowing development elsewhere, makes ecosystem

conservation compatible with a market-based economy.

For more information:

www.fws.gov/endangered/landowner/index.html

www.LoaferCreek.com/MitigationBanking/

DoveRidgeConservationBank.aspx

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

Conservation

Banks

Who can participate?

Any landowner, public or private. Federal

lands may require special consideration.

In general, ranches, farms, timber

operations, forested or wooded areas,

undeveloped lands, and any other lands

with natural resource value are good

choices for conservation banks if one or

more listed species occur on the site.

As of June 2005, more than 45

conservation banks have been

approved. Banks in Alabama,

Arizona, California, Colorado, and

Texas cover more than 35,000

acres with habitat for more than

40 species including the vernal

pool tadpole shrimp, California

red-legged frog, valley elderberry

longhorn beetle, San Joaquin kit

fox, golden-cheeked warbler,

gopher tortoise, and several

plant species.

“It’s one of the largest conservation banks

in the State and has been beautifully

preserved as a natural landscape. It’s a

good model for others.”

— Susan Hill, Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Service

“Protection of our environment should be

the benchmark for and the protection of our

economic way of life.”

—Steve Mardigian, Loafer Creek LLC

Courtesy of Chris Stewart/San Francisco Chronicle

Courtesy of Loafer Creek LLC.

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Montana: Endangered Species Grants

Help Keep “Big Sky Country” Big

“That’s one of the most productive bull trout streams

in the country,” said Fish and Wildlife Service

biologist Bob Lee of the headwaters of the Bull River

in Montana. The area is now a part of almost three

square miles of property that belongs to the Montana

Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, thanks

to the support of Habitat Conservation Plan Land

Acquisition Grants.

“The property is associated with Plum Creek Timber

Company’s Habitat Conservation Plan for native

fish—bull trout and cutthroat trout—and is designed

to enhance the conservation effects of the HCP,” said

Lee. “We identified parcels that would benefit other

wildlife, too—gray wolves, grizzly bears, Canada lynx,

and fishers—by providing a travel corridor to unite

populations and expand their gene pools.”

The grants helped the Montana Department of Fish,

Wildlife, and Parks purchase the land from Plum Creek

Timber Company, while the Avista Corporation (a

utility company) and the Conservation Fund donated a

559-acre conservation easement to match the Federal

money. At the ceremony dedicating the area, Mark

Elsbree, Vice President and Northwest Director of

The Conservation Fund, termed the habitat, protected

for grizzly bears, bull trout, and other wildlife

“spectacular” and applauded “the confluence of the

economic side and environmental side of what’s being

done today.” The Conservation Fund helped negotiate

the land transfer and provided early funding.

The 1,800-acre Bull River Wildlife Management Area

protects a half-mile of frontage on Bull Lake, along

with a stretch of the Bull River, wetlands, riparian

areas, and upland forests—prime real estate for

development but crucial for conserving endangered

and threatened species. The area is open to the

public for hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, and

horseback riding.

Cooperative Endangered

Species Conservation

Fund Grants

What are Cooperative Endangered Species

Conservation (Section 6) Grants?

Federal assistance to States and Territories to

participate in voluntary conservation projects

for candidate and listed species; private

landowners are important partners.

Conservation Grants provide funds to States

and Territories to implement projects such

as species status surveys and to develop

management plans for candidate and listed

species.

Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance

Grants provide funds to States and Territories

to develop Habitat Conservation Plans

through baseline surveys.

Habitat Conservation Planning Land

Acquisition Grants provide funds

to States and Territories to acquire

land associated with approved HCPs.

Grants do not fund the mitigation

required of an HCP permittee; instead,

they support conservation actions

by State or local governments that

complement mitigation.

Recovery Land Acquisition Grants

provide funds to States and Territories

to acquire habitats essential

for recovery of threatened and

endangered species.

Jason Dunham, Boise Forestry Sciences

Laboratory, U.S. Forest Service

Bull River Wildlife Management Area

Dedication Ceremony

Courtesy of Don Morgan, USFWS

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Cooperative Endangered

Species Conservation

Fund Grants

What is the landowner’s role?

Private landowners are important partners

with States and Territories in the section

6 grants program. While only States and

Territories can apply to the Service for a

section 6 grant, landowners work with States

to develop proposals for grants to support the

development of HCPs and to protect habitat

to conserve listed species. Counties, cities, and

large and small landowners have received sub-awards

from States and Territories.

