United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Threatened and Endangered
Species of Wetlands and
Waterways in Iowa, Kansas,
•i, and Nebraska
-------
Threatened and Endangered Species
of
Wetlands arid Waterways
in
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska
By Ann Burruss
Graduate Student
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering
NOTE:
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS
REPORT WAS NOT PEER REVIEWED FOR
ACCURACY OF ALL INFORMATION. IT
SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE SPECIES
LISTED AS STATE OR FEDERALLY ENDAN-
GERED OR THREATENED AND ANY ASSO-
CIATED INFORMATION REFERS TO 1991
DATA THAT HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED.
Prepared for the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII
Wetlands Protection Section
Through the
National Network for Environmental Management studies
September 1991 *
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Threatened and Endangered Species of Wetlands and Waterways
in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska
Acknowledgements i
Abstract iii
List of Tables iv
Introduction 1
Background Information . . 9
Wetland Values 9
Status of Wetlands 10
Wetland Types 13
Endangered Species Act 14
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act 18
EPA Pesticide Program 19
State Laws 21
Threatened and Endangered Species by State 21
Missouri 21
Wetland and Endangered Species Overview .... 21
Lake of the Ozarks 23
Lake Taneycomo 26
Bootheel 28
Lowland Forested Counties of the Bootheel ... 33
West Central Missouri 35
Northwest Central Missouri 37
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers 38
Iowa 38
Wetlands and Endangered Species Overview ... 38
Wisconsin Glaciation Wetland Complex 40
Cedar and Iowa-Cedar River Confluence 40
Esj-^rpment and Wapsipinicon River . 44
Southern River Basin 47
Prairie Pothole Region 48
Allamakee and Clayton Counties 51
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers 53
Kansas 53
Wetland and Endangered Species Overview .... 53
Ninnescah River Basin 55
Neosho River Basin 58
Cherokee County 59
Cherokee Lowlands 60
Marais des Cygnes River Basin 62
Douglas, Atchison, Republic, Cloud,
and Lincoln Counties 63
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
and Rice and Stafford Counties 66
Cheyenne Bottoms and Barton County 68
Playa Wetlands . . 69
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Nebraska 72
Wetland and Endangered Species Overview .... 72
Northeast Counties Drained by the Niobrara
and Missouri River 74
Merrick, Nance, and Platte Counties 75
Rainwater Basin Counties 76
Chase, Perkins, and Lincoln Counties 77
Sandhills Counties 78
Lancaster County 80
Threatened and Endangered Species by Habitat
Characteristics 80
Riverine Habitat 80
Lacustrine Habitat 81
Palustrine Habitat 83
Special Habitat Requirements 85
Special Substrate Requirements 87
Special Water Characteristic Requirements ... 89
Causes of Species Decline 93
Overview 93
Habitat Destruction 93
Overutilization 95
Agricultural Pollutants 95
Herbicides 96
Water Pollution 97
Pesticides 98
Recommendations for Further Study 100
References
Appendices
Al. State and Federally Listed Threatened and Endangered
Animals (A List by Family)
A2. Descriptions of Each Region VII Threatened and
Endangered Animal Species
Bl. State and Federally Listed Threatened and Endangered
Plants (A List by Family)
B2. Descriptions of Each Region VII Threatened and
Endangered Plant Species
C. Region VII Threatened and Endangered Animal Species
by State and County of Occurrence
D. Region VII Threatened and Endangered Plant Species
by State and County of Occurrence
E. Summary Of Known Habitat Usage By Substrate And
Associated NWI Habitat Type
Fl. Summary of Animal Families Known To Have Declined
Due To Habitat Destruction
F2. Summary of Animal Families Known or Suspected To Have
Declined Due To Other Reasons
G. Codes Used in Databases and Explanations
Gl. National Wetland Inventory Codes Correlated To
Specific Habitat Types As Used In This Study
G2. FIPS Codes For Region VII, EPA
G3. Codes Used In TSEPLANT.DBF and T&EANIML.DBF
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Numerous persons have contributed greatly to this project.
Staff members of the Missouri Department of Conservation, Iowa
Department of Natural Resources, Kansas Department of Wildlife
and Parks, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the Natural
Heritage Programs within each state, and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service state field offices warrant special thanks. The
contributions of the following individuals were greatly
appreciated:
Mike Bronoski
Leslie Burger
William Busby
Dennis Figg
John Fleckstein
James Fry
Bill Gill
Darryl Howell
Don Haley
William Harrison
Jerry Horak
Wally Jobman
Chuck Kjos
Ross Lock
Robert McCue
Paul McKenzie
Rod Miller
Alan Pollom
Donna Riggs
Gary Riner
Larry Shanks
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region VII
Missouri Department of Conservation
Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory
Missouri Department of Conservation
Iowa Department of Natural
Resources
Missouri Department of Conservation
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Manhattan, Kansas
Iowa Department of Natural
Resources
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Manhattan, Kansas
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Region 3 Office, Twin Cities,
Minnesota
Kansas Department of Wildlife and
Parks
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Grand Island, Nebraska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Region 3 Office, Twin Cities,
Minnesota
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Grand Island, Nebraska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Columbia, Missouri
The Nature Conservancy,
Missouri
The Nature Conservancy,
Kansas
The Nature Conservancy,
The Nature Conservancy, Des Moines,
Iowa
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Region 6 Office, Denver,
Colorado
St. Louis,
Topeka,
Minnesota
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Vince Shay The. Nature Conservancy, Omaha,
Nebraska
Gerry Shimek U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region VII, Wetlands
Protection Section
Gerry Steinauer Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Thomas J. Taylor U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region VII, Wetlands
Protection Section
Beth Underwood U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region VII, Pesticides
Program
Russ Van Herik The Nature Conservancy, Minnesota
Holly Wheeler Missouri Department of Conservation
Bob Wood Kansr.s Department of Wildlife and
Parks
Finally, I would like to thank Kathy Mulder of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII, Wetlands Protection
Section, for her guidance, support, and constructive criticism
throughout this project.
Although the information in this document has been funded
wholly by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under
Assistance Agreement No. U-913523-Oi-O to Ann Burruss, it may not
necessarily reflect the views of the Agency and no official
endorsement should be inferred.
11
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ABSTRACT
Wetlands and waterways, including perennial and intermittent
streams, creeks, and rivers, are habitats for many rare animal
and pla^t species. Wetlands in many areas continue to decline in
acreage and surfer adverse impacts from conversion and dc'/elop-
ment. Waterways are also under pressure from channelization and
leveeing.
This study has two major components. First, a series of
databases was developed that includes animals and plant species
that are wetland or waterway dependent and found in Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, or Nebraska. The databases allow ready access to
detailed information on each species and probable locations
within each state. The plant and animal species included in the
databases are those listed on federal and state lists of rare,
threatened and endangered species within the four state area.
As a by-product of the databases, reports may be tailored
and printed to provide a wide range of information, such as a
list of species within a certain county that require specific
habitat types. Information in the database may be useful for
project reviews, educational programs, ; id other natural resource
protection purposes.
The second component of the study was a report on various
sortings or groupings of the information in the databases. For
instance, the habitats required by species are discussed within
each state's major wetland resource complexes, such as the
Missouri Bootheel, Iowa Prairie Potholes, Kansas's Cheyenne
Bottoms, and Nebraska's Rainwater Basin. Special habitat
characteristics, such as substrate and water requirements, also
are analyzed ^or these species, as well as dccur.. - .1 ted or
suspected causes of species decline, where information was
available. The report also includes an overall assessment of
specific wetland and waterway habitats that may require special
protection measures.
Prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII
Wetlands Protection Section through the National Network for Environmental Management
Studies in September, 1991
111
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LIST OF TABLES
Table
Number Table Pag<
1 Structure of Threatened and Endangered Animal
Database File 4
2 Structure of Threatened and Endangered Plant
Database File 5
3 Structure of Threatened and Endangered Species
Location Database Files 6
4 Wetland Values 10
5 Wetland Losses in the United States 1780's to
1980's 12
6 State Distribution of Federally Listed Plant
Species, 1985 17
7 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Bootheel Counties, Missouri 24
8 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Counties Surrounding Lake Taneycomo,
Missouri 27
9 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Bootheel, Missouri 29
10 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Lowland Forested Counties in Missouri 34
11 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of West
Central Missouri 36
12 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Northwest Central Missouri .... 37
13 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Cedar River Drainage, Iowa-Cedar River
Confluence and Surrounding Counties, Iowa ... 42
14 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Escarpment Area and Wapsipinicon River
Wetlands and Surrounding Counties, Iowa .... 45
15 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Southern River Basin Wetlands, Iowa 48
16 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Prairie Pothole Region Counties, Iowa 50
17 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Allamakee and Clayton Counties, Iowa 52
18 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Ninnescah River Basin Floodplain and Surrounding
Counties, Kansas 56
19 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Neosho River Basin and Surrounding Counties,
Kansas JS
iv
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LIST OF TABLES
Table
Number Table
20 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Cherokee County and Cherokee Lowlands, Kansas . 61
21 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Marais des Cygnes River Basin and Surrounding
Counties, Kansas 62
22 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Douglas County, Kansas, Containing Baker
Wetland 63
23 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Atchison County, Kansas, Containing Muscotah
Marsh 64
24 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Republic and Cloud Counties, Containing Talmo
Marsh, Kansas 65
25 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Lincoln County, Containing Salt Creek Marsh,
Kansas 66
26 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Rice and Stafford Counties, Kansas, Containing
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge 67
27 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Barton County, Kansas, Containing Cheyenne
Bottoms Wildlife Area 69
28 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Playa Wetland Counties, Kansas 71
29 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Missouri and Niobrara River Drainage and
Surrounding Counties, Nebraska 74
30 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of
Merrick, Nance, and Platte Counties; The
Rainwater Basin; and Chase, Perkins and Lincoln
Counties, Nebraska 76
31 Threatened and Endangered Animal Species of the
Sandhills Region Counties, Nebraska 79
32 Element (Species) Endangerment Ranking Factors
(Hoage, 1985) 102
v
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Threatened and Endangered Species
Of
Wetlands and Waterways
In
Iowa/ Kansas/ Missouri, And Nebraska
INTRODUCTION
This project, a report for the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region VII (EPA) on threatened and endangered species
that use wetlands and/or waterways, including perennial or
intermittent streams, creeks and rivers, sometime during their
lifecycle, was developed through the National Network for
Environmental Management Studies (NNEMS), an EPA Fellowship
Program. The purpose is twofold. The first being to examine
available information on threatened and endangered species of
plants and animals that use wetlands and waterways in Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, and to develop a product that
would be usable for project reviews, outreach programs, and other
protection purposes. This product was produced by developing a
system of database files, consisting of a detailed file on each
species of Concern, and location files with geographical
locations of critical habitat that are associated with each
species. These databases were developed using dBase III software
and were designed to be compatible with EPA's Geographical
Information System (CIS).
