The man who has been responsible for supervising the effort that has brought the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis),a North American subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos),back from the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states to the point of being considered for delisting from Endangered Species Act protection,Dr.Christopher Servheen,65,has retired from his US Fish & Wildlife Service position.Known as "Dr.Bear" and working from his office at the University of Montana,Chris Servheen was Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator from 1981 to the present.Today,he says,the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystems' grizzly populations have recovered.The total number of grizzlies in the lower 48 is about 2,000.*
We've come a long way,Dr.Servheen told Monatana Public Radio.We have three times as many bears today as when I started,and they occupy more than twice the range that they lived in when I started.It's been healthy for some time in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem -a complex of lands including Yellowstone National Park and National Forests-where there were as few as 176 in 1975,to over 700 today;and where grizzly bears today occupy more habitat than Vermont,New Hampshire and Rhode Island combined.
I've put in my 35 years and I've done my best,Dr.Servheen said.In the course of his long career,the PhD in wildlife biology has been praised by some and excoriated by others;but now he has his eyes set on fishing and hiking the backcountry of the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Areas to view bears with his two sons.*
Dr.Servheen's associate at USFWS,Ed Casworm,will serve as Acting Coordinator until a permanent replacement is found.
Showing posts with label US Fish&Wildlife Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Fish&Wildlife Service. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Nature Note:Pileated Woodpecker and Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
On a cold day by Maryland's Monocacy Scenic River in late December,a cak-cak-cak call drew my attention to a piliated woodpecker with its scarlet crest foraging in the river bank trees.The pileated,at 18" in average length,is the largest woodpecker considered to be established in North America.At the same time,the US Fish&Wildlife Service has published a comprehensive recovery plan for the rare ivory-billed woodpecker,which,at 20" in average length,is the largest species of woodpecker that is possibly present on the continent.
Although additional evidence beyond that presented in the early years of the 21st century,which consisted of a much-debated video,sightings and auditory evidence,supports the hypothesis that the ivory-billed continues to exist in the Big Woods of Eastern Arkansas and other parts of the range,due to the inability to reliably locate birds,we cannot at this time conclude that a population of ivory-billed woodpeckers is established in this region,USFWS said.All the same,enough evidence exists that the USFWS continues the habitat conservation and restoration efforts for the Ivory-billed already underway in Eastern Arkansas,and stands ready to do more pending receipt of further evidence.*
The piliated woodpecker,compelling enough at 18" long,requires a minimum of 100-200 acres of contiguous forest for its nesting,roosting and feeding in dead or dying trees,stumps and logs.Primarily an insectivore,this big woodpecker also samples fruits and nuts such as wild grapes,cherries and acorns.They will eat suet from feeders as well.Mating for life and sharing all nesting and work and rearing of young,they are cavity nesters and also drill distinctive holes for roosting and feeding.The roosting holes are especially noticeable,being a group of several oblong holes that provide multiple escape exits.The holes of the piliated are used by more than 50 other forest species,including wood ducks;flying squirrels;owls;bluebirds;and pine martens.
The pileated woodpecker ranges from the Gulf States up the East Coast and west to the Midwest and West Coast,and then across the southern half of Canada in mixed deciduous,transition and boreal forests.
Although additional evidence beyond that presented in the early years of the 21st century,which consisted of a much-debated video,sightings and auditory evidence,supports the hypothesis that the ivory-billed continues to exist in the Big Woods of Eastern Arkansas and other parts of the range,due to the inability to reliably locate birds,we cannot at this time conclude that a population of ivory-billed woodpeckers is established in this region,USFWS said.All the same,enough evidence exists that the USFWS continues the habitat conservation and restoration efforts for the Ivory-billed already underway in Eastern Arkansas,and stands ready to do more pending receipt of further evidence.*
The piliated woodpecker,compelling enough at 18" long,requires a minimum of 100-200 acres of contiguous forest for its nesting,roosting and feeding in dead or dying trees,stumps and logs.Primarily an insectivore,this big woodpecker also samples fruits and nuts such as wild grapes,cherries and acorns.They will eat suet from feeders as well.Mating for life and sharing all nesting and work and rearing of young,they are cavity nesters and also drill distinctive holes for roosting and feeding.The roosting holes are especially noticeable,being a group of several oblong holes that provide multiple escape exits.The holes of the piliated are used by more than 50 other forest species,including wood ducks;flying squirrels;owls;bluebirds;and pine martens.
The pileated woodpecker ranges from the Gulf States up the East Coast and west to the Midwest and West Coast,and then across the southern half of Canada in mixed deciduous,transition and boreal forests.
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