40 years of the Endangered Species Act

Della Garelle, DVM Director of Field Conservation

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceEndangered Species Act of 1973:

The ESA's primary goal is to prevent the extinction of imperiled plant and animals, and secondly, to recover and maintain those populations by removing or lessening threats to their survival. fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/esact.html

The Secretary of Defense is authorized to specify exemptions from the Act for reasons of national security.

The 1978 amendments also oblige the Secretary to consider the economic impact of designating critical habitat.

Critics of the ESA contend it is a failure because only 1% of the species under its protection have recovered and been delisted. They fail to explain how many species should have recovered by now. 80 %of species have not yet reached their expected recovery year.

To test the success of the ESA, a study compared the actual recovery rate of 110 species with the projected recovery rate in their federal recovery plans.

It found that the Endangered Species Act has a remarkably successful recovery rate: 90 percent of species are recovering at the rate specified by their federal recovery plan.

2006 analysis of all federally protected species in the Northeast:

93 percent were stabilized or improving since being put on the endangered species list

82 percent were on pace to meet recovery goals.

Full Report: esasuccess.org/report_2012.html

Black-Footed Ferret and theEndangered Species Act

Partners In Recovery Zoological Organizations

National Zoo-Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Louisville Zoo Toronto Zoo Phoenix Zoo Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Lincoln Park Zoo Association of Zoos &

Aquariums BFF Display Zoos

Government Agencies US Fish & Wildlife

Service US Forest Service National Park Service Bureau of Land

Management US Bureau of Indian

Affairs USDA/APHIS City of Fort Collins USGS CDC Parks Canada

Private Agencies Conservation Breeding

Specialist Group Defenders of Wildlife The Nature Conservancy National Fish & Wildlife

Foundation National Wildlife Federation Turner Endangered Species

Fund Prairie Wildlife Research

State Wildlife Agencies Wyoming Game & Fish Montana Fish, Wildlife &

Parks South Dakota Game, Fish &

Parks Arizona Game & Fish Colorado Division of Wildlife Utah Division of Wildlife

Resources Texas Parks & Wildlife Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife

Cons

A Second Chance

Population discovered in 1981

Population peaked to 129 ferrets in 1984

Considered extinct in late 1970s

On The Brink of Extinction

1985-1987 18 ferrets removed

from wild Started captive

breeding program in WY

1985- ferrets declined Sylvatic plague

(Yersinia pestis) Prairie dog

mortality Ferret mortality

Canine distemper virus

Ferret mortality

Black-footed Ferret Recovery Plan

Emphasized natural breeding

Multi-institutional propagation program

Establishment of multiple reintroduction sites

Development of assisted reproductive techniques

Conservation Breeding Specialist Group IUCN-World Conservation Union

Black-footed Ferret Species Survival Plan®

USFWS National BfFerret Conservation Center

Nat. Zoo-SCBI, VALouisville Zoo, KYPhoenix Zoo, AZToronto Zoo,

OntarioCheyenne Mountain

Zoo

Population Management Genetic Diversity Kit Production Supply

reintroduction sites

Education & Outreach

Genome Resource Bank (GRB)

‘Founder’ resurrection Genetically valuable

males Safeguard a species Dr. JoGayle Howard

Assisted Reproductive Techniques

Domestic ferrets

70% pregnancy

Assisted Reproductive Techniques

Laparoscopic surgical artificial insemination

Assisted Reproductive Techniques

Nat Zoo-SCBI Females

selectedfor AI annually

Kit Production Gestation= 42

days Average litter

size= 3.5

Kit Production

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

201120082005200219991996199319901987

Births

> 7500 kits born in SSP!

Reintroduction

Preparation For Release

Pre-conditioning pens Exposure to natural

burrow system

Live prairie dogs Minimum 30 days

Home On The Range 1991-present >2800 released 500-700 in the

wild (Fall)

Reintroduction

Historical range

Reintroduction site= =

20 reintroduction sites Wyoming Montana South Dakota (Colorado) New Mexico

Kansas

Mexico

Utah Arizo

na Cana

da

The Road Ahead SSP captive breeding, AI, GRB Find new reintroduction sites:

Colorado! Oral prairie dog plague vaccine

(OPV) Manage existing sites Landowner

incentives

DiseaseMonitoring

Life History

AssistedReproduction

IntegratedConservationProgram

LandownerIncentives

Reintroduction

Husbandry& Nutrition

CaptiveBreeding & Genetic Diversity

VaccineResearch

Education And Outreach

You !

My email dgarelle@cmzoo.org