The second purpose of this project was to evaluate the data
in the databases by various criteria, such as geographical area,
stream type, substrate type, or habitat type, to identify any
especially vulnerable geographical location, or wetland or
• r
waterway habitat that may need priority protection.
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Complete information was not available for all species of
Concern. Many species have not been thoroughly studied, so
information is not available on their habitat requirements or
reasons for decline. Little information is available on the
reasons why many endangered and threatened plant species have
declined. In many cases the reasons for decline listed,
especially for animal species, are suspected to be causative.
Research, however, correlating thet,e causative reasons to a
species is not complete. For these reasons, the causes for
decline listed in this paper are usually referred to a potential,
likely, or suspected reasons for decline unless specific informa-
tion is available. The possible reasons for decline considered
in this study are: the effects of pest'5 ~ides (including insecti-
cides, rodenticides, and herbicides), the sole effects of herbi-
cides, impacts by water pollution (including changes in hydrology
and siltation), and the overutilization of a species (including
overhunting, overfishing, and overharvesting). Additional study
is needed for nla:iring protection measures for these species.
Species listed as appearing in a county have either been
documented by historic records as having once been sighted there,
or from modern records at locations where species are known to
live or grow now, or have been seen to use habitat during
migration. Some species, for instance, such as the bald eagle or
the Eskimo curlew are migratory. In the case of the bald eagle,
it may be expected to be found in almost any county, while the
Eskimo curlew may be only a rare possibility in a few counties.
The purpose of this project1 was to develop comprehensive
products that would be specifically useful to EPA and accessible
2
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to interested federal and state agencies and environmental
organizations to facilitate better protaction of wetland and
waterway-dependent species. The cooperation and assistance of
the staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) field
offices, state conservation departments, and Natural Heritage
Inventory Programs have been extremely valuable in developing a
product that is both sufficiently detailed and useful.
The products of this project include: (1) two primary
comprehensive databases on federal and state threatened and
endangered plant and animal species found within Region VII;
(2) this report, which discusses the evaluation of specific
wetland or aquatic habitat types that may require priority
protection; and (3) an abstract that describes the report and the
aspects and uses of the databases.
The two primary dBase III database files that were developed
concern information on individual species: one containing
information on threatened and endangered animal species, and
another cortaining information on plant species. The structures
of these files are listed in Tables 1 and 2. Two additional
dBase III database files containing limited data on specific
known locations of occurrence were also developed, one for
animals and one for plants. The animal and plant location
database files have the same structure (Table 3). All four of
these databases were designed to be compatible with the EPA
Geographic Information System.
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TABLE 1
STRUCTURE OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL DATABASE FILE
Database File Name: T&EANIML.dbf
Number of Records: 237
Type of Software: dBaselll
Database Structure: (Note: All fields are character fields)
Field
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Field Mane Field Description Field Width
COMNAME COMMON NAME 60
SCINAME SCIENTIFIC NAME 75
COHCLASNAM COMMON CLASS NAME 25
CLASSNAME LATIN CLASS NAME 35
COMFAMNAME COMMON FAMILY NAME 25
FAMNAME LATIN FAMILY NA.'iE 35
SPECIONO SPECIES ID NO. 6
DESCRIPT PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF ANIMAL 254
NWITYPE WETLAND HABITAT TYPE 25
STATES STATES WHERE SPECIES FOUND 11
CRITHAB DESIGNATED CRITICAL (YES OR NO) 1
HABITAT FOR ANIMAL
CRITHABDES DESCRIPTION OF CRITICAL HABITAT 254
FOOD FOOD EATEN BY ANIMAL 254
HABITATREQ HABITAT REQUIREMENTS 254
WATER TYPE OF WATER REQUIRED 7
STREAMCLAS STREAM CLASS/ORDER 7
SUBSTRATE TYPE OF SUPSTRATE USED BY SPECIES 20
ASSOCVEG VEGETATION ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIES 15
ENDCAUSE REASON FOR SPECIES DECLINE 35
STATUSCODE CODE FOR SPECIES STATUS ON EITHER 12
FEDERAL OR STATE LISTS
MISCINFO MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES INFORMATION 254
'JPDATE DATE OF LAST RECORD UPDATE 6
MO FIPS MISSOURI FIPS CODES 148
MOFIPS2 MISSOURI FIPS CODES ADDITIONAL SPACE 180
IA FIPS IOWA FIPS COOES 148
IAFIPS2 IOWA FIPS CODES ADDITIONAL SPACE 148
NE FIPS NEBRASKA FIPS CODES 148
NEFIPS2 NEBRASKA FIPS CODES ADDITIONAL SPACE 148
KS FIPS KANSAS FIPS CODES 148
KS?IPS2 KANSAS FIPS CODES ADDITIONAL SPACE 148
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TABLE 2
STRUCTURE OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED PLANT DATABASE FILE
Database File Name: T&EPLANT.dbf
Number of Records: 313
Type of Software: dBaselll
Database Structure: (Note: All fields are character fields)
Field
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
Field Nane Field Description Field Width
COMNAME COMMON NAME 60
SCINAME SCIENTIFIC NAME 75
SYNONYMS SYNONYMS OF PLANT 100
CLASSNAME LATIN CLASS NAME 35
COMFAMNAME COMMON FAMILY NAME 25
FAMNAME LATIN FAMILY NAME 35
SPECIDNO SPECIES ID NO. 6
NUITYPE WETLAND HABITAT TYPE 30
STATES STATES WHERE SPECIES FOUND 11
CRITHAB DESIGNATED CRITICAL (YES OR NO) 1
HABITAT FOR ANIMAL
CRITHABDES DESCRIPTION OF CRITICAL HABITAT 254
HABITATREQ HABITAT REQUIREMENTS 254
LIGHTREQUI TYPE OF LIGHT REQUIRED 254
PHREQUIRED KNOWN pH REQUIREMENTS 20
FRESH2SALT FRESH OR SALINE WATER REQUIREMENTS 3
SUBSTRATE TYPE OF SUBSTRATE USED BY SPECIES 20
ASSCCVEG VEGETATION ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIES 15
ENDCAUSE REASON FOR SPECIES DECLINE 35
STATUSCOOE CODE FOR SPECIES STATUS ON EITHER 15
FEDERAL OR STATE LISTS
HEIGHTLL LOWER LIMITS OF PLANT HEIGHT 15
HEIGHTUL UPPER LIMITS OF PLANT HEIGHT 15
FLOMONTH MONTHS PLANT FLOWERS 12
FLOTYPE TYPE OF FLOWER: MONOCOT/DICOT 1
FLOCOLOR COLOR OF FLOWERS 10
LIFF. TYPE OF PLANT (E.G. ANNUAL) 1
MOrvrri HOW PLANT GROWS (E.G. ERECT, TRAILING' 1
FLOSTRU TYPE OF FLOWER STRUCTURE (E.G. CYME) i
ULFARRANGE LEAF ARRANGEMENT ON UPPER PART OF PLANT 1
LLFARRANGE LEAF ARRANGEMENT ON LOWER PART OF PLANT 1
LFATTACH TYPE OF LEAF ATTACHMENT TO STEM 1
LFMORPH TYPE OF LEAVES: SIMPLE/COMPOUND 1
LFSHAPE SHAPE OF LEAVES 2
LFMARGIN TYPE OF LEAF MARGINS 3
PETALNO NUMBER OF PETALS 3
RAYNO NUMBER OF RAY FLOWERS 7
ROOTTYPE TYPE OF ROOTS (E.G. FIBROUS, TUBER) 1
STEMSHAPE SHAPE OF STEM (E.G. ROUND, TRIANGULAR) 1
WILDLIFVAL VALUE OF PLANT FOR WILDLIFE 254
MEOUSE MEDICINAL USES OF PLANT 254
MISCINFO MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES INFORMATION 254
KO_FIPS MISSOURI FIPS COOES 149
MOFIPS2 MISSOURI FIPS CODES ADDITIONAL SPACE 149
IA_FIPS IOWA FIPS CODES 149
IAFIPS2 IOWA FIPS CODES ADDITIONAL SPACE 149
NE FIPS NEBRASKA FIPS CODES 149
NEFIPS2 NEBRASKA FIPS CODES ADDITIONAL SPACE 149
KS_FIPS KANSAS FIPS CODES 149
KSFIPS2 KANSAS FIPS COOEJ ADDITIONAL SPACE 149
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TABLE 3
STRUCTURE OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES LOCATION DATABASE
FILE
Database File Name: LOCATION.dbf
Number of Records: 486
Type of Software: dBaselll
Database Structure: (Note: All fields are character fields, except
fields 6,7, and 8 which are numeric fields, field 25 which is a
date filed, and field 26 which is a memo field.)
Field
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Field Name Field Description
3NAME SPECIES NAME
SCINAME SCIENTIFIC NAME
SPECIDNO SPECIES ID NO.
FIPSCODE COUNTY IDENTIFICATION COOES
WATERWAY NAME OF WATERWAY
RIV_REACH RIVER REACH CODE
FM_MILE UPSTREAM RIVER MILE
TO_MILE DOWNSTREAM RIVER MILE
LOOMILE LAKE OF THE OZARKS MILE
TOWNRANGE TOWNSHIP,RANGE
SECTION SECTION
TWNSHP TOWNSHIP
RANGE RANGE
LATITUDE LATITUDE (SINGLE SITES)
LONGITUDE LONGITUDE (SINGLE SITES)
LATBOXNE LATITUDE IN NE CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LATBOXSE LATITUDE IN SE CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LATBOXSW LATITUDE IN SW CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LATBOXNW LATITUDE IN NW CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LONGBOXK LONGITUDE IN NE CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LONGBOXSE LONGITUDE IN SE CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LONGBOXSW LONGITUDE IN SW CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LONGBOXNW LONGITUDE IN NW CORNER OF HABITAT AREA
LASTOB LAST OBSERVED
UPDATE DATE OF LAST RECORD UPDATE
HABITATDES DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT
2 DECIMALS
2 DECIMALS
2 DECIMALS
Field Width
31
31
6
5
35
11
7
7
15
8
2
4
3
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
4
8
10
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The database information was compiled from various sources,
including experts in the state conservation agencies, such as the
Natural Heritage Program staff; experts in the FWS; Natural
Heritage Program databases; and numerous reference books. The
databases include available information from existing database
information from the programs mentioned above on the 237
threatened, endangered, or rare animal species and 313 plant
species that are found in Region VII, which are wetland and/or
waterway dependent. The databases include information on both
federally and state listed threatened and endangered plant and
animal species for each state. Printouts of the database
information are included in Appendices A through D. Appendix A
is arranged by taxonomic group and gi^~3_ descriptive information
about each animal species in the database, such as its physical
description, habitat, food source, reason for decline in number,
state or states of occurrence, and miscellaneous information.