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: Landowners may

receive funds to offset the costs associated

with developing an HCP or to protect land

in perpetuity for the purpose of species

conservation.

For the species: Recovery and HCP land

acquisition grants provide a source of funds

to acquire the habitat most important for the

recovery and conservation of listed species.

Who can participate?

States and Territories with a cooperative

agreement with the Service. Private

landowners, communities, and Tribes may

participate as partners in developing HCPs or

protecting habitats for listed species.

In FY 2005, the Service awarded

more than $70 million to States and

territories for projects to support

endangered species conservation.

“The creation of the Bull River Wildlife

Management Area is a great example of how

the HCP Land Acquisition Grant Program has

worked in Montana. Through the efforts of

a dedicated and diverse group of partners,

we have conserved one of the most wildlife-rich

areas in the Bull River Valley for future

generations.”

— Tim Bodurtha, Supervisor

Kalispell, Montana Fish and Wildlife Service Office

“This is an incredible example of a private timber company,

a private utility company, a conservation organization,

and State and Federal agencies working together for the

benefit of wildlife.”

— Jim Williams, Regional Wildlife Program Manager

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks

Tim Swant, manager of the Avista Utilities Clark

Fork License, echoed the value of cooperation

on this project. “Throughout this process we all

worked together to develop a course of action that fit

everyone’s goals,” he said. “We were able to come up

with an outcome that protected the habitat and met the

needs of the cooperators.” For more information:

www.fws.gov/endangered/grants/Section6/index.html

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

Courtesy of Nate Hall, Avista Corporation

Courtesy of Nate Hall, Avista Corporation

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Robust Redhorse Conservation and the

Georgia Power Company

Candidate Conservation

Agreements with

Assurances

What are CCAAs?

Agreements that provide incentives for

landowners to implement conservation

measures for candidate and at-risk species.

What is the landowner’s role?

Voluntarily agrees to implement specific

conservation measures for candidate or at-risk

species. Works with the Service to develop a

management plan and the agreement that lasts

for a certain number of years.

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: Regulatory assurances

that if the species is later listed, the landowner

will not be required to do anything beyond

what is specified in the agreement.

For the species: Lessens threats so listing may

not be necessary.

Who can participate?

Any non-Federal property owner. Whole

parcels or portions of the owner’s property

may be covered by the CCAA.

Property owners can also enroll in an existing

programmatic or “umbrella” CCAA that

is designed for a region or an entire State

administered by a State or local agency or

other entity.

In 2002, Georgia Power, the Georgia Department of

Natural Resources, and the Fish and Wildlife Service

signed a Candidate Conservation Agreement with

Assurances for the robust redhorse, an at-risk species

rediscovered in the early 1990s in central Georgia’s

Oconee River. Two objectives of the agreement are

to re-establish a robust redhorse population in the

Ocmulgee River and to increase understanding of

habitat requirements and the life history of the species.

In return for the specific conservation activities

described in the agreement, the Service issued a

permit that ensures that the Georgia Power Company

will not be required to undertake additional measures

if the at-risk species is listed under the Endangered

Species Act.

In addition to helping re-establish the robust

redhorse in the Ocmulgee River, Georgia Power has

implemented a new regime for the Sinclair Dam,

providing flows to emulate seasonal discharges in the

Oconee River. The Georgia DNR has collected brood

fish, set up temporary hatcheries, tagged and released

fish in several rivers, and monitored their progress.

The results are encouraging. Stocked populations

are surviving and maturing, and our knowledge of

the biology of the robust redhorse has increased

significantly.

“Whoever wrote this policy could not have

come up with a better solution. Whenever you

have a rare species you want to conserve, you

want boundaries to the commitments should

the species be listed. It was a great fit for us.”

— Mike Nichols, Environmental Laboratory Manager,

Georgia Power Company

Courtesy of Jimmy Evans, Georgia DNR Courtesy of Jimmy Evans, Georgia DNR

15

Shortly after the species was rediscovered, a group

of 13 Federal, State, industry, and private interests

formed the Robust Redhorse Conservation Committee

to implement conservation measures to help the fish

and possibly preclude the need for a Federal listing.

