Three Endangered Species of Colorado Canada Lynx, Lynx canadensis “Threatened” Although Canada lynx historically ranged from the boreal forests of northern Canada to the Southern Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico, sustained trapping, habitat degradation, and habitat loss reduced lynx in the region to very small numbers and quite possibly extirpated them altogether. For many years, most experts thought lynx were extinct in Colorado. Colorado initiated an effort to release lynx from Canada in 1999 that has, so far, enjoyed significant success. Although recovery of lynx in the region is still uncertain, the spring births of wild lynx kittens each of the last three years marks a key milestone in this effort. History of Endangerment Canada lynx once lived throughout the mountains of Colorado, northern New Mexico, southern Wyoming, and even occasionally the Uinta Mountains of Utah. While they may not have occurred in high numbers, they clearly existed in much greater abundance at the beginning of the 20th century than at the beginning Photo: Sinapu of the 21st. Trapping devastated populations of lynx and other native carnivores. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation exacerbated their decline. If indigenous lynx did remain in the region, they occured in extremely small numbers. Road to Recovery In 1999, in anticipation of Endangered Species Act protection for the lynx, the state of Colorado undertook an effort to recover the lynx in the Southern Rocky Mountains. In hopes that the lynx would begin reproducing, the Colorado Division of Wildlife transported and released animals from the northern part of the range into the south. Through this effort, the state has released a total of 204 lynx in the high mountains of southwestern Colorado over the last seven years. Initial mortality rates were high, but with improved methods they have since dropped. The program is now celebrating more than 140 free-roaming adult lynx across the region. In addition, over 100 lynx kittens – the first documented wild lynx reproduction in Colorado in decades – have been born over the past three years. Conservation Today: Role of the ESA The future for lynx in the Southern Rockies looks promising if land management agencies such as the Forest Service protect lynx habitat and if state agencies adopt and implement programs to minimize accidental lynx deaths. The Endangered Species Act has played a key role in encouraging and facilitating the lynx recovery effort in the Southern Rockies. The Act ensures that shooting and trapping lynx remain illegal and provides incentives for states like Colorado to adopt programs aimed at reducing the likelihood of accidental deaths. Endangered Species Act protection is also resulting in improved attention to habitat protection. Ecological Value As a result of rapid human population growth, rampant urban sprawl, poorly managed recreation, and unchecked resource extraction, we have wiped out virtually every top carnivore in the Southern Rockies ecoregion. Top carnivores, such as lynx, wolves, and other large predators, play an important role in maintaining the health of their ecosystems overall by keeping population numbers in check and weeding out disease among prey Photo: Colorado Division of Wildlife species. This in turn helps the whole ecosystem remain balanced. Restoring the lynx will require conserving critical old growth forest habitat, thoughtfully managing recreation and motorized travel, and protecting key wildlife linkages, all of which have other important advantages as well. Outlook for the Future Although the birth of wild lynx kittens is a critical milestone, the future depends on both habitat protection and human tolerance and acceptance. Older forests with large trees and woody debris on the ground provide the best habitat, but these areas are often targeted for commercial logging. Roads and motorized recreation also take a toll. Lynx are killed in collisions with vehicles, competitors like coyotes and bobcats use motorized routes to travel into key lynx habitat, and roads fragment and degrade habitat. Ski resort development continues to devastate critical lynx habitat, and other land uses, such as oil and gas drilling, also pose a serious threat. While habitat degradation and loss pose the greatest threat, lynx continue to be shot and trapped by humans. Because of the lynx's status as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act, it is no longer legal to kill lynx. However, lynx can be mistaken for bobcat by hunters and sheepherders, and traps set for other carnivores can easily kill lynx. As a result, hunting and trapping, which decimated native lynx populations in the past, remain a threat. Find Out More You can learn more about the lynx in Colorado as well as the reintroduction program at the Colorado Division of Wildlife http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/SpeciesOfConcern/Mammals/Lynx/ Get Involved Write Senator Ken Salazar asking him to do what he can to ensure lynx habitat is protected in Colorado. Write to: Senator Ken. Salazar, 2300 15th Street, Suite 450, Denver, CO 80202 Center for Native Ecosystems • 1536 Wynkoop, Suite 302 • Denver, CO 80202 (303) 546-0214 • cne@nativeecosystems.org • www.nativeecosystems.org Black-Footed Ferret, Mustela nigripes “Endangered” One of the most endangered mammals in North America, the black-footed ferret is slowly making a comeback in Colorado and other parts of the West after being rescued from the brink of extinction in the mid-1980s. The Challenge Reduced to only a single, small wild population, the blackfooted ferret narrowly avoided extinction because of Endangered Species Act protection and an aggressive captive breeding program. Black-footed ferrets are entirely dependent on healthy prairie dog ecosystems for survival. Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service They rely on prairie dogs for food, and they depend on prairie dog burrows for shelter. The near-extinction of the ferret was the result of devastating prairie dog declines. Current Colorado Status Since 2001, under a program facilitated by the Endangered Species Act, state and federal wildlife biologists have released 190 ferrets in effort to establish two black-footed ferret populations in Colorado: one in Coyote Basin, which straddles the Colorado-Utah border west of Rangely, and another in the Bureau of Land Management’s Wolf Creek Management Area southeast of Dinosaur National Monument. The reintroduced ferrets seem to be persisting, as five sightings were confirmed in the Wolf Creek area this summer. State biologists also believe the ferrets may even be breeding in the wild. One captured female was lactating, meaning she gave birth earlier this summer. About 200 ferrets are now housed at the new US Fish and Wildlife Service Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Larimer County. The $8 million captive breeding facility is the epicenter for national efforts to help recover North America's only native ferret. Biologists hope the new center will produce 200 to 300 kits a year, most of which will be released in the wild. The Future of Black-Footed Ferrets in Colorado The survival of ferrets in the wild in Colorado is an important milestone, and evidence of breeding is even more exciting. The critical recovery challenge now is protecting healthy prairie dog ecosystems large enough to support wild populations of black-footed ferrets. This is extremely important as the pressure increases to for more oil and gas drilling, off-road vehicle riding, and other disturbances. Just this month, the Bureau of Land Management announced its plan to sell oil and gas drilling leases across the entire Wolf Creek Management Area, one of Colorado’s critical black-footed ferrets recovery areas. Find out More You can learn more about black-footed ferrets and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/a07.html Get Involved Write the Bureau of Land Management and ask them to not lease black-footed ferret habitat for oil and gas dril1ing. Write to: Sally Wisely, BLM State Director, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, CO 80218 Center for Native Ecosystems • 1536 Wynkoop, Suite 302 • Denver, CO 80202 (303) 546-0214 • cne@nativeecosystems.org • www.nativeecosystems.org Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia Not formally listed The burrowing owl is the odd-duck of the owl family. It is the only owl to live in underground burrows, residing in the abandoned burrows of prairie dog, badgers, or foxes. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls make their homes in grasslands rather than forests, remain active during the day, and eat rodents, insects, fruits, and seeds. This individualistic owl is uniquely adapted to its home on America's shortgrass prairies and the short-grass prairies of Central and South America. The burrowing owl is about the size of a robin and is a brownish-gray, which helps it remain camouflaged in the dry grasses. Their long, stilt-like legs help them to see over the prairie grasses and chase down their insect prey. The burrowing owl requires the deep soils of the short grass prairies and burrowing mammals that live there to excavate their tunnels. Burrowing owls are often found in close Photo: Larry Master, NatureServe proximity to prairie dog colonies and disruption of these colonies can negatively affect the burrowing owl. Adult burrowing owls protect their burrows through a series of head bobs and short barks to intimidate predators. Juveniles are known to make a rattlesnakelike buzz to warn predators away from the entrance to their burrows. Ecological Value Predators such as owls that feed on pest species are highly valuable to farmers and others whose livelihoods are affected by pests. The burrowing owl is second only to the barn owl in economic importance for the multitude of insects and rodents that it eats around agricultural lands. Burrowing owls are tolerant of human activity and have been known to make their homes in cow pastures, fields surrounding airports, ranch and farm land, or in close proximity to highways. In addition, the owls provide food for other, larger raptors, foxes and coyotes. The Challenge Degradation of habitat and the decline of prairie dog species across the western U.S. are the primary threats to healthy burrowing owl populations. Urban sprawl, conversion of prairie to farmland, road collisions, and accidental deaths through pesticide programs aimed at other insect and mammalian pests, also take a huge toll. While most recognize the at-risk status of the owl, it has few formal protections. Find Out More You can learn more about burrowing owls: http://www.enature.com/home/ Get Involved Read the Newbery Honor-winning book Hoot, or see the movie and then have a classroom discussion. You can also adopt a burrowing owl at http://www.hootmovie.com/ Center for Native Ecosystems • 1536 Wynkoop, Suite 302 • Denver, CO 80202 (303) 546-0214 • cne@nativeecosystems.org • www.nativeecosystems.org