Appendix B gives descriptive information for plant species.
Appendices C 1T"1 D are alphabetical lists of threatened and
endangered animal and plant species, respectively, by state and
county.
A typical use of the information in the databases can be to
list species that may be found in a certain county, or to list
the species in a group of counties that may use a certain habitat
type or require a certain habitat characteristic, such as
substrate, wetland type, or water regime. The location databases
contain additional specific information on known locations of
occurrence for the threatened and endangered species. Reports
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can also be printed for species description, habitat, special
requirements, reason for decline in number, and status.
It is important to remember when reading this study or
making use of the information in the databases, that the data is
based on available data. In Missouri, for instance, the Heritage
Inventory data was not complete for the entire state, which would
tend to bias the information. The fact that information on
lifecycles and reasons for decline is missing for many species
also presents an incomplete picture.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
WETLAND VALUES
Wetlands long have been recognized as having economic value
by playing an essential role in providing food and products
through their support of fish, wildlife and plants, and
facilitating local and interstate commerce. Wetlands also have
less apparent economic value in reducing potential damage from
floods, controlling erosion, providing groundwater recharge and
discharge, and improving water quality by removing and
transforming pollutants, and trapping sediments.
Many values of wetlands are tied to a use that has economic
value in the traditional sense. Examples of this are fishing or
nunting which provide both food ^..d licensing revenue; and
preservation of water quality which can help reduce costly
drinking and wastewater treatment. In addition to these values,
wetlands serve a vital purpose for which it is difficult to
assign an economic price tag: that of providing food and habitat
for many species of plants and animals, including rare,
threatened and endangered species. Wetlands are one of the most
varied and productive ecosystems known. Their value as habitat
for wildlife and plants that are threatened with extinction is
beyond strict economic measure.
The value of wetlands as essential habitat for many plant
and animal species can be partially appreciated in an economic
sense by the recreational opportunities wetlands provide. Many
of these recreational pursuits, such as boating, hiking,
swimming, fishing, hunting, birdwatching, and nature observation,
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bring income into regions and local communities that can provide
support for, and benefit from, these pursuits.
The value of wetlands can be summarized in the following
table:
Table 4.
Wetland Values
Fish and Wildlife Values
Fish and Shellfish Habitat
Waterfowl and Other Bird Habitat
Furbearer and Other Wildlife Habitat
Environmental Quality Values
Water Quality Maintenance
Pollution Filter
Sediment Retention
Oxygen Production
Nutrient Recycling
Chemical and Nutrient Absorption
Aguatic Productivity
Microclimate Regulator
World Climate (Ozone Layer)
Socio-Economic Values
Flood Control
Wave Damage Protection
Erosion Control
Ground Water Recharge and Water Supply
Timber and Natural Products
Energy Source (Peat)
Lives-Lock Grazing
Fishing and Shellfishing
Hunting and Trapping
Recreation
Aesthetics
Education and Scientific Research
Agricultural Products
STATUS OF WETLANDS
In the past some of these wetland values were not
recognized, and wetland loss in the United States has been
dramatic. The FWS, in a 1990 Report to Congress, estimated that
over 221 million acres of wetland existed at the time of the
thirteen original colonies, in what is now the lower 48 states.
10
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In the mid-1970's only 47 percent of the wetlands in the lower 48
states remained (Dahl, 1990). The average annual wetland loss
from the mid-1950's to the mid-1970's is calculated to be 458,000
acres per year. For this time period filling and drainage
associated with agriculture accounted for 87 percent of the loss
during this time period; urban development, 8 percent; and other
development, 5 percent (EPA, February 1988). Wetland loss still
continues at an approximate rate of 300,000 acres per year due to
these and other impacts (EPA, 1988). Wetlands as productive
plant, fish, and wildlife habitat, are also threatened by damage
from pollutants, such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and
heavy metals.
The status of the United States' wetlands has changed
dramatically since the 1970's. Table 5, from the FWS (Dahl,
1990), indicates the estimated changes nationwide.
11
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Table 5.
Wetland Losses in the United States 1780's to 1980's.
State
AL
AR
AZ
CA
CO
CT
DE
FL
GA
IA
ID
IL
IN
KS
KY
LA
MA
ME
MD
MI
MN
MO
MS
MT
NC
NO
NE
NH
NJ
NM
NV
NY
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SO
TN
TX
UT
VA
VT
WA
WI
UV
WY
SUBTOTAL 1
Total
Acres
33,029,760
33,986,600
72,901,760
101,563,520
66,718,720
3,205,760
1,316,480
34,647,040
37,680,640
36,025,600
53,470,080
36,096,000
23,226,240
52,648,960
25,852,800
31,054,720
5,284,480
21,257,600
6,769,280
37,258,240
53,803,520
44,599,040
30,538,240
94,168,620
33,655,040
45,255,600
49,425,280
5,954,560
5,015,040
77,866,240
70,745,600
31,728,640
26,382,080
44,748,160
62,067,840
29,013,120
776,960
19,875,200
49,310,080
27,036,160
171,096,960
54,346,240
26,122,880
6,149,760
43,642,880
35,938,560
15,475,840
62,664,960
,934,198,400
Wetlands
1780's
7,567,600
9,848,600
931,000
101,563,520
2,000,000
670,000
479,785
37,478,400
6,843,200
4,000,000
877,000
8,212,000
5,600,000
841,000
1,566,600
16,194,500
818,000
6,460,000
1,650,000
11,200,000
15,070,000
4,844,000
9,872,000
1,147,000
11,089,500
4,927,500
2,910,500
220,000
1,500,000
720,000
487,350
2,562,000
5,000,000
2,842,600
2,262,000
1,127,000
102,690
6,414,000
2,735,100
1,937,000
15,999,700
802,000
1,849,000
341,000
1,350,000
9,800,000
134,000
2,000,000
221,129,638
Wetlands
1980 's
3,783,800
2,763,600
600,000
5,000,000
1,000,000
172,500
223,000
20,325,013
5,298,200
421,900
385,000
1,254,500
750,633
435,400
300,000
8,784,200
588,486
5,199,200
440,000
5,583,400
8,700,000
643,000
4,067,000
840,300
5,689,500
2,490,000
1,905,500
200,000
915,960
481,900
236,350
1,025,000
482,800
949,700
1,393,900
499,014
65,154
4,659,000
1,700,000
787,000
7,612,412
558,000
1,074,613
220,000
938,000
5,331,393
102,000
1,250,000
104,374,314
% Wetlands
Lost
50
72
36
91
50
74
54
46
23
89
56
85
87
48
81
4i
28
20
73
50
42
87
59
27
49
49
35
9
39
33
52
60
90
67
38
56
37
27
35
59
52
30
42
35
31
46
24
38
53
(48 LOWER)
ALASKA
HAWAII
TOTAL
U.S.
(AK)
(HI)
2
375,303,680
4,115,200
,313,617,280
170,200,000
58,800
391,388,438
170,000,000
51,800
274,426,114
0.1
12
30
12
-------
State
AL
AR
AZ
CA
CO
CT
DE
FL
GA
IA
ID
IL
IN
KS
KY
LA
MA
ME
MD
MI
MN
MO
MS
MT
NE
Total
Acres
33,029,760
33,986,600
72,901,760
101,563,520
66,718,720
3,205,760
1,316,480
34,647,040
37,680,640
36,025,600
53,470,080
36,096,000
23,226,240
52,648,960
25,852,800
31,054,720
5,284,480
21,257,600
6,769,280
37,258,240
53,803,520
44,599,040
30,538,240
94,163,620
49,425,280
Wetlands
1780 's
7,567,600
9,848,600
931,000
101,563,520
2,000,000
670,000
479,785
37,478,400
6,843,200
4,000,000
877,000
8,212,000
5,600,000
841,000
1,566,600
16,194,500
818,000
6,460,000
1,650,000
11,200,000
15,070,000
4.844,000
9,872,000
1,147,000
2,910,500
Wetlands
1980 's
3,783,800
2,763,600
600,000
5,000,000
1,o ,0,000
172,500
223,000
20,325,013
5,298,200
421,900
385,000
1,254,500
750,633
435,400
300,000
8,784,200
588,486
5,199,200
440,000
5,583,400
8,700,000
643,000
/. 167,000
40,300
'..905,500
% Wetlands
Lost
50
72
36
91
50
74
54
46
23
89
56
85
87
48
81
46
28
20
73
50
42
87
59
27
35
-------
Total Wetlands
State Acres .'80 's
SUBTOTAL 1,934,198,400 221,129,638
(48 LOWER)
ALASKA (AK) 375,303,680 170,200,000
HAWAII (HI) 4,115,200 58,800
State
NH
NJ
NM
NV
NY
NC
ND
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SO
TN
TX
U1
VT
VA
WA
WV
UI
WY
Wet I ands '
1980 's
104,374
170,000
51
Total
Acres
5,954,560
5,015,040
77,866,240
70,745,600
31,728,640
33,655,040
45,255,600
26,382,080
44,748,160
62,067,840
29,013,120
776,960
19,875,200
49,310,080
27,036,160
171,096,960
54,346,240
< .149,760
2' 122,880
43,642,880
15,475,840
35,938,560
62,664,960
% Wetlands
Lost
,314 53
,000 0.1
,800 12
Wetlands
1780' s
220,000
1,500,000
720,000
487,350
2,562,000
11,089,500
4,927,500
5,000,000
2,842,600
2,262,000
1,127,000
102,690
6,414,000
2.735,100
1,937,000
15,999,700
802,000
341,000
1,849,000
1,350,000
134,000
9,800,000
2,000,000
Wetlands '
1980' s
200,000
915,960
481,900
236,350
1,025,000
5,689,500
2,490,000
482,800
949,700
1,393,900
499,014
65,154
4,659,000
1,780,000
787,000
7,612,412
558,000
220,000
1,074,613
938,000
102,000
5,331,393
1,250,000
\ Wetlands
Lost
9
39
33
52
60
49
49
90
67
38
56
37
27
35
59
52
30
35
42
31
24
46
38
TOTAL 2,313,617,280 391,388,438 274,426,114 30
U.S.
