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Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) - La Primavera Ranch, Argentina, South AmericaHuemul are one of the most endangered mammal species in the southern cone of South America. There are probably less than 1,000 of these Andean Mountain deer remaining in the wild in Argentina and Chile. Beginning in 1999 we provided funding for a cooperative project with the Wildlife Conservation Society on huemul conservation. During 2001 we cosponsored and participated in a huemul conservation workshop in Argentina and helped initiate a national plan for huemul conservation. Bi-National Migratory Pollinator Campaign We provide cornerstone financial support and biologists to assist with campaign design and implementation of a bi-national campaign to conserve migratory pollinators and their 1,500-mile migration corridor that stretches from the southwestern U.S. to southern Mexico. The campaign is administered by the Pollinator Conservation Consortium at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The campaign focuses on 4 imperiled pollinators (including the endangered lesser long-nosed bat [Leptonycteris curasoae], white-winged dove [Zenaida asiatica], rufous hummingbird [Selasphorus rufus] and monarch butterfly [Denaus plexippus]) and the habitats on which they depend at 10 critical staging sites along the corridor.
Aplomado falcon Falcons are a federally endangered species and are integral part of restoration of Chihuanuan grassland ecosystem. No population of falcons remains in New Mexico. We are developing plans to assess the feasibility of reintroducing falcons on the Armendaris Ranch. (Related site: The Peregrine Fund) 
Blowout penstomen (Penstomen haydenii) – Blowout penstomen is a federally listed endangered plant. It is the rarest native plant in the Great Plains and only grows in the Nebraska Sandhills. We are cooperating with the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust to restore this species by propagating plants in greenhouses and replanting them in the wild. Black footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) Ferrets are the most endangered mammal in the US. We built a captive rearing facility on the Vermejo Park Ranch to produce and precondition ferrets prior to releases into recovery areas by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Black-tailed prairie dog Prairie dogs now inhabit less than 2% of their original range, and their listing as an endangered species was deemed warranted but precluded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. We are working to expand prairie dog numbers and distribution on several properties including Bad River, Armendaris, Vermejo Park, Z-bar, Blue Creek, and Ladder Ranches. Restoration of this keystone species will be part of our endeavor to restore prairie systems and allow eventual reintroduction of black-footed ferrets. California condor (Gymnogyps californicus) Condors have been hovering near the verge on extinction with only around 50 birds remaining in the wild. We are assessing the feasibility of reintroducing condors into recovery areas in New Mexico. Chiricahua leopard frog (Rana chiricahuensis) conservation – Ladder Ranch, New Mexico The Ladder Ranch currently supports one of the last remaining New Mexican populations of the chiricahua leopard frog – a species proposed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2001 the Ladder Ranch commissioned a ranch-wide baseline survey to better understand the current status of this species and its habitat on the property in order to outline future management, restoration, and propagation of chiricahua leopard frogs on the Ladder Ranch. Desert bighorn sheep Desert sheep are endangered in New Mexico and are a flagship species in the southwest. We reintroduced 35 sheep to the Fra Cristobal Mountains in 1995, are monitoring the success of the reintroduction, and studying the relationships of cougars (the primary limiting factor on sheep population growth) to sheep. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) /wiregrass (Aristida stricta) Restoration - Avalon Plantation The loss, fragmentation, and degradation of natural habitats are increasingly threatening to the southeast’s wondrous biodiversity. In response to this crisis, we initiated numerous projects in 2000 that emphasize native species conservation and habitat restoration. For example, on 2,000 acres of previous pastureland, we planted approximately 750,000 longleaf seedlings. Furthermore, over time we will begin to incorporate wiregrass plugs into the area. Our goal is to restore the area into a mature and viable longleaf/wiregrass ecosystem. Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis ludcida) – Vermejo Park Ranch, Mexican spotted owls are a federally listed threatened species whose range historically included the Vermejo Park Ranch and the surrounding area. Therefore, we commissioned a white paper in 2001 to assess the suitability of Vermejo for spotted owls. Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus) We developed a captive facility for rearing wolves that are being used in reintroduction efforts in New Mexico and Arizona. We also provide routine assistance with the monitoring and management of free-ranging Mexican wolves. Northern Rockies Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) Recovery We provided support and funding to 2 undergraduate students at Montana State University to conduct hair sampling to determine if grizzlies are present in the Tobacco Root Mountains of southwestern Montana. We met with the USFWS and others to assess where we could best provide support for grizzly bear recovery in the northern Rockies. We will begin fieldwork in 2002 with the USFWS in southwest and northwest Montana. Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf Wolf recovery is complicated by conflicts with livestock, therefore we are working with ranchers in Montana to reduce these conflicts and are monitoring wolves in southwest Montana to enhance recovery. Our wolf biologist serves as the USFWS wolf biologist for southwestern Montana. Pollinator Biodiversity Assessment – Our goal with the assessment of pollinator biodiversity at Avalon is to develop baseline data on pollinator diversity and population sizes for ecological monitoring and natural resource management; and to understand how variation in natural and managed fire regime affects pollinators, plants, and plant-pollinators complexes. We will consider restoration of pollinators if baseline studies indicate an impoverished guild. Red-cockaded woodpecker The translocation of federally endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers began in 1998 from the Apalchicola National Forest to Avalon Plantation. This represents the first ever attempt by a private landowner, state, or federal agency to restore a population of woodpeckers where no founder population existed. Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki virginalis) restoration – Vermejo Park and Ladder Ranches, New Mexico We built a fish migration barrier in Vermejo Park Ranch, in late 2000 in anticipation of restoring - by chemical renovation and restocking - native trout in approximately 7.5 miles of the upper Costilla Watershed. We are also working on restoration of Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and the preservation of Rio Grande suckers (Catostomus plebeius) and chubs (Gila pandorain) Las Animas Creek on the Ladder Ranch. Rio Grande riparian restoration – Armendaris Ranch, New Mexico Our goal is to restore a native cottonwood bosque on up to 1,000 acres of Rio Grande riparian habitat now dominated by a non-native salt cedar (Tamarix parviflora) monoculture. A portion of the restoration area will also be used to provide migratory waterfowl, sandhill cranes (Grus Canadensis), and shorebirds resting and feeding areas. Federal candidate or listed species that will benefit from these efforts include the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus). Southern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger niger) restoration – St. Phillips Island, South Carolina Southern fox squirrels have disappeared from several areas where they were once common in the southeast including St. Phillips Island. Therefore, we cooperated with the University of Georgia to translocate squirrels to the island. Southern Rocky Mountain gray wolf Wolves occupy less than 3% of their historic range in the US. The area with the greatest potential for wolf recovery is arguably the southern Rocky Mountains. Therefore we have formed the Southern Rocky Mountains Wolf Restoration Project and are completing assessments of wolf habitat suitability in the area. Swift fox (Vulpes velox) Foxes are listed as threatened in South Dakota, therefore we will work to restore foxes to western South Dakota by reintroducing wild foxes. This reintroduction will be the first part of our effort to restore a native prairie system. Westlope cutthroat trout In the Missouri River Drainage of Montana, westslope cuttroat trout now occupy less than 3% of their historic range. Listing the species as endangered was deemed unnecessary partly because significant private restoration efforts are being conducted including our planned introduction effort on Cherry Creek on the Flying D Ranch. Background Every year tens of thousands of species and attendant ecological interactions, fine-tuned by time and place, disappear at the hand of man. Without doubt, the extinction crisis is one of humanity’s most pressing problems. This trend is especially troubling because we believe that while effective conservation programs implemented on public land will help, the extinction crisis will not be arrested without the keen involvement of private landowners. Nearly 90% of the 1,119 species the federal government considers at risk of extinction occur on nonfederal lands, and half occur exclusively on nonfederal lands. Media executive Ted Turner realized that as the largest private landowner in the country with holdings that included over 1.5 million acres and a desire to acquire more land, his active involvement in the conservation of imperiled species could significantly improve the recovery prospects for many plants and animals, serve as an example to other landowners that coexistence with endangered species was possible, thus illustrating the great utility of the ESA. It was against this backdrop of expectations that the Turner Endangered Species Fund and Biodiversity Divisions were launched in June of 1997. The Turner Endangered Species Fund and the Turner Biodiversity Divisions are private organizations dedicated to conserving biodiversity by ensuring the persistence of imperiled species and their habitats. In our endeavors, whether it is management of an extant population or restoration of an extirpated population, the goal is population persistence with little or no human intervention. Focus We focus on carnivores, grasslands, plant-pollinator complexes, species with historic ranges that include Turner properties, and dissemination of credible scientific and policy information on biodiversity conservation. Approach Our activities are based on the principles of conservation biology, and we work closely with state and federal agencies, Universities, and non-governmental organization. We operate on the belief that many minds wrapped around a problem is a certain route to success. Collaborators American Wildlands Montana State University South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks Lower Brule Tribe Wildlife Services Agency University of Montana Hornocker Wildlife Institute Predator Conservation Alliance Yellowstone Ecosystem Studies Craighead Environmental Research Institute Wildlife Conservation Society University of Arizona University of California, Davis Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks US Forest Service US Fish and Wildlife Service National Park Service University of Nebraska New Mexico State University New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Colorado Division of Wildlife Conservation Breeding Specialist Group The Wildlands Project University of Georgia Defenders of Wildlife Natural Resources Conservation Service Nature Conservancy Material presented here also appears in the Turner Endangered Species Fund Poster (534 KB) prepared by |
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