Endangered Species Recovery Champions

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recently announced the 18 recipients of the 2009 Endangered Species Recovery Champion awards. The program salutes FWS employees and their partners who've helped the recovery of threatened and endangered species in the United States.

Of the 18 awards, five are affiliated with programs that help birds. Those species include light-footed Clapper Rail (top right), Spectacled Eider, Steller’s Eider (middle right), Piping Plover (bottom right), Whooping Crane and Brown Pelican.

The service's Acting Director Rowan Gould said, “Recovery Champions are helping imperiled species regain their place in the natural resources fabric of our country while focusing attention on the importance of conserving our nation’s biological heritage for future generations.”

The 2009 recipients include FWS employees and their partners: universities, conservation agencies and private organizations. Their successful efforts focus on habitat restoration, public awareness campaigns and species’ monitoring programs.

Brown Pelicans benefited from Audubon Texas' Coastal Sanctuary Program, while Whooping Cranes increased in numbers thanks to Dr. George Archibald and the International Crane Foundation staff. The number of Piping Plovers in Cape May, N.J., tripled because of U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in Philadelphia, while Spectacled Eider and Steller's Eider recovered largely because of Debbie Nigro of the U. S. Bureau of Land Management in Fairbanks, Alaska. Dr. Richard Zembal of Orange County Water District in Fountain Valley, Calif., led efforts on behalf of light-footed Clapper Rails.

More details about the recipients and their programs appear here. Many thanks to them for their work on behalf of threatened and endangered birds!