-------
Table L.
Wetland Losses in the United States 1970's to 1980"s
-------
Iowa's wetlands are estimated to have been reduced from 11.1
percent of state surface area to 1.2 percent between the 1780's
and the 1980's, and reduced 89 percent overall. Kansas' wetland
area has been reduced by approximately half, from 1.6 percent of
state surface area to 0.8 percent during this time period.
Missouri's estimated wetland losses are also great, with
reductions from 10.9 percent of the state surface area in the
1780's, to 1.4 percent in the 1980's, an 87 percent loss.
Nebraska's estimated wetland loss of 35 percent is represented by
the reduction of wetland surface area from 5.9 percent to 3.9
percent of the state surface area during the same two hundred
year period (Dahl, 1990). Although Nebraska and Kansas have
retained a greater percentage of their original wetlands, these
states had a smaller original percentage of wetland surface area
than did Iowa and Missouri.
WETLAND TYPES
Wetlands occur throughout tho United States and are diverse
in appearanje and characteristics. The essential characteristics
that all wetlands share are their hydric soil properties and the
subsequent ability to support hydrophytic (water-loving) plants.
Wetlands in the United States can be divided into two broad
categories, coastal wetlands and inland wetlands. Coastal
wetlands are associated with ocean waters along U.S. shores,
inlets, and waterway estuaries, and are typically saline to some
degree, supporting halophytic (salt-loving) plants. The wetlands
within the states of interest in this report, Iowa, Kansas,
Nebraska, and Missouri, are of the inland category. Inland
wetlands are extremely varied throughout the United States, from
13
-------
cypress-tupelo gum swamps in the South, to saline or alkaline
marshes and riparian wetlands in the arid West. Most of the
wetlands in the Midwest consist of floodplains along rivers and
streams, such as wooded swamps, bottomland forests and exposed
river beds; margins of lakes and ponds, such as marshes, wet
meadows, and wet prairies; and isolated depressions surrounded by
dry land, such as prairie potholes (EPA, February 1988) . These
wetlands perform many of the functions previously described.
The codes used in this study for species' habitat types
approximate those of the The Classification of Wetlands and
Deepwater Habitats of the United States (Cowardin, 1979). A list
of codes used for specific habitat types is attached in Appendix
G. Although the Cowardin system typically uses a code for water
regimes, this report only considered the wetland habitat type in
assigning a code. For instance, a species that uses an emergent
wetland with temporary and seasonal water, for the purposes of
this study, this is treated the same as a species requiring a
semipermanent or permanently inundated marsh. Both would be
designated as "PEM." However, a specific water regime
requirement may be designated, when known, through another field
in the species database.
The study also used geographical regions within the four
states that previously were recognized by EPA as important
wetland areas within the four-state area. The boundaries of some
of these regions may be extended due to personal preferences.
This study chose to include only the primary areas of wetland
concentrations.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
In 1973, Congress passed:the Endangered Species Act to
protect species of plants and animals which are endangered or
threatened. The term endangered applies to species that are in
14
-------
danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of
their range, while the term threatened means that a species is
likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future
throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
R.J. Hoage (1985) discusses three types of species which are
prone to extinction. One type may be classified as species
tending toward extinction due to natural causes. The California
condor is a species about which debate continues on whether
anthropomorphic (man-induced) or nacural causes are the major
factor in the condor's decline. A second type includes those
species that are well adapted to the habitat and conditions in
which they live, but whose characteristics become maladaptive
when faced with pressures from human encroachment. An example of
this type of species is the federally ^isted Indiana bat, which
is found in Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, and requires one type of
cave for summer habitat and another type in winter. The third
category consists of vulnerable species which have no apparent
predilection toward extinction.
A federal endangered species list is publ'shed and
periodically .updated by the FWS. Plant and animal species on the
list are protected by the Endangered Species Act, making it
unlawful to import or export listed species, "take" listed
species from the U.S. or territorial waters, receive, carry,
transport, deliver, or sell listed species, or otherwise violate
regulations pertaining to listed species. "Taking" includes
collecting, hunting, trapping, and fishing and is further defined
in the Act. Harassing or harming a species, by an act which "may
include significant habitat modification or degradation where it
actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing
15
-------
essential behavioral patterns including breeding, feeding, or
sheltering" is also prohibited (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
December 1973).
Five factors are evaluated in the decision to list species
as threatened or endangered. These factors are: "(1) the
present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment
of the species habitat or range; (2) overut il izr. t ion for
commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;
(3) disease or predation; (4) the inadequacy of existing
regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or manmade factors
affecting its existence" (Elias, 1986).
Habitat protection is aided by the designation of critical
habitat. Critical habitat is defined as "specific areas within
the geographical area occupied by the species . . . essential to
the conservation of the species and which may require special
management considerations or protection; and specific areas
outside the geographical area occupied by the species .
essential to the conservation of the species" (Elias, 1986).
The values of wetlands have been much discussed and
documented, and the value of protecting species has recently
widened beyond the earlier focus of protecting species of
economic value. The protection of waterfowl to preserve the
viability of recreational hunting was the historical focus of
species conservation law in the United States. The economic
value of species is not evenly distributed. Much information
about the roles plants and animals play and the economic values
that should be assigned to those roles remains unknown. Bryan
Norton (Wilson, 1986) states that under certain assumptions, a
wild perennial grass related to corn that was recently discovered
16
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in Mexico, may prove to be worth $6.82 billion annually. This
figure was calculated by Hanemann and Fisher for only one of its
possible uses, the creation of a perennial hybrid of corn (Fisher
and Hanemann, 1985).
The preservation of biodiversity itself is an important
value, and the thesis that plants and animals of all types should
be protected from extinction due to human activity, is gaining
wide support. Norse (Draggan, 1985) outlines four values of
protecting biodiversity: (1) aesthetic and psychological; (2)
intellectual, for example, for the benefit of science and
medicine; (3) providing ecosystem goods; and (4) providing
ecosystem services. The last two depend on the little known web
of interactions between species within ecosystems, from
mycorrhizal interactions with old-growth forest tree roots, to
the passage of plant seeds through animal digestive tracts. At
current levels of threat, 15 to 20 percent of the extant
(existing) species could be extinct by the year 2000 (Draggan,
1985).
Table 6 indicates the numbers of endangerac plant taxa
listed in the 1985 federal register located within EPA Region VII
states. It also indicates the percent of the states' total plant
taxa the listed species represent (Elias, 1986).
Table 6.
State Distribution of Federally Listed Plant Species, 1985
State No. of Taxa Percent of Total
Missouri 28 1.0
Iowa 13 0.5
Kansas 9 03
Nebraska 1 >0.1
17
-------
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (Act) requires all
federal agencies to ensure that any action authorized, funded, or
carried out by the agency of concern will not be likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species or to
result in the destruction or adverse modification of the critical
habitat of a listed species (EPA, July 1989). If a proposed
activity affects a species as described above, formal
consultation is initiated by the affected federal agencies.
(Elias, 1986) The Act serves as an important screen to review
federal actions for their impact on listed species. However, in
1984, for example, only 0.25 percent of all federal actions
reviewed by the FWS were ruled as likely to harm a listed species
(DeSilvestro, 1989).
The FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service share
responsibility for administering the Act. Since the
responsibility to protect endangered species applies to all
federal agencies, cooperation between agencies is facilitated by
regulations such as 50 CFR Part 402 - Interagency Cooperation -
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (EPA, June ? <6). This regulation
sets up strategies whereby actions that are authorized, funded,
or carried out by federal agencies can be jointly evaluated to
protect species.
SECTION 404 OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT
One way in which federal agencies work together to restore
and maintain the biological, chemical, and physical integrity of
our nation's waters, which include wetlands, and ensure that
threats to endangered or threatened plants 'and animals are
addressed, is through a series of federal regulations that were
18
-------
promulgated as a result of the passage of Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act. Section 404 authorizes the Corps of Engineers
(Corps) and the EPA to regulate the discharge of dredged and fill
material into waters of the United States, and establishes a
permit program to ensure that such discharges comply with
environmental requirements. The Corps administers the permit
program. The EPA co-developed environmental guidelines with the
Corps and enforces violations of the statute where a permit was
not issued prior to the discharge. EPA also has a veto power
over Corps permits. The Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines, the
environmental guidelines published by EPA in conjunction with the
Corps, stipulate that no discharge can be permitted if it would
violate other applicable laws such as state water quality
standards, or the Endangered Species Act. To obtain a permit
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the project must be
evaluated under the Endangered Species Act and other applicable
laws.
EPA PESTICIDES IxOGRAM
Through the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act (FIFRA) EPA has an Endangered Species Program. Under this
program EPA consults with the FWS on pesticides selected on the
basis of their potential effect on highly vulnerable species.
The FWS reviews and approves or comments on a Biological Opinion
produced by EPA, which indicates steps requiring pesticides to
bear a label statement referring pesticide users to a County
Bulletin. County Bulletins contain a map of the habitats
i
requiring protection and a list of affected pesticides with the
specific use limitations necessary to protect the species in the
19
-------
county. The program includes endangered species that may or may
not use wetland and/or waterway habitat; however, the majority of
the endangered species protected under this program use wetland
and/or waterway habitat.
The program also has close ties with the Pesticide
Groundwater Program, which serves to protect habitat areas by
promoting the use of best management practices that aid in
reducing or minimizing pesticide effects around wetland and
waterway areas.
By definition, a pesticide is any substance or mixture of
substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or
mitigating any pest and any substance or mixture of substances
intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.
Pests, by definition, include insects, rodents, nematcdes, fungi,
weeds, or any other forms of terrestrial or aquatic plant or
animal life or virus, bacteria or other micro-organism which have
been declared pests under FIFRA Section 25(c)(l). Although
technically pesticides include herbicides, this study has
separated out herbicides, if knov/n or suspected to cause species
declines, in an attempt to provide additional information on the
potential causes for species decline. Notations on possible
causes for population declines were primarily obtained from state
natural heritage inventories. The declines in certain species,
such as the bald eagle, due to the use of pesticides, and the
whooping crane from overhunting, have been widely documented and
are now common knowledge. Although habitat destruction has been
widely documented, additional research may be needed to
substantiate some of the suspected causes of certain specie's
decline due to pesticides, such as herbicides and insecticides,
and water pollution.
