[PCA] FWS publishes draft recovery plan for vernal pool species in southern Oregon

[sam_friedman at fws.gov]

My apologies for this late posting:

-Sam
_____________________
Sam Friedman, Botanist
USFWS, Roseburg FO
2900 NW Stewart Pkwy
Roseburg, OR 97470
541-957-3478 off.
541-957-3475 fax
sam_friedman at fws.gov


----- Forwarded by Sam Friedman/SWO/R1/FWS/DOI on 09/27/2006 08:38 AM -----

US Fish and Wildlife Service

Date:  09/22/2006

Memorandum

From:  I&E

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DRAFT RECOVERY PLAN PUBLISHED FOR LISTED SPECIES OF THE ROGUE VALLEY VERNAL
POOL AND ILLINOIS VALLEY WET MEADOW ECOSYSTEMS

September 22, 2006  #06-108
Contacts: Sam Friedman (541-957-3478), Phil Carroll (503-231-6179)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released a draft recovery plan for
federally listed threatened and endangered species found in Oregon’s
Illinois Valley Wet Meadow and Rogue Valley Vernal Pool ecosystems. In
releasing this draft, the Service opens a 60-day public comment period that
ends November 21, 2006.

This ecosystem-based recovery plan contains recovery objectives for the
threatened Vernal pool fairy shrimp and a strategy to guide the recovery of
two endangered plants, Cook’s lomatium (Cook’s desert parsley) and
large-flowered woolly meadowfoam. Additionally, the plan provides for the
long term conservation of ten additional plants and animals that are
associated with seasonal wetlands in southwestern Oregon. These include
Henderson’s bentgrass, coral-seeded popcornflower, dwarf woolly meadowfoam,
slender meadowfoam, Tehama navarretia, Austin’s popcornflower, sculptured
allocarya, and Greene’s popcornflower and a newly discovered aquatic
invertebrate species, the Agate Desert water flea.

A strategy for recovering the threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp was
addressed in the Recovery Plan for Vernal Pool Ecosystems of California and
Southern Oregon that was published on March 7, 2006.

All species included in the recovery plan are endemic to seasonally wet
habitats in southwestern Oregon and are threatened by habitat loss due to
urban development, off-road vehicle damage, competition from native and
non-native plants, and roadside mowing and spraying.  Eleven species occur
within the Agate Desert of the Rogue River Valley plains in Jackson County
and are associated with vernal pools.  Slender meadowfoam and Cook’s
lomatium can be found in the Illinois Valley of neighboring Josephine
County.  The majority of the known sites for the two federally listed plant
species occur in the Rogue Valley.

The recovery plan recommends that vernal pools and wet meadows in the
region be protected from development and managed or restored to maintain or
improve their habitat quality.  It is also necessary to survey and monitor
populations of these species, conduct research on biology and management of
the species, and enhance public awareness and participation in their
recovery.   The endangered plants addressed in this recovery plan could
recover sufficiently to be removed from the endangered species list by
2026.  The estimated cost of implementing recovery actions over 20 years is
$2,613,000, plus additional costs that cannot be estimated at this time.

Cook’s lomatium is a six- to 20-inch long perennial plant that produces
several clusters of pale yellow flowers during the spring and boat-shaped
seeds during the early summer.  The leaves are smooth, inter-divided and
glossy bluish-green.  This plant grows in and around vernal pools and
adjacent mounds at several localities within the Agate Desert of the Rogue
River Valley.  Several populations also occur in wet meadow habitats of the
Illinois Valley in Josephine County.  Populations in the Illinois Valley
occur on patches of Bureau of Land Management and private land while
populations in the Rogue Valley occur primarily on private land with five
occurring on State managed lands.

The large-flowered woolly meadowfoam has cream-colored flowers that appear
as whitish foam in springtime when growing around the vernal pools of
Jackson County’s Agate Desert.  The hairy flowering plants appear in vernal
pools during the spring, grow to six inches tall, and then die by early
summer.  The plant is found only in the vicinity of White City, Medford,
and Eagle Point in Jackson County.  Fifteen of the 26 populations are on
private land, while the remaining ten populations are on State managed
lands.

Native plants are important for their ecological, economic, and aesthetic
values. Plants play an important role in development of crops that resist
disease, insects, and drought. At least 25 percent of prescription drugs
contain ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine used
to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, as well as
that used to assist organ transplants. Plants are also used to develop
natural pesticides.

The goal of the Endangered Species Act is to recover listed species to the
point where they are secure, self-sustaining members of their ecosystems
and no longer need federal protection.  A recovery plan is a blueprint
providing guidance for actions by federal, state and other public agencies
and private interests that will lead to the recovery and delisting of a
species.  Recovery plans are advisory only.  They do not obligate the
expenditure of funds or require that the recommended actions be
implemented.

Like all recovery plans written under the Endangered Species Act, this plan
is not regulatory, but simply provides guidance on how land managers can
achieve recovery of the endangered species. The plan suggests criteria to
use in determining when the species will be recovered, and no longer need
the protections of the law.  It lists actions needed to achieve recovery
and projects costs of those actions.

The availability of the draft recovery plan for a 60-day public comment
period was announced in the Federal Register on Friday, September 22, 2006.
Copies of the draft recovery plan are available through the Fish and
Wildlife Service's website at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html
, or by calling the Fish and Wildlife Service's Roseburg Field Office at
541-957-3474.  Written or electronic comments must be received on or before
November 21, 2006.  Address written comments to the Field Supervisor,
Roseburg Field Office, 2900 NW Stewart Parkway, Roseburg, Oregon 97470, or
send electronic comments to FW1VernalPoolMeadowRecoveryPlan at fws.gov.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System which encompasses 542 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds
of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to
state fish and wildlife agencies.

- FWS -

For more information on The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Oregon,
visit our internet home page at: www.fws.gov/oregonfwo
or the Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Regional home page at:
www.fws.gov/pacific
or our national home page at: www.fws.gov


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