Georgia Power funded Federal and State research on

the preferred habitat, population numbers, and the

best conditions for re-introducing the fish.

“Numerous partners contributed resources—Georgia

Power Company, Duke Power, Carolina Power and

Light, and South Carolina Electric and Gas, all the

Federal and State natural resources agencies, the

South Carolina Aquarium, the Georgia Wildlife

Federation—it is a big partnership across a three-State

region,” said Jimmy Evans of the Georgia DNR.

For more information:

www.fws.gov/endangered/listing.ccaa.pdf

www.fws.gov/endangered/landowner/index.html

www.fws.gov/endangered/policy/ccaa.htm

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

Candidate Conservation

Agreements with

Assurances

CCAAs offer all non-Federal landowners

the unique opportunity to help ensure that

a species does not decline to the point that it

needs the protection of the ESA.

Participants in CCAAs range from individual

landowners who own less than an acre to large

corporations with thousands of acres. In 2005,

286 species are candidates for listing.

As of June 2005, 10 Candidate

Conservation Agreements with

Assurances have been approved for

24 species. Some of these species

are the Washington ground squirrel,

the lesser prairie-chicken, the

Oregon spotted frog, the Colorado

River cutthroat trout, and the

Columbian sharp-tailed grouse.

“How could a fish that may reach 30 inches in

length and weigh more than 15 pounds exist

undiscovered in some of the most heavily

sampled rivers in the United States?”

— Georgia DNR biologist Jimmy Evans

“Education is primarily what we do. During the

past four years about 250,000 school children have

seen the robust redhorse exhibit and learned how

conservation initiatives are helping to keep this

species from being on the list. Visitors are amazed at

what partners are doing in the recovery of the robust

redhorse.“

— David Wilkins, South Carolina Aquarium Biologist

Courtesy of Jimmy Evans, Georgia DNR

Courtesy of Matthew Ward, South Carolina Aquarium

Courtesy of Joe Tomelleri

16

Conserving the Elusive Louisiana Pine Snake:

Partners Take Action

Candidate

Conservation

Agreements

What are CCAs?

Agreements between

one or more parties that

address the conservation

needs of candidate or

at-risk species. Both

Federal and non-Federal

landowners can be CCA

partners. CCAs do not

provide the landowner with

regulatory assurances.

What is the

landowner’s role?

Voluntarily agrees to

implement described

actions for a specified

period of time to remove or

reduce the threats to the species. Works with

the Service to design conservation measures.

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: Provides guidance and a

formal management plan that identifies specific

conservation actions for covered species and

habitats.

For the species: Helps to remove threats and

improve status so listing may not be necessary.

Who can participate?

Any landowner, Federal or non-Federal.

“It’s a big step forward. Everyone is looking at

management actions that could benefit the Louisiana

pine snake,” said Debbie Fuller, Fish and Wildlife

Service biologist in

Lafayette, Louisiana, of the

Candidate Conservation

Agreement for the species.

This agreement involves

eight partners—Texas

Parks and Wildlife

Department, Louisiana

Department of Wildlife

and Fisheries, Fort Polk

Military Installation, Texas

National Forests, Kisatchie

National Forest, U.S.

Forest Service Southern

Research Station, and the

Southeast and Southwest

Regions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Adopted

in December 2003, the CCA guides the partners to

avoid and minimize impacts to the snake, exchange

information on successful management practices, and

coordinate research efforts.

The Louisiana pine snake, a candidate for Federal

listing, historically occurred in the longleaf pine

ecosystem of northwest Louisiana and east central

Texas. Always limited in range, the snake has been

reduced to six small and isolated pineland fragments—

three in Texas and three in Louisiana. “Habitat is

changing from land uses,” said Dr. Craig Rudolph,

a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service’s

Southern Research Station in east Texas. “Short

rotation silviculture and fire suppression are two major

issues, and road mortality is also a factor.”

Louisiana pine snakes prey primarily on pocket

gophers, which feed on bluestem grasses and leafy

plants in pine stands. Frequent fire maintains the

grassy groundcover essential for the pocket gopher and

the pine snake.

Courtesy of Don Saenz U.S. Forest

Service, Southern Research Station

“We’re cooperatively involved with Dr.

Rudolph in surveys for the Louisiana pine

snake. There are so few to be found. We are

using the Service’s section 6 grant funds in a

support role.”

