Status of Illinois’ Wildlife Action Plan Review and Revision

Ann Marie Holtrop, Acting Chief Division of Natural Heritage

Overview

§  Timeline and status §  Summary of major changes §  Focal species §  Focal places §  Focal places and COAs §  Next steps for coordinating with partners

Action Plan Revision

§  Timeline §  05/2015 – Draft Campaign Chapters open for

comment §  Useful for accomplishments and priorities §  Goals and actions align to ongoing work §  Habitats covered adequately

§  10/2015 – Draft revised Plan submitted to FWS Regional Review Team

§  3/2015 – Final draft submitted to FWS

Major Changes

§  Comprehensive strategy vs implementation guide

§  Overarching goals §  Establish desired number and distribution of viable populations

for each SGCN and target Focal Species by 2025 §  Manage habitats through promoting self- maintaining natural-

disturbance regimes for the benefit of native species; §  Develop resiliency and connectedness into habitats so species

can adjust to landscape and environmental changes; and §  Foster an awareness, appreciation, and connection to SGNC and

associated habitats among the public.

Major Changes - Species

§  Species §  Standardized habitat that relates to

campaigns §  Status and trend were

quantitatively assessed §  Additions, deletions, watch list §  Focal species

Major Changes - Campaigns

§  Campaigns §  Land and Water Stewardship incorporated into

other campaigns §  Lake Michigan Coastal Campaign added §  Cave Campaign being considered §  Focal Areas or priority places identified

Major Changes - COAs

§  Conservation Opportunity Areas §  Since 2005, boundaries created for

COAs §  Task Force created to address

COA issues § Middle Mississippi COA added §  Six boundary changes made

Focal Species

§  Subset of SGCN selected by each campaign §  Represent a larger suite of SGCN §  Expected to respond to conservation actions §  Used for monitoring and assessment of conservation

actions

Performance Measure: Changes in distribution and abundance

SelectionCriteriaFocal Species

Acadian Flycatcher American Woodcock Bald Eagle Black Tern Black-Crowned Night Heron Bobolink Chuck-Will's-Widow Common Nighthawk Common Tern Dickcissel Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Whip-Poor-Will Grasshopper Sparrow

Henslow’s Sparrow Lesser Scaup Northern Bobwhite Northern Flicker Northern Harrier Ovenbird Piping Plover Red-Headed Woodpecker Ring-Necked Pheasant Sedge Wren Upland Sandpiper Wood Duck Yellow-Headed Blackbird

Birds

SelectionCriteriaFocal Species

American Brook Lamprey Banded Killifish Banded Pygmy Sunfish Brown Bullhead Cisco Gravel Chub Iowa Darter Lake Trout Least Darter North American Paddlefish Pugnose Minnow Spring Cavefish Sturgeon Yellow Perch

Black Sandshell Creek Heelsplitter Little Spectaclecase Pistolgrip

Fish Mussels

SelectionCriteriaFocal Species

Illinois Chorus Frog Mudpuppy

Blanding’s Turtle Ornate Box Turtle Smooth Softshell Turtle

Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly Hoary Elfin Illinois Cave Amphipod Monarch/pollinators Odonates

Amphibians and Reptiles

Invertebrates

SelectionCriteriaFocal Places FarmlandandPrairie

ForestandWoodland

SelectionCriteriaFocal Places Wetland Streams

SelectionCriteriaFocal Places LakeMichiganCoast GreenCities

SelectionCriteriaAllCampaignsFocal Places and COAs

SelectionCriteriaNext Steps AllCampaigns

§  Create COA maps with: §  Campaign focus

sites and areas §  SGCN and focal

species §  Protected lands

within and around §  Establish

communication process with IDNR

SelectionCriteriaQuestions