Jack Dingledine: How we helped the Great Lakes Piping Plover to recover

I began my career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Program coordinator 10 years ago this summer. During these years I’ve had the pleasure of coordinating efforts to recover one of the most endangered species found in the Great Lakes region.

The current recovery program consists of many agency partners, including the National Park Service at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Michigan DNRE, USDA Forest Service, and USDA Wildlife Services. It also includes nonprofit organizations such as the Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy and even the Detroit Zoo. Universities such as the University of Minnesota and Lake Superior State University participate as well, as do a number of dedicated volunteers.

We begin each nesting season with an annual coordination meeting with our many partners. At that time we discuss our plans for the upcoming breeding season; catch up on activities that may have occurred during the winter months when our birds are on the wintering grounds; and identify any new issues or concerns for the population. Once breeding is underway, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps coordinate the various activities that occur concurrently throughout the Great Lakes.

Many of these activities are described in the service’s “recovery plan.” One of my first tasks when I began my current position was the completion of the plan. As with other tasks, our partners played an important role in shaping the plan, which lays out the actions that are needed to reduce threats and improve the plover population.

Many of these actions are underway this spring in the Great Lakes. They include:

•Surveying of beaches to find plover nests.

•Protection of nests with wire “exclosures.”

•Regular monitoring of nest sites to see how the birds are doing.

PHOTO: Volunteers putting up an exclosure.



So if you are on the beach this summer and observe one of the exclosures, or see piping plover signs, you may also encounter a person monitoring the birds. If you do see a monitor, they’d be happy to share their binoculars or spotting scope to allow for a closer look at one of our most rare wildlife species.

The recovery plan also lays out the criteria that must be met before the species can be officially removed from the endangered species list. As Dr. Cuthbert explained Monday, piping plovers in the Great Lakes have gone from as few as 17 pairs at the time of listing in 1986, to a high of 71 breeding pairs in 2009.

Once we reach 150 pairs and measures are in place for long-term protection, the species can be considered recovered.

Although we have a ways to go, all of us in the program are pleased to see the increasing number of pairs each year. With continued participation and support, someday we can reach the goals some thought impossible 24 years ago.

More: http://www.freep.com/article/20100525/BLOG2506/100524065/1285/NEWS15/Increasing-the-plover-count