This handbook is a guide to the federal Endangered Species Act, the primary U.S. law aimed at protecting species of animals and plants from human threats to their survival. It is intended for lawyers, government agency employees, students, community activists, businesspeople, and any citizen who wants to understand the Act--its history, provisions, accomplishments, and failures.
Winner, Independent Press Award - Conservation/Green, 2021 The only hope for successful conservation of America’s threatened, endangered, and at-risk wildlife is through voluntary, cooperative partnerships that focus on private land, where over 75% of at-risk species can be found. Private landowners form the bedrock of these partnerships, and they have a long history of rising to meet the challenge of conservation. But they can’t do it alone. This book is a guide for private landowners who want to conserve wildlife. Whether engaged in farming, ranching, forestry, mining, energy development, or another business, private working lands all have value as wildlife habitat, with the proper management and financial support. This book provides landowners and their partners with a roadmap to achieve conservation compatible with their financial and personal goals. This book introduces the art and language of land management planning as well as regulatory compliance with laws such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973. It categorizes and explains the tools used by wildlife professionals to implement conservation on private lands. Moreover it documents the multitude of federal, state, local, and private opportunities for landowners to find financial and technical assistance in managing wildlife, from working with a local NGO to accessing the $6 billion per year available through the federal Farm Bill.
Winner, 2023 Outstanding Book Publication Award of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society Diurnal raptors—birds of prey that hunt during the day—include easily recognizable birds like eagles, hawks, or falcons. They may be seen perched on highway signs, electrical poles, or soaring overheard in urban and rural spaces across North America. Here, avian ecology and raptor experts C. Craig Farquhar and Clint W. Boal present the first comprehensive volume on these birds of prey in Texas. Given the state’s size, location, and biodiversity, it is not surprising that Texas leads other states in the documented number of raptor species. The introductory chapters of Raptors of Texas provide information on raptor ecology, evolution, behavior, morphology, and the unique conservation challenges raptors face in Texas and elsewhere. Detailed species descriptions of Texas’ regularly occurring diurnal raptors come next, illustrated with life-like graphite drawings and accompanied by unique, up-to-date range maps. Additionally, shorter entries for rare raptors sighted in the state are provided. This reference is a must-have for serious birders, ornithologists, avian ecologists, and wildlife professionals who want to know more about these birds of prey and the important roles they play in our urban and rural environments alike.
The Edwards Aquifer in south-central Texas is the primary source of water for one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, San Antonio, and it also supplies irrigation water to thousands of farmers and livestock operators. It is also the source water for several springs and rivers, including the two largest freshwater springs in Texas that form the San Marcos and Comal Rivers. The unique habitat afforded by these spring-fed rivers has led to the development of species that are found in no other locations on Earth. Due to the potential for variations in spring flow caused by both human and natural causes, these species are continuously at risk and have been recognized as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). In an effort to manage the river systems and the aquifer that controls them, the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) and stakeholders have developed a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The HCP seeks to effectively manage the river-aquifer system to ensure the viability of the ESA-listed species in the face of drought, population growth, and other threats to the aquifer. This report is the third and final product of a three-phase study to provide advice to the EAA on various aspects of the HCP that will ultimately lead to improved management of the Edwards Aquifer. This final report focuses on the biological goals and objectives found in the HCP for each of the listed species.
As oil was washing up on the shores of Louisiana, covering shorebirds and their nests and eggs after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Lynn Barber decided to write this book to heighten awareness, not only of the plight of bird species that are declining in numbers every year, but also of the ways in which the birds we see every day may also face the same fate. First explaining the idea of birds “in trouble”—and what that means in terms of population, conservation status, and national and international designations—the book then turns to the habitats that are important to birds, how they are affected by changes in these habitats, and what ordinary people can do to help counter those negative effects. Barber then profiles forty-two species that are in trouble in the United States, discussing the likely reasons why and what, if anything, we can do to improve their situations. Illustrated throughout with the author’s signature bird art, the book closes with a reminder about what we can do to ensure that the birds we see every day in our yards, parks, and communities will remain with us.
50 CFR Parts 228-599 continues coverage of the regulations, procedures, and rules governing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Topics covered include the National Maritime Commission, whaling provisions, international fisheries regulations, listing endangered and threatened species within designated critical habitat, endangered species exemption process, procedures, and more. Oceanographers, marine mammal experts, fish and wildlife technicians, and natural resource specialists may be interested in this regulatory volume, Students pursuing coursework for ecology and natural resources management may also be interested in this volume for research. Related products: Marine Fisheries Review, 2016, V. 78 #3 and 4 Marine Fisheries Review, 2016, V. 78, #1 and 2
A detailed exploration of the variety of threats that endangered species are facing around the world, whether they are due to human impact or so-called natural causes. Endangered species is a more complex issue and problem than it may seem on the surface. What species are endangered, and what is causing them to become vulnerable to population decline? How can essential industries such as farming, housing development, and manufacturing continue to thrive without harming flora and fauna that are protected? Are current efforts adequate or should more be done to protect endangered species? And who should be responsible for the substantial costs of working to save endangered species? Endangered Species: A Reference Handbook begins with an introduction that addresses major threats and extinctions in history, discusses the geographical and cultural contexts in which these incidents happened, highlights other key moments along the endangered species timeline, and clearly shows why the topic of endangered species matters. The following sections examine an unbiased synthesis of classic and contemporary studies that inform the issue of endangered species and outline the most controversial events related to endangered species and the actions that have been taken to address them. The book also presents perspective essays by scholars, activists, and other experts to provide diverse informed opinions on the issue of endangered species and includes a data and documents chapter that applies research finding to provide answers to questions like what species are most likely to become endangered in the future and which practices have historically been the most effective at protecting vulnerable species.
