Endangered Goose: Back From The Brink

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TO NATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Endangered Goose: Back From The Brink

TENNESSEE, MEMPHIS, Mar. 23 -/E-Wire/-- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the Aleutian Canada goose has fully recovered from near extinction and will be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species. Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced the news March 19th.

Aleutian Canada goose: One Of The First Listed Species (Photo courtesy Dennis Woolington, USFWS) The Aleutian Canada goose was one of the first animal species identified as endangered and in need of protection. One of the smallest subspecies of Canada goose, it was first listed under the Endangered Species Protection Act of 1966, the predecessor to the current Endangered Species Act (ESA). Once the ESA was passed in 1973, this subspecies of geese was immediately placed on the ESA's endangered list. For more information about the ESA and a complete list of endangered and threatened animals, log on to http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases.

Exceeds Population Goal Proposed by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The Aleutian Canada goose was at critical numbers in 1966, when it was first listed: only 800 estimated birds were thought to be left in the world. Biologists ascribe the population decline to widespread degradation on key migration and wintering habitats and the introduction of predators on island nesting sites. By 1991, the estimated worldwide population reached 6,300, prompting a revision of the listing to "threatened." Since 1991, the population has increased to an estimated 37,000 today, over four times the population goal proposed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the federal agency in charge of listing and delisting species.

The USFWS's assistant regional director of fisheries and ecological services, LaVerne Smith said, "The comeback of the Aleutian Canada goose is an incredible success story, considering the vast area that the goose uses throughout the year and the remoteness of its breeding grounds. Our international partnerships with organizations like Ducks Unlimited have been a key to the success that the Aleutian Canada goose program has had."

Decline Attributed to Introduction of Non-Native Foxes

Biologists attribute the decline of the Aleutian Canada goose to the introduction of non-native foxes to more than 190 islands that exist within the goose's nesting range in Alaska. Fur trappers introduced the foxes in the 18th century. The foxes preyed on the birds, which had virtually no natural defenses. Since 1967, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists have successfully eliminated the foxes, a move that benefited the Aleutian Canada goose and many other bird species.

California's Central Valley: A Critical Wintering Area

The majority of the Aleutian Canada goose population winters in the Central Valley area of California. Sixty percent of the Pacific Flyway's migratory waterfowl winter in or migrate through the Central Valley. Says DU's Dr. Alan Wentz, Group Manager of Conservation Programs: "The Central Valley, critical to the life cycles of many waterfowl species, is in itself endangered. Wetland loss in the valley has been dramatic-with only about five percent of the original wetlands remaining today.

In the past ten years, Ducks Unlimited has maximized resources in this area through a variety of initiatives aimed at reversing wetland loss as efficiently as possible." Aleutian Canada geese also stage in Oregon, near the coast, where Ducks Unlimited has led efforts to protect waterfowl habitat (Visit www.ducks.org to learn more about DU's campaign to save wetlands in the Pacific Northwest).

Landowners Help Protect Wetlands In Perpetuity

DU's Valley Bay CARE-Conservation of Agriculture, Resources and Environment-brings conservation and private landowners together in California's Central Valley. Efforts are also made to expand traditional restoration projects on public lands. Says DU's Fritz Reid, Director of Conservation Planning for DU's Western Regional Office: "DU's Valley Bay CARE initiative played an important role on the principal goose wintering site.

Partnering with the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Lyons family, we were able to restore Miller and Page Lakes, where virtually 100% of the Aleutian population spends part of the winter. Protecting key wintering habitat is crucial in the long-term recovery strategy."

Reid also commented that work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Gallo family has provided foraging habitat for the geese. To learn more about Valley Bay CARE, log on to the conservation section of DU's homepage at www.ducks.org.

For more information about the Aleutian Canada Goose or to learn about DU's world-wide conservation efforts, please contact Tildy La Farge at [REDACTED-PHONE] or via email at [REDACTED-EMAIL].

With more than one million supporters, Ducks Unlimited (www.ducks.org) is the world's leading wetland and waterfowl conservation group. Wetlands are nature's most productive ecosystems, but the United States has lost more than half of its original wetlands, and continues to lose more than 100,000 wetland acres every year.

Tildy La Farge, [REDACTED-PHONE], [REDACTED-EMAIL]

http://www.ducks.org

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