20
-------
STATE LAWS
State laws support and may expand on the Federal laws
pertaining to endangered species and wetlands. Iowa's laws say
that the Director of the State Department of Natural Resources
will "promulgate a rule listing those species of fish, plants,
and wildlife which are determined to be endangered or threatened
within the state" (Iowa Code 109A.1). Programs, rules, and
penalties are outlined. Kansas law likewise directs listing of
species, and lists factors to consider in evaluations such as
"the present or threatened destruction, modification or
curtailment of its habitat or range" (Kansas Code
32-960). Missouri's Department of Conservation (MDC) under Title
16 considers species listed by the MDC, as well as those listed
by the FWS, as endangered species (3 CSR 10-4.111). A Nebraska
law, the Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act,
(Source: Laws 1975, LB 145, § 1; Laws 1984, LB 466, §1.) also
protects federal and state listed species.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES BY STATE
MISSOURI
Wetlands and Endangered Species Overview
Dahl (1990) estimates that approximately 87 percent of the
wetlands in Missouri were lost between the 1780's and the 1980's.
EPA (1980) estimated that the southeast corner of the state,
known as the Bootheel, incurred an 80 percent loss of wetlands
between 1955 and 1977. Most of the loss in the counties
comprising the Bootneel resulted from ditching and drainage to
convert wetlands to farmland (EPA, 1980).
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is very active
21
-------
in evaluating the status of, and providing protection for, the
endangered species of Missouri. The MDC (1991) has produced a
document, entitled "The Checklist of Rare and Endangered Species
of Missouri" that lists the status of the regularly breeding
plant and animal species of the state, including federally listed
species. The Missouri checklist uses five state status
categories: endangered, rare, status undetermined, w^.tch list,
and extirpated. Watch list status means a species is not
currently rare or endangered, but indications exist that it may
be endangered and requires monitoring to "watch" the species.
The species that were identified as watch list status, and the
species that are believed to be extirpated in Missouri, were not
included in this analysis. Specifically, the osprey, though
listed as extirpated in the 1991 checklist, is included because
it could exist as a migrant species during its migration to
breeding or wintering locations.
The MDC checklist includes 228 rare, endangered, or status
undetermined animal species. MDC determined that 29 percent of
the vertebrate animals in Missouri are incle ..er\ in the checklist
(MDC, 1991). The wetland or waterway dependent species numbered
170, indicating that approximately 75 percent of the state listed
species, in the categories considered, were wetland or waterway
dependent. Among the 117 species of invertebrates on the
checklist, 86 species, or approximately 74 percent, relied on
wetlands or waterways. One hundred percent of the 42 listed fish
species were obligate users of wetlands or waterways, as were
100 percent of the 8 amphibians;included. A large percentage of
the bird species on the checklist were also wetland or waterway
22
-------
users, 21 of 32 22 species, or 66 percent. Of the 16 nammal
species listed as rare, endangered, or status undetermined, 5, or
31 percent, required wetland or waterway habitat.
The MDC includes a wide variety of taxonomic groups in its
checklist. The invertebrates listed and determined to be wetland
or waterway dependent include: one flatworm; 24 bivalve mollusks
and snails; 71 crustaceans, including crayfish, isopods,
amphipods, and shrimp; and 23 insects.
The database information on the wetland and waterway
dependent plant and animal species in Missouri was compiled from
various sources, including experts in the MDC, such as the
Natural Heritage Program Staff; experts in the FWS, Columbia
Field Office; and various reference bo_k~ listed in the Reference
section. Information on animal and plant species is listed in
Appendices A through D.
Lake of the Ozarks
Lake of the Ozarks and its headwaters comprise a constructed
lake area coveiing 59,520 acres with 1,150 miles of shoreline, in
Benton, Camden, Miller, and Morgan Counties of Central Missouri.
Lake of the Ozarks has excellent fish and wildlife habitat and
ecological productivity, and good water quality and water supply.
Some concerns should be noted, however, particularly regarding
shoreline erosion and sedimentation resulting from construction
along the lake. The lake remains vulnerable due to the
continuing development.
In the four county area surrpunding Lake of the Ozarks, 22
Missouri-listed rare, endangered, or status unknown animal
23
-------
species may be located (Table 7). In Tables 7 through 31,
federally protected species are in bold print, while the
remaining species are state listed only.
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
Table 7.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MISSOURI
(23 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Gray Bat X
Indiana Bat X
Bald Eagle X
Northern Harrier X
Lake Sturgeon X
Northern Pike
Mooneye
Niagua Darter X
Blacknose Shiner X
Highfin Carpsucker X
Topeka Shiner X
Mottled Sculpin X
Northern Crawfish Frog X
Four-Toed Salamander X
Mole Salamander X
Spectale Case Mussel X
Rock-Pocketbook Mussel
Elephant-Ear Mussels Minnow
Pink Mucket Muss"' X
Salem Cave Crayfish
Clanton's Cave Amphipod
AUocapnia Pygmaea,
(A Winter Stonefly)
PFO
PFO
L10W,PFO,R20W
PEM,PSS,PAG,R2EM,L2UB
R2UB,R20W,L1UB,R2RB,RIF
R2UB,R2AB,L1AB,L1UB,SFL
R20W,R2UB,LlOW,SfL
R3UB,LR,RIF
R3UB,R2AB,CLR,COL
L2UB,R2UB,CLR
R3U8,R4AB,R40W,CLR,SFL
R3UB,R3AB,MFL,COL'
L2AB,R4US,R4A8,PEM,TMP,WPR
R3UB,R3ML,PFO,PML,SFL,STG
PFO,PUB,L1AB,PEM,L2^,TMP,ST
R2UB,R2RB,SFL
R2UB,R2RB,SFL
R2UB,R2RB,RFL
R2UB,R3UB,R3RB,MF>
R3UB.CAV.COL
R3UB,CLR,COL
R3UB,L2UB,L2EM, R3UB,L2UB,L2EM,SHL,WOX
The concentration of rare species is very high in this four
county region, with each county containing at least five species,
and Miller County providing habitat for eleven species. Nineteen
of the 22 animal species use riverine (stream or river) habitat
in combination with lacustrine (]ake) and palustrine (isolated
and woody species wetlands) habitat. Of these nineteen species,
ten are solely dependent on riverine habitat. Nine of the 22
24
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animal species use lacustrine (lake) habitat in association with
riverine and palustrine habitat, while 7 use palustrine habitat
in combination with lacustrine, and riverine habitat. Two of the
7 species using palustrine habitat, the Indiana bat and the gray
bat, solely depend on that forested wetland habitat.
Fifteen, or 68 percent, of the 22 species which may be found
in the Lake of the Ozarks1 counties have been subject to decline
in number due to habitat destruction. As development of the Lake
area continues, these species may be subject to further habitat
restriction. Pesticides are likely to have caused a decline in
number for 32 percent of the species of concern. Water
pollution, including siltation, may have also caused a decline
in 32 percent of the spacies. Siltation is also a cause for
concern in this area. With continued development as a resort and
recreation area, siltation, the use. of pesticides, and the use of
herbicides (which are likely to have contributed to the decline
of two species), could be expected to continue.
Overfishing contributed to the decline of the endangered lake
sturgeon.
Four small fish, the Niangua darter, blacknose shiner,
highfin carpsucker, and Topeka shiner, reguire clear water
habitat and are likely to have declined in part due to water
pollution, including siltation. Four species, including two small
fish, the mottled sculpin and blacknose shiner, Salem cave
crayfish, and Clanton's cave amphipod, require cold water and use
upper perennial riverine habitat. Three of the 25 amphibians of
concern that may be found in this area require (standing or
temporary) seasonal water to freed and could be subject to
25
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reduced breeding habitat if temporary, shallow wetlands are
altered.
The counties surrounding Lake of the Ozarks may have five
threatened and endangered plant species from two plant families:
three species from the sedge family (Cypercaceae) and two from
the polypody family (Polypodiaceae). All species may be found
in .palustrine wetlands with emergent plant communities. Scleria
nitida Willd. (a nut rush) are exclusively found in this type of
palustrine wetland, and the other species mentioned use it along
with a combination of other habitat types. Eighty percent of the
plants of concern in the Lake of the Ozarks area use palustrine
habitat alone, and one other species, Carex laevivaqinata
(Kuekenth.) MacKenz. (smooth sheat> sedge), uses riverine, as
well as palustrine habitat.
Lake Taneycomo
Lake Taneycomo is a constructed lake in southwestern
Missouri, covering 2,080 acres, in Barry, Stone, and Taney
Counties. T.3ke Taneycomo has high natural productivity, is one
of the few water bodies in the state that contains trout, and has
good water quality. Wetlands in the lake area are, however,
threatened by development and pollution from continued resort
area expansion.
In the three county area that surrounds Lake Taneycomo,
there are 24 rare, endangered, or status unknown animal species
(Table 8). A very high concentration of species may occur in
this three county area.
26
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Table 8.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE COUNTIES SURROUNDING LAKE TAMEYCOMO, MISSOURI
(24 SPECIES)
COMMON
NAMES
OF SPECIES
Gray Bat
Indiana Bat
Bald Eagle
Swainson's Warbler
Highfin Carpsucker
Eastern Slim Minnow
Longnose Darter
Ozark Cavefish
Mottled Sculpin
Arkansas Darter
Yellow Mud Turtle
Alligator Snapping Turtle X
Oklahoma Salamander
Wood Frog
Meek's Crayfish
Ringed Crayfish
Bristly Cave Crayfish
Neosho Midget Crayfish
Tumbling Creek Cavesnail
Texas Liptooth Snail
Kite's Neotrichian
Caddisfly X
Western Heel Splitter X
Purple Li Uiput Mussel
Ozark Cave Amphipod
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
PFO
PFO
L10W,PFO,R20W
PEM,PAB,°2EM
L1UB,R2UB,CLR
R3UB,CLR,SFL
R3UB,L1AB,R3AB,MFL,R1F
R3UB,R3RB,CAV,COL
R3UB,R3AB,MFL,COL
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,SFL
R2EM,STG,SFL, R2UB,L1AB,L2EM,
PAB,SFL
R3UB,R3AB,COL
PU8,PFO,R4A8,L2EM,STG,TMP
P3RB
R3UB,R3RB
R3UB,CAV,COL
R3UB, RIF
R3RB,CAV,RIF
R3UB,SHL,WOX
R2UB,R3UB
R3UB
R3UB,AV,COL
Habitat destruction has contributed to the decli ^ of
63 percent of the animal species in this area, while
pesticides are likely to have contributed to the decline of
17 percent. Continued growth and development of these
counties and the increased impact of resort use, may result
in further habitat degradation. Twenty-five percent of the
species of concern use lacustrine habitat, or lacustrine
habitat in association with palustrine or riverine wetlands.
