endangeredand rare species（endangeredand稀有物种）（7页）.docVIP

Endangered, Threatened and Rare Species Discussion (adapted and updated from the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Final Action Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, October, 1995, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA) Federally Endangered or Threatened Species One purpose of the Conte Act is ... to protect species listed as endangered and threatened, or identified as candidates for listing, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended... Eight federally-listed endangered or threatened species occur within the Connecticut River watershed. These include two birds, a fish, an insect, a mussel and three plants. Eighteen additional plant and animals were considered Category 2 species for possible federal listing for endangered or threatened status, before this category was dropped in the late 1990s. Category 2 included species for which available data suggest a proposal to list may be appropriate but conclusive data on vulnerability and threat are not currently available to support listing action. These species include two mammals, four birds, one turtle, seven invertebrates, and four plants. Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)Threatened  The bald eagle was completely eliminated from the watershed as a breeding bird largely due to the use of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides which caused reproductive failure, although other factors such as habitat loss, shooting, electrocution, and poisoning all contributed to its historic decline and still threaten its full recovery. With the ban of DDT in the 1970s and an aggressive reintroduction program bald eagles have returned to the Connecticut River. Eight pair now nest on the mainstem of the Connecticut River and on the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts, and another pair nest on Barkhamsted Reservoir in Connecticut. The lower Connecticut River and the Quabbin River are particularly important winter sites with 30 and 50 eagles counted during the 1993 midwinter co