— Ricky Maxey, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Courtesy of Joan Walker, USFWS

17

Candidate

Conservation

Agreements

Current participants include ranchers,

farmers, corporations, cities, counties,

water and park districts, non-governmental

organizations, zoos, aquariums, universities,

State wildlife and fisheries agencies, State

transportation agencies, State forestry

agencies, Tribes, the Corps of Engineers,

Department of Defense, Bureau of Land

Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National

Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service.

As of June 2005, more than

100 candidate conservation

agreements have been signed

for more than 140 candidate and

at-risk species. CCAs have been

important in determining that

the protection of the ESA is not

necessary for species such as the

Camp Shelby burrowing crayfish,

slickspot peppergrass, Mt. Ashland

lupine, Pecos pupfish, and

Henderson’s horkelia.

“Just see how big this longleaf pine has grown!

I do have a passion for growing longleaf pine.”

— Ricky Gay, Forest Management Consultant

To improve habitat on private property, landowners in

east Texas are planting longleaf pine with funding from

the Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program

and the Texas Landowner Incentive Program.

In Louisiana, International Paper Company’s Bienville

Parish property is home to one of the largest remaining

populations. IP is managing 1,800 acres specifically

for the pine snake, removing loblolly and slash pine,

planting longleaf pine, conducting prescribed burns,

and controlling hardwoods. The Service has provided

important funds to help implement the CCA, including

funds from the Landowner Incentive Program for

improving habitat on IP land, and the Louisiana

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is supporting

research there on both the snake and the pocket

gopher.

Both the Forest Service and Fort Polk have been

conducting prescribed burns to restore and maintain

habitat. The Forest Service also is limiting off-road

vehicle use in pine snake habitat to reduce mortality,

and Fort Polk is studying pocket gopher distribution

and habitat needs.

For more information:

www.fws.gov/endangered/candidates/index.html

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

Top: Chris Melder, Fort Polk Contract Biologist

Bottom: Pocket Gopher

Courtesy of Ricky Maxey, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Courtesy of Steve Shively, Courtesy of Troy Mallach, USFWS

Kisatchie National Forest

18

Private Stewardship Grants:

Not Just for Big Projects

Private Stewardship

Grants

What are Private Stewardship Grants?

Financial and technical assistance to

individuals and groups to support voluntary

conservation efforts on private property for

the benefit of imperiled species.

What is the landowner’s role?

Implement conservation measures that benefit

imperiled species on private lands. Individuals

and groups submit project

proposals that include:

■ Description of voluntary

conservation efforts on private

lands;

■ Benefits to listed and candidate

species, or other at-risk species

native to the U.S.;

■ Cost-share of at least 10% of

total project cost (may be met by

in-kind contributions);

■ Landowner participation

information;

■ Budget information; and

■ Measures to evaluate the project.

“We want to preserve what’s there and keep

it for the next generation. This is a great

program. It gives people the resources to do

what should be done.”

—Gale Larue

“I read about Private Stewardship Grants in a

magazine,” said Mr. Gale Larue, whose family raises

cattle, sheep, and goats on a farm in Groveport, Ohio,

not far from Columbus. “Then Mr. Fasbender, of

the Fish and Wildlife Service walked us through the

process.” Pete Fasbender is the Endangered Species

Grants and Permits Coordinator in the Service’s Fort

Snelling, Minnesota Regional Office.

“At the same time our daughter, Bethany, was doing her

science fair project on wetlands, the Environmental

Protection Agency was conducting a study on one

nearby. Bethany talked them into coming over to

evaluate ours,” Mr. Larue said.

It turns out that the Larues’ property is one of only

four sites in Ohio where the raven’s foot sedge, a plant

species that the State lists as threatened, has been

found. The wetland- dependent plant had found refuge

in their wetland but was threatened by trampling

and dumping. The family decided that fencing would

help them continue to provide a safe home for the

imperiled plant.

Courtesy of the Gale Larue family

Courtesy of the Gale Larue family

19

Private Stewardship

Grants

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: Allows private landowners

to submit project proposals directly to the Fish

and Wildlife Service and offers a low cost-share

ratio to assist landowners in implementing

conservation measures.

For the species: Restores or protects habitats

for species, may improve species status, may

reduce costs associated with recovery of listed

species, and helps build partnerships for the

species.