Sixty-three percent of the animal species (15 total) use
i
upper perennial riverine habitat with an unconsolidated
-------
bottom. Twenty-one of the species, or eighty-eight percent,
use riverine habitat either solely or in combination with
lacustrine and palustrine habitat. Four cave-dwelling
species, the Ozark cavefish, Tumbling Creek cavesnail,
bristly cave crayfish, and Ozark cave amphipod, use upp^r
riverine habitat in these counties. These four species, as
well as the mottled sculpin and Oklahoma salamander, use
cold water habitat.
The counties surrounding Lake Taneycomo may harbor ten
threatened or endangered plant species. These wetland or
waterway dependent species belong to seven plant families.
Six of the species use nalustrine habitat: three use
palustrine wetland with emergent vegetation, and three use
palustrine forested habitat. Four of the six rely solely on
palustrine habitat. Lacustrine habitat is used by four
species with the two species belonging to the grass family
(Gramineae), using only lacustrine habitat. Riverine
habitat is used by three species, and two species belonging
to the moss family use riverine habitat alone. Fifty
percent of the plant species in the Lake Taneycomo area use
limestone substrate. This indicates that wet limestone
outcroppings and bluffs may be important areas worth
surveying for rare plant assemblages.
Bootheel
The southeastern Missouri Bootheel and the bordering
counties containing bottomland hardwoods make up an area
rich in rare, endangered, and status unknown species. The
nine county area may contain 64 animal species of concern
28
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and 88 plant species of concern. Scott, Mississippi, New
Madrid and Pemiscott Counties border the Mississippi River.
Specifically, Bellinger, Wayne, Stoddard, Butler, and
Dunklin Counties border the Mississippi River counties to
the west, and contain bottomland hardwood forests. The
bottomland hardwood area is characterized as having high
natural productivity and providing critical fish and
wildfowl habitat. The water quality is fair to good and the
water supply fair, due to the channelization of streams and
construction of drainage ditches. Wetlands in the
bottomland hardwood counties may be extremely vulnerable due
to channelization, drainage, agricultural activity, runoff
of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, siltation, and
timbering. Only about two percent of the original
bottomland hardwoods still exists, and much of this is in
blocks of less than 1,000 acres.
Although there are troubling signs of habitat quality
degradation in the bottomland hardwoods, and agriculturally
associated problems along the Mississippi River, 64 animal
species of concern may be located in the nine southeastern
counties (Table 9).
Table 9.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE BOOTHEEL COUNTIES, MISSOURI
(64 Species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER SPECIALIZED
NAMES HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
OF SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Swamp Rabbit X PSS.PFO
Swainson's Warbler X PEM, PAS, R2EM
Mississippi Kite PFC
Little Blue Heron X PFO,PSS,PEM,L2UB,R2EM,PAB,STG
Snowy Egret X PFO,PSS,L2UB,R2EM,PEM,PAB,STG
Black Crowned Night Heron X PEM,PFO,PSS,L2UB,R2EMPAB,STG
29
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COMMON
NAMES
OF SPECIES
TABLE 9. (cor.tinued)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUT'ON/ I.JNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Interior Least Tern X
Bald Eagle X
Great Egret X
Mottled Sculpin X
Eastern Slim Minnow X
Northern Pike
Brown Bullhead
Mountain Madton X
Crystal Darter X
Longnose Darter X
Bantam Sunfish X
Cypress Minnow
Tail light Shiner
Sabine Shiner X
Mooneye
Alligator Gar
Swamp Darter X
Harlequin Darter X
Goldstripe Darter X
American Brook Lamprey
Sturgeon Chub X
Sicklefin Chub X
Lake Chubsucker X
Spring Cavefish
Pallid Sturgeon X
Western Chicken Turtle X
Alligator Snapping Turtle X
Mole Salamander X
Four-Toed Salamander X
Eastern Spadefoot Toad
Illinois Chorus Frog X
Northern Crawfish Frog X
(Caecidotea dimorpha)*
an isopod
St. Francis River Crayfish
Woodland Crayfish
(Cambarellus puer)* a dwarf
crayfish
(Cambarellus Shufeldti i)*
(a dwarf crayfish)
Shield Crayfish
Shrimp Crayfish
Fat Pocketbook Mussel X
Western Fanshell Mussel X
Curtis' Pearly Mussel X
Snuffbox Mussel
R2US,L2US,PUB
L10W, PFO, R20W
PAB,PEM,L1AB,L2UB,L2EM,STG
R3UB,R3AB,MFL,COL
R3UB, CLR, SFL
R2UB,R2AB,LIAB,L1UB,SFL
R3UB,R2AB,L1AP,CLR, SFL
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,RIF
R2UB,R3UB,SFL
R3UB,L1AB,R3A5,MFL, RIF
L1AB,R3AB,PAB.:LR, SFL
R3UB, R2UB, SFL
R2UB, L1UB, SFL
R2UB, CLR
R20W,R2UB,L10W,SFL
R2UB, SFL, BRK
L1AB,PAB,R2UB,R2AB,STG
R2UB, RIF, SFL
R3UB, R3AB, RIF
R2UB, R3U8, :LR
R2UB, RFL, TUR
R2UB, TUR, RFL
R2UB,L1AB,R2AB,CLR, 3LF
R3UB, CAV, COL
PAB,PEM,R2UB,R20W,RFL,TUR
R2EM.SFL
R2U8,L1AB, L2EM,PAB,SFL
PFO,PUB,L1AB,PEM,L2EM, TMP,
R3UB,n3ML,PFO,PML,SFL, STG
PUB.PAB.R'+AB.TMP, STG
°*B,PU8,R<»AB,TMr', STG
L2AB,R4US,R4AB,PEM, TMP, WPR
R3UB, CLR, SHL
R3UB, R3RB
R3RB, CLR
R3UB, TMP
R3UB.TMP
PAB,R3UB,SFL,STG
R3UB, R2UB, SFL
R2UB
R2UB,MFL
R3UB, R2UB, R3RB, MFL
R2UB,R3UB,R3RB,CLR,MFL
30
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Table 9. (continued)
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE BOOTHEEL COUNTIES, MISSOURI
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVE°- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDtS SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
R2UB, R3UB,R3RB, MFL
R2UB, R3UB
R3UB, R3RB, CLR, RFL
R3UB
R3UB, R2UB, MFL
R2UB, MFL
R2UB, R2RB, RFL
R2UB, R3UB, R3RB, MFL
R2UB, R2RB, SFL
R2UB, R3'JB
R2UB, L1UB, SFL
R3UB, CLR, COL
R3UB, SHL, WOX
R3UB, RFL
Pink Mucket Mussel X
Western Heel
Splitter Mussel X
Rabbitsfoot Mussel
Purple Liliput Mussel
Southern Hickorynut
Mussel
Hickorynut Mussel
Elephant Ear Mussel
Bankclimber Mussel X
Rock-Pocketbook Mussel
Wartyback Mussel X
Flat Floater Mussel
Barr's Cave Amphipod
(Hydropsyche piatrix)*
a net-spinning caddisfly X
(Baetisca obesa)* a mayfly
Black Velvet Wedge Snail
* Only scientific name known
Habitat destruction has contributed to the reduction in
number of 56 percent of the species. Six species were likely
reduced by pesticides and eight by water pollution, including
siltation. Curtis' pearly mussel, the fat pocketbook mussel, and
the pink mucket probably been affected by pesticides and
siltation. The cypress minnow, Sabine shiner, lake chubsucker,
pallid sturgeon, and Barr's cave amphipod are likely to have been
reduced by water pollution. The Illinois chorus frog, Interior
least tern, and bald eagle were likely to have been affected by
pesticides.
The majority of species use perennial riverine habitat in a
i
variety of combinations with lacustrine and palustrine wetland
31
-------
types. A few species' habitats have not been clearly documented.
Standing or temporary, seasonal water is required by 20 percent
of the species, including all 5 of the amphibians that may be
found in the area. This type of habitat may be exceedingly
vulnerable in light of the above mentioned stresses on the
bottomland hardwood and Mississippi River environments. Nineteen
percent of the species require clear water, and may be \ulnerable
to water pollution, including siltation. Slow flowing water is a
habitat requirement for 27 percent of the animal species, and 59
percent of the species using slow flowing water are fish. The
cypress minnow requires slow flowing water and is recognized as
having declined due to water pollution. Slow flowing water and
standing or temporarily ponded water may be more vulnerable to
degradation from runoff type pollutants because of their limited
ability to flush pollutants. Two mussels, the elephant ear and
the rabbitsfoot, as well as Baetisca obesa (a mayfly) require
rapidly flowing v.ater. The sturgeon chub, sicklefin chub and the
pallid sturgeon are exceptional in that they require rapidly
flowing, turbid water. Ninety-two threatened and endangered
plant species may be found in the Bootheel area. These plants
comprise an amazing diversity of plants, containing species
belonging to 42 different families. Ninety-six, or 34 percent of
these wetland or waterway dependent species use palustrine
habitat. Palustrine habitat is the sole habitat of 52 plant
species, or 56 percent of the species of concern in the Bootheel.
The 32 lacustrine habitat users ^ire the second most plentiful
group of species, although only 3 plant species rely solely on
lakes. Riverine habitat was the habitat type least used by
32
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plants in the Bootheel. Nineteen plant species use riverine
habitat, and none of these species rely solely on this habitat
type.
The paucity of information on decline of plant species has
not allowed any correlation between plant species and pressures
from habitat destruction or agricultural practices to be made.
Since the Bootheel may contain a high concentration of threatened
and endangered plant populations, study of the reasons for
decline and continued pressures would be extremely valuable for
this area.
The nine county area contains eight state designated
Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). Bellinger County contains Dark
Cypress WMA and shares Duck Creek WMA with Stoddard County.
Stoddard also contains Otter Slough iJMA. Butler County contains
Coon Island WMA; Dunklin County has Ben Cash and Hornersville
WMA's; and Mississippi County, Ten Mile and Seven Island WMA's.
These areas likely assist in preserving this regions' ability to
support a variety of rare species.
Lowland Forested Counties of the Bootheel
A three county area west of the Bootheel contains the only
area in Region VII with an estimated 75 percent or greater
woodland cover intact. Much of this woodland may be upland,
17 rare, endangered, or status unknown animal species may be
located in the wetlands and waterways of this area, consisting of
Carter, Reynolds, and Shannon Counties (Table 10). Listed among
them is the federally endangered bald eagle and the osprey, the
latter of which was last observed in Missouri In Carter County,
but is thought to be extirpated from Missouri.
33
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Table 10.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE LOWLAND FORESTED COUNTIES, MISSOURI
(17 Species)
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Gray Bat X X
Indiana Bat X X
Bald Eagle X X
Osprey (1) X
Lake Chubsucker X
Mottled Sculpin X
Northern Pike
Mooneye
American Brook Lamprey
Four-Toed Salamander X
Wood Frog X
Salem Cave Crayfish
Woodland Crayfish
Arkansas Snake-
tail Dragonfly
(Allocapnia
r^ygmaer)* a
winter stonefly
(Prostoia
si mi I is)* a
winter stonefly
(Hydropsyche
piatrix)* a net-
spinning caddisfly X
* Only scientific name known
(1) Last Known in Carter County, Missouri
PFO
PFO
L10W, PFO, R20W
"20W, PFO
R2UB,L1A8,R2AB,CLR, SFL
R3UB,R3AB,MFL,COL
R2UB,R2AB,L1AB L1UB, SFL
R?OU,R2UB,L10U,SFL
R2UB, R3UB, CLR
R3UB,R3ML,PFO,PML, SFL, STG
PUB,PFO,R4AB,L"EM,STG,TMP
R3UB,CAV,COL
R3RB.CLR
R3UB,L2UB
R3UB,L2UB,L2t:- .
SML,UOX
R3UB.UOX
R3UB,SHL,WOX
Palustrine forested wetland is used by 35 percent of the
species of concern in this lowland forested area. Eighty-three
percent of the species using palustrine habitat, including both
federally endangered bats, the Indiana bat and the gray bat, have
declined due to habitat destruction. Forty-seven percent of the
rare, endangered, or status unknown species in this area overall,
have declined due primarily or partially to habitat destruction.
Sixty percent of the fish reguire slow flowing water habitat, and
the two amphibians of concern, the four-toed salamander and the
34
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wood frog, require standing water or temporary ponds. These
aquatic habitats may be more prone to various anthropogenic
pollution effects than permanent rapidly flowing water.
Forty-nine threatened and endangered plant species may
inhabit the lowland forested area west of the Bootheel. Species
from 25 different families may be found here, including 8 species
of members of the sedge family (Cyperaceae) and 9 species
belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae). There is a large
percentage of intact forest cover in this region, which may
account for 78 percent of the plant species of concern using
palustrine habitat. Fifty-eight percent of the plant species
using palustrine habitat, solely use palustrine habitat. Two
common classifications of palustrine habitat are being used by
•^he plant species, with 22 using areas with emergent vegetation,
and 18 using forested areas.
The next most common habitat type in the lowland forested
counties of the Bootheel being used by rare plants 37 is
lacustrine. Fourteen species make use of lakes and ponds; 3
species using littoral zones and 3 using limnetic zones of lakes
may be found here. Twelve species of concern use riverine
habitat alone. Five plant species, found only in Shannon County
within this region, use limestone substrate, which may warrant
further investigation to survey the wet limestone areas.
West Central Missouri
To the west of Lake of the Ozarks is a four county area that
contains three WMA's: Montrose WMA in Henry County; Schell-Osage
WMA in Vernon and St. Clair Counties; and Four River WMA in Bates
and Vernon Counties. This area forms a complex of the following
rivers and their tributaries: the Osage, Marmaton, Little Osage,
35
-------
and Marais des Cygnes. Eight animal species (Table 11) may be
found here.
Table 11.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED AN IHAL SPECIES
OF THE WEST CENTRAL COUNTIES, MISSOURI (8 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIE3 DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
COMMON NAMES HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
OF SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTAT ION FISHING REQUIRED
Gray Bat X X X X PFO
Bald Eagle XXX L10W,PFO,R20W,PEM,PSS,PAB
Northern Harrier X X L2EM,LEM,PSS,FAB,2EM,L2UB
Great Egret X X AB,PEM,L1AB,2U8,L2EM,STG
Miangua Darter XX X R3UB, CLR, RIF
Southern Brook Lamprey R3UB, SFL, CLR
Blacknose Shiner X X X X R3UB, R3AB, CLR, COL
Northern Crawfish Frog X L2AB,R4US,R4AB,EM,TMP,WPR
Eighty-eight percent of these animals have been reduced in
part by habitat destruction, and 62 rcent may have declined due.
to pesticide use. Two counties, Bates and Vernon, experience
moderate to severe erosion over 75 percent of their surface.
Thirty-eight percent of the species declined due to water
pollution, including siltation. The ongoing erosion in this area
indicates a potential for added stress to the poilutio^ species
vulnerable to pollution: the blacknose shiner, Niangua darter,
and gray bat. The two fish species and the Southern brook
lamprey require clear water habitats.
Eleven threatened and endangered plant species may be found
in these west central Missouri counties. All make palustrine
habitat, 64 percent of them using palustrine habitat only. The
species using palustrine habitat are fairly evenly mixed between
emergent vegetation and forested habitat. Four species use
lacustrine areas, the majority5 of them in th'e unconsolidated
shore of the littoral zones.
36
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Northwest Central Missouri
In the central and western portions of Missouri north of the
Missouri River is an eight county region, including Linn and
Livingston Counties, which hold Fountain Grove WMA; Chariton
County, home of Swan Lake WMA; and Grundy, Davieis, Harbison,
Gentry, and Worth Counties. There are 9 threatened and
endangered animal species which may be found in this area (Table
12).
Table 12.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIHAL SPECIES OF THE NORTHWEST CENTRAL COUNTIES, MISSOURI
(9 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER SPECIALIZED
NAMES OF HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTAT10N
-------
Eight plant species of concern may also be found in this
region. These species represent 4 plant families: the sedge
family (Cyperaceae), the rose family (Rosaceae), the grass
family (Gramineae), and the gentian family (Gentianaceae).
Eighty-eight percent of the threatened and endangered plants in
this area use palustrine habitat solely or partially.
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
The floodplains of Missouri's big rivers, the Mississippi
and Misscuri, and their tributaries contain valuable wetland
sources. However, they have been greatly altered due to
channelization, levee construction, land use changes, and
converting marginal lands. Pollution from pesticides, herbicides
and industrial practices likely has reduced the qual.'liy of many
areas. Poor land management practices may contribute to heavy
erosion in some areas. Because there are 39 counties which
border the 2 big rivers of the state, an analysis of the species
that may be found in the Dig river systems was not initiated.
The species of concern using these areas may be found nn a county
by county basis in Appendices C and D. It is important to note
that in the southeastern corner of the state known as the
Bootheel, the four counties bordering the Mississippi River have
over 75 percent agricultural land use and the southernmost two,
New Madrid and Pemiscot Counties, are subject to moderate to
severe erosion on at least 75 percent of their lands.
IOWA
Wetlands and Endangered Species Overview
According to the FWS from estimates of wetlands in the early
38
-------
and presettlement times of the 1780's compared to those the
1980's (Dahl, 1990), 89 percent of Iowa's wetlands have been
destroyed. The majority of the original wetlands were located in
an area in the north and center of Iowa, known as the Wisconsin
Glaciation area. This area comprises part of the rich waterfowl
habitat of the prairie pothole region.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources develops the
state's threatened and endangered species list. Iowa uses three
status categories: endangered, threatened, and special concern, a
category for species with the imminent potential to become
threatened or endangered. The wetland or waterway dependent
species in all three categories were included in the database.
One hundred two animal species are listed in Iowa. Of
these, 59 of them, or 58 percent, are wetland or waterway
dependent during some part of their lifecycle. A wide variety of
species are listed, including 39 invertebrates, (18 bivalve
mollusks, 9 snails, and 12 butterflies), 19 amphibians and
reptiles, 18 fish, 16 birds, and 10 mammals. Of the invertebrate
class, 17, 01- ninety-four percent of the bivalve mollucks and 25
percent of the butterflies are wetland dependent. Sixteen
species, or 88 percent of the fish, 53 percent of the amphibians
and reptiles (10 species), and 56 percent of the birds (9
species) rely on wetlands and waterways. Two of the 10 mammals,
the Indiana bat and river otter, rely on wetland habitat.
One hundred sixteen endangered or threatened plant species
listed in Iowa were determined to use wetland or waterway
habitat. A number of these species are listed by the FWS as using
wetland habitat, but Iowa's Department of Natural Resources does
39
-------
not report any wetland reliant populations of these plants to be
currently known in Iowa. The one hundred sixteen species are
included in this report, and their use of upland habitat is noted
in the descriptive information in Appendix A.
The dat^~ase information on the wetland and waterway
dependent plant and animal species in Iowa was compiled from
various sources, including experts in the Iowa Department of
Natural Resources, such as the Natural Heritage Program
staff; experts in the FWS , Rock Island Field Office, and
numerous reference books.
Wisconsin Glaciation Wetland Complex
An extensive area in the north central portion of Iowa is
covered by the Wisconsin Glaciatio^ ••etland complex. An original
estimate of 7.6 million acres was reduced to 6 million by the
early 1800's. By 1906, an estimated 930,000 acres remained as a
viable wildlife resource. This acreage was subsequently reduced
by over 60 percent to 368,000 acres by 1922. Only about 50,000
acres of wetland were believed to remain in a pristin-~ c:-':.?te in
1938, and this was reduced by over 47 percent, to 26,470 acres in
1980. Conversion of wetlands to agricultural use through
artificial drainage has been and continues to be an extremely
serious threat throughout the nation. Agricultural conversion's
impact on wetland acreage is especially apparent in Iowa. The
species of concern that may be found in this area are discussed
in the Prairie Pothole Section.
Cedar and Iowa-cedar River Confluence
! i
The Cedar River and the Iowa-Cedar River confluence provide
water to a significant riverine wetland system in east-central
40
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Iowa. This system covers six counties, from the upper reaches of
the Cedar River in Blackhawk County, through Benton, Linn, Cedar,
and Muscatine Counties, to the Iowa-Cedar river confluence in
Louisa County. The ecological productivity of this area is very
high, though it has a limited productivity for w^cerfow" other
than wood ducks. These wetlands are noted to have a significant
influence on water quality by serving as a buffer between the
agricultural lands and the rivers, as well as by trapping
sediments and nutrients. Irrigation, ground water recharge,
stream recharge, and some flood control benefits are also
produced by these v/etlands and waterways.
Seventy-five percent or more of Cedar, Black Hawk, and
Benton Counties are used for agriculture. The major threats to
the remaining wetlands in this area appear to be from
agricultural filling and draining, and the withdrawal of ground
water for irrigation, as well a^ for municipal and industrial
use.
Twenty-seven Iowa listed endangered, threatened, or special
concern animal species that may be found in this six county area
are wetland or waterway dependent (Table 13).