Who can participate?

Individuals and groups engaged in

conservation efforts on privately held lands.

In FY 2005, the Service awarded

more than $5.7 million to private

landowners in support of projects

that benefit imperiled species.

It took about a month to remove the old fence and put

in a new one to create a barrier to trash-dumping and

redirect traffic that had gone through the nine-acre,

wooded wetland to a field. With parents Gale and

Vicki providing encouragement, the Larue children—

Clayton, Ross, Elena, Bethany, and Alyssa—did

the work.

Interested in biology, Bethany likes the wetland even

more because of the raven’s foot sedge. The plants are

now thriving in their protected habitat.

The 282-acre farm has been in the Larue family for five

generations.

For more information:

www.fws.gov/endangered/grants/private_stewardship/

index.html

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

“I have always been extremely

concerned with preserving

our environment, and I feel

that the Private Stewardship

Grants Program provided an

excellent opportunity to help

achieve this goal.”

—Bethany Larue

“This was a small grant—$8,200—to fence a wetland to protect a

State-listed plant species on a family farm. The project was a family

initiative. The Fish and Wildlife Service provided the material, and the

Larues did everything else. They were a real pleasure to work with.”

— Pete Fasbender, Fish and Wildlife Service

Courtesy of the Gale Larue family

Courtesy of USDA

20

A One-on-One Relationship with

Private Landowners

Partners for

Fish and Wildlife

Program

What is the Partners for

Fish and Wildlife Program?

Through voluntary agreements the Partners

program provides expert technical assistance

and cost-share incentives directly to private

landowners to restore fish and wildlife habitats.

What is the landowner’s role?

A phone call or letter initiates the process.

The landowner works one-on-one with a local

Service biologist to develop a project plan

addressing the goals and objectives of the

landowner and the Service to benefit fish and

wildlife species on his or her land.

To implement a project, a cooperative

agreement with a minimum duration of 10

years is signed. The landowner is reimbursed

after project completion, based on the cost-sharing

formula in the agreement.

What are the benefits?

For the landowner: Fulfilling habitat

conservation goals on the land by working

one-on-one in partnership with the local

Service biologist.

For the species: Restoring important habitats

on private lands that may result in the

recovery of imperiled species.

“My immediate vision is to have a sustainable

agricultural business that, at the same time, protects

and enhances the living conditions of native and

endemic species. My long-term objective is that the

Hacienda Pellejas will provide habitat for the successful

expansion of the endangered Puerto Rican parrot. “

— Dr. Luis Ramos

In 2002, Dr. Luis Ramos, a rancher and coffee grower

in Puerto Rico, contacted the Fish and Wildlife

Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program

searching for assistance in managing his ranch for

the benefit of native and endemic fish and wildlife

species. That was the start of a long-lasting partnership

between this landowner and the Service. His 1,400-acre

ranch, named Hacienda Pellejas, is located in the heart

of the island of Puerto Rico. It is managed for cattle

ranching and as a coffee producing hacienda.

Later that year, Ramos signed a voluntary agreement

with the Service to restore the native shade canopy

on 25 acres of his coffee plantation. This project is

providing and enhancing habitat for many species

including the endangered Puerto Rican boa, the Puerto

Rican sharp-shinned hawk, the Puerto Rican parrot,

and many other imperiled species.

Ramos signed a second Partners agreement in

2003 to restore the remaining acres of the coffee

plantation. He is looking forward to restoring and

protecting as many habitats as possible within his

property for the benefit of imperiled species.

Photos courtesy of Leopoldo Miranda, USFWS

Puerto Rican Boa

Puerto Rican Parrot

21

Partners for

Fish and Wildlife

Program

Who can participate?

Any privately owned land is potentially

eligible for restoration. Most applicants are

individual landowners. For the purposes

of this program, “privately owned” means

lands not owned by a State or the Federal

Government.

Since 1987, USFWS has

entered into over

35,000 landowner agreements.

“ From 2001 to 2003, one of our

cooperative conservation

programs, our Partners for Fish and

Wildlife Program, restored more

than 700,000 acres of prairie and

150,000 acres of wetands, working

with nearly 9,000 partners.”

— Secretary Gale Norton

Department of the Interior

March 4, 2004

Besides the habitat improvements, one of the most

important accomplishments of this project is that it has

became an example to other private landowners. The

Hacienda Pellejas project has been featured in the local

press. As a result, other landowners now know that

having abundant wildlife and helping the Puerto Rican

parrot can happen.

For more information:

www.fws.gov/partners

Service regional contacts are listed on page 23.

“One of the best Interior cooperative

programs is the Partners for Fish and

Wildlife Program, which involves

about 27,000 private landowners who

are enhancing natural habitats on

their lands.”

— Lynn Scarlett

Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management,

and Budget

Department of the Interior

“The value of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife

Program is incalculable, not because of its

financial incentives but because of the one-on-one

and coffee-table relationship with the Service

biologists. They are always there when you

need them!”

— Dr. Luis Ramos

Photos courtesy of Leopoldo Miranda, USFWS

Hector Gonzalez (at left)

Private Landowner

Puerto Rican

Giant Anole

22

Glossary

Species Status categories:

at-risk species — species of plants and animals that are

Federal candidate species and those that the Service

has not identified as candidate species, but are facing

threat(s) and are potential candidates.

candidate species — species of fish, wildlife, and plants

for which the Service has sufficient information on

their biological status and threats to propose them

as endangered or threatened under the Endangered

Species Act, but for which development of a proposed

listing regulation is precluded by higher priority listing

activities.

listed species — fish, wildlife, and plant species,

including subspecies and distinct vertebrate

populations, that are determined under the

Endangered Species Act to be endangered or

threatened.

endangered species — any species that is in danger of

extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its

range.

threatened species — one that is likely to become

endangered within the foreseeable future.

imperiled species — as used in this booklet, includes

listed, candidate, and at-risk species.

Other useful terms:

certificate of inclusion — document used with a

programmatic or “umbrella” Safe Harbor Agreement,

Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances,

or Habitat Conservation Plan certifying that property

enrolled by an individual landowner is included within

the scope of a programmatic enhancement of survival

permit that authorizes incidental take of a species.

Endangered Species Act 1973, as amended

(ESA) — Federal law that provides a program to

conserve threatened and endangered species and the

ecosystems on which they depend.

non-Federal property owner — a person, business,

State or county agency, Tribe, organization, or

other entity with a fee simple, leasehold, or other

property interest, sufficient to carry out the proposed

management actions subject to applicable State law, on

lands not owned by the Federal Government.

programmatic agreement — a single “umbrella”

agreement, often encompassing a region or State that

can involve multiple property owners by means of

certificates of inclusion. The permit holder, usually a

State agency, enrolls other landowners.

take — as defined under the ESA means “. . . to harass,

harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,

or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct”

with respect to federally listed species.

incidental take — “take” of any federally listed species

incidental to, but not the purpose of, otherwise lawful

activities; it may be authorized by permit.

23

Resources and Contacts

For information about cooperative conservation

opportunities, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service office for your State.

Pacific Region

(Region 1)

Endangered Species Program Office

1-503-231-6118

www.fws.gov/pacific/

Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, American

Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, Guam, Pacific Trust Territories

California/Nevada Operations

Endangered Species Program Office

1-916-414-6464

www.fws.gov/pacific/

California, Nevada

Southwest Region

(Region 2)

Endangered Species Program Office

1-505-248-6654

www.fws.gov/southwest/

Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

Great Lakes, Big Rivers Region

(Region 3)

Endangered Species Program Office

1-612-713-5343

www.fws.gov/midwest/

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota,

Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin

Southeast Region

(Region 4)

Endangered Species Program Office

1-404-679-7313

www.fws.gov/southeast/

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South

Carolina, Tennessee, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

U.S. Virgin Islands

Northeast Region

(Region 5)

Endangered Species Program Office

1-413-253-8627

www.fws.gov/northeast/

Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine,

Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,

Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia

Mountain-Prairie Region

(Region 6)

Endangered Species Program Office

1-303-236-4258

http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/

Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska,

North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

Alaska

(Region 7)

Endangered Species Program Office

1-907-786-3925

http://alaska.fws.gov/

Alaska

Headquarters

Washington, DC

Endangered Species Program Office

1-703-358-2171

www.fws.gov/endangered/

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

http://www.fws.gov

December 2005

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is

responsible under the Endangered Species Act

for conserving our nation’s imperiled species

and their habitats, working in cooperation with

other public and private partners.