41
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Table 13.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF CEDAR
RIVER DRAINAGE, IOWA - CEDAR RIVER CONFLUENCE
AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES, IOWA
(27 species)
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Indiana Bat X
Bald Eagle X
Red-Shouldered Hawk
King Rail X
Lake Sturgeon X
Pirate Perch
Blacknose Shiner X
Weed Shiner X
Grass Pickerel
Bluntnose Darter
Chestnut Lamprey X
Black Redhorse X
Orangethroat Darter X
American Brook Lamprey
Least Darter
Stinkpot Turtle X
Diamondback Water
Snake X
Yellow Mud Turtle X
Massasauga X
Plainbelly or Blotched
Water Snake X
Wood Turtle
Central Newt X
Blue-Spotted Salamander X
Baltimore Butterfly X
Mulberry Wing
Butterfly X
Swamp Metalmark
Butterfly X
Higgins Eye Mussel X
PFO
L10W,PFO,R20W
PFO
PEM,R2£M,L2UB,PAB,STG
R2'JB,R20W,L1UB,RIF
R3UB,L1AB,R3AB,CLR,SFL,
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,COL
R3UB,R2UB,MFL
R3AB .:AB,R3UB,CLR,
R3UB,SFL,STG
R2UB,R3UB,L1UB,CLR
R3UB,R3RB,CLR
R3UB,CLR,SFL
R2UB,R3U8,CLR
R2UB,R3UB,CLR
R2EM,PSS,R2U8,L1UB,STG,SFL
R2UB,R2US,L2EM,L1AB,
STG.SFL
PAB,R2UB,L2UP,L2Eri,R?EM,STG,SFL
PEM,PAB -?EM,R2AB,STG,WPR
R2UB,R2US,L2US,PFO
STG.SFL
PFO,R2UB,L1U8,L2EM
PUB,PEM,PFO,L1AB,L2EM,STG
PEM,PFO,L1AB,L2EM,STG
PEM,PSS,WRP
PEM,R2EM,PSS,STG,rMP
PAB,PEM,PSS,R2EM,
L2EM
R2UB.STG
42
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Of the 27 animal species, 11 are fish, and 1 a mussel. All
12 are obligate users of wetlands and waterways. Sixteen of the
27 are non-obligate aquatic species, of which 15 use palustrine
wetland in whole, or in association with lacustrine and riverine
habitat.
Ten of the 11 fish use upper perennial riverine habitat, the
exception being the lake sturgeon, which uses the lower reaches
of larger waterbodies. Eight fish, 72 percent, require clear
water habitat. The threatened blacknose shiner requires clear and
cold water, which is found only on 296 acres of Iowa land (July,
989). Eleven species of concern that may be found in this area
need standing or temporary, seasonal water habitats, and an
additional 2 require slow flowing water. Two, the grass pickerel
and the orangethroat darter, use slow flowing and clear water
habitat. These habitats requiring clear water may be vulnerable
to the pollutants, such as pesticide, herbicide, and sediment
that runoff agricultural land.
Twenty-six percent of the species of concern in the Cedar
River and Iowa-Cedar confluence counties likely decline' in part
due to pesticides. The species that use wetlands and waterways
in this region include all 3 of the wetland using butterflies
(wetlands only), the bald eagle, blacknose shiner, Higgin's eye
mussel, and Indiana bat. All of these species, except the
Higgin's eye mussel and the Indiana bat, were probably addition-
ally affected by herbicide. The lake sturgeon was partially
reduced by overfishing.
Habitat destruction brought about or contributed to the
decline of 74 percent of the species that may use this area.
43
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Three animals, including the bluntnose darter and Higgins1 eye
mussel which use standing water, and the blacknose shiner which
use clear, cold water, were likely affected by water pollution,
including siltation.
Increased conversion of .he lands within these six counties
to agricultural use could increase the stress upon the species
that are vulnerable to adverse agricultural impacts.
Thirty-one threatened or endangered plant species may be
found in the wetlands and waterways of this area cf Iowa.
Threatened or endangered plant species from 23 families may be
found here. Forty-eight percent of the species of this area rely
solely on palustrine habitat. An additional 14 species use
palustrine habitat in combination with other habitat types. Six
species use riverine habitat and 8 make use of lacustrine areas,
Brasenia Schreberi Geml. (water shield), Heteranthera limosa
(Sw.) Willd. (mud-plantain), and Potamogeton vaseyi Robbins
(Vasey's pondweed), using lacustrine wetlands alone, the others
using other habitat types in conjunction with lacustrine. Fifty-
two percent ->f the plant species use sand as their preferred
substrate.
Escarpment Area and Wapsipinicon River
The Escarpment Area and the Wapsipinicon River wetlands are
located in northeast Iowa and provide valuable wetland habitat.
This is an area of streams, rivers, and collapsed sinkholes that
crosses significant portions of seven counties, from the upper
portions of the Wapsipinicon Riv^r in Bremmer County, through
Buchanan, Linn, Jones, and 'Cedar, to this mouth of the
Wapsipinicon in Clinton and Scott Counties. This area contains
44
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5,000 acres of water surface; and is noted for it's cold water
streams and trout productivity which is unique in Iowa.
Significant fish and wildlife habitat is provided in this
area and water quality appears to be excellent. Thesa wetlands
provide an excellent buffer between the agricultural land's and
streams. This area is vulnerable to conversion of land for
agriculture, as well as to detrimental effects from increased
municipal and industrial water use in the basin.
The Escarpment and Wapsipinicon River area may have 21
endangered, threatened, or special concern animal species in its
wetland habitats (Table 14) .
Table K.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE ESCARPMENT AND
UAPSIPINSICON RIVER WETLANDS AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES, IOWA
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES S1LTATION FISHING REQUIRED
River Otter X
Bald Eagle X
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Double Crested X
Cormorant
Black Redhorse X
Blacknose Shiner X
Weed Shiner X
Grass Pickerel
Orangethroat Darter X
American Brook
Lamprey X
Least Darter
Freckled Madtom X
Lake Sturgeon X
Massasauga X
Blue-Spotted X
Salamander
Centra1 Newt X
Mudpuppy X
Mulberry Wing Butterfly X
Baltimore Butterfly X
Swamp Metalmark
Butterfly X
Higgins Eye Mussel I X
X R2US,R2UB,R2AB,R3L":,L1UB
L10W,PFO,R20W
PFO
L10W,L2EM,PFO
R3UB,R3RB,CLR!F
RJuB,R3AB,CLR,COL
R3UB,R2UB,MFL
R3AB,L2AB,R3UB,CLR,SFL
R3UB,CLR,SFL
R2UB,R3UB,CLR
R2UB,R3UB,CLR
R2UB,R3UB,MFL,R3RB,RIF
R2UB,R20W,L1UB,R2RB,R1F
PEM,PAB,R2EM,R2AB,STG,WPR
PEM,FFO,L1AB,L2EM,STG
PUB,PEM,PFO,L1AB,L2EM,STG
R2UB,R3UB,L1AB,L2EM
PEM,R2EM,PSS,STG,TMP
PEM,PSS,WPR
PAE,PEM,PSS,R2EM,L2EM
R2UB,STG
45
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Seventeen of the threatened and endangered animal species
found in the Cedar River area are also found in the Escarpment
and Wapsipinicon River areas, and 4 other species, the mud-
puppy, freckled madtom, double-crested cormorant, and river
otter, use the Escarpment and Wapsipinicon River wetlands and
waterways.
Among the threatened and endangered animal sper.ies that use
Escarpment and Wapsipinicon River areas are 11 that are
exclusively aquatic. Five of the obligately aquatic species rely
on standing water or temporary, seasonal wetland habitats, and an
additional two use slow flowing water. Sixty-six percent of the
fish in this region require clear water habitat, indicating that
they probably do not tolerate pollution or siltation. The grass
pickerel requires water that is clear and slow flowing, as does
the orangethroat darter. Eight of the 9 fish species use upper
perennial riverine habitat at least in part, the exception being
the lake sturgeon, which inhabits larger water bodies.
The causes of decline in number for the endangered, threat-
ened, or special concern species that may be found in this area,
are diverse. Herbicide may have contributed to the d-"-.l_ne in 24
percent of the species, pesticide in 33 percent. The bald eagle,
blacknose shiner, and the three butterfly species may have been
reduced by both agricultural pollutants. The Higgin's eye mussel
and double crested cormorant may have been and may be affected by
pesticides. Habitat destruction is listed as a reason for
decline for 81 percent of the species. Overutilization from
fishing, and hunting or trapping have historically reduced the
lake sturgeon and river otter. The lands in three of the
46
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counties that comprise the Escarpment and Wapsipinicon River
area, are in agricultural use on 75 percent or more of their
acreage. Agricultural impacts on endangered species in this
seven county area may be strong and remain a continued threat.
This region of Iowa may hold populations of thirty-three
threatened or endangered plant species from 22 families. Twenty
of these plant species solely use palustrine habitat, and all but
I use palustrine in association with other habitat types. Nine
use lacustrine in combination with other habitat types and six
use riverine habitat in combination with palustrine or lacustrine
habitats. Decodon verticillatus (L.) Ell. uses lacustrine
habitat exclusively. Twenty-one of the 33 plants, or 63 percent
of the plants of concern use sand substrate and 7 plants use or
may use organic muck substrate. With the heavy agricultural use
in these counties, soil erosion and sedimentation may have a
negative impact on wetland cand environments, covering sand with
silt and sediment.
Southern River Basin
The Iowa Southern River Basin Wetland^ area includes nine
counties which are drained by the Chariton, Grand, and Thompson
Rivers. This area covers all of Ringold, Decatur, Wayne, and
Union Counties, and portions of Taylor, Adams, Adair, Madison,
Clarke, Lucas, Monroe, and Appanoose Counties. Very few wetlands
exist in Southern Iowa, so the remaining wetland areas are
extremely valuable for aquatic life and waterfowl. These 3
rivers are among the few in the area that remain unchannelized
over significant portions, and therefore, the ecological
47
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productivity remains high. Water quality is fair, and the
wetlands are noted as serving a flood dampening, water retaining
role, and a buffer role for agricultural areas. The filling and
draining of the wetlands for agricultural use is likely the main
threat -o the -egion, although all encroachment is costly as the
drainage area of each river is small. Few species of concern are
found in this region. The four threatened and endangered animal
species listed in Table 15 may be found here.
Table 15.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES
OF THE SOUTHERN RIVER BASIN WETLANDS, IOUA
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON SPECIALIZED
NAMES OF HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES S1LTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Indiana Bat X X PFO
King Rail X PEM,R2EM,L2UB,PAB,STG
Massasauga X PEM,PAB,R2EM,R2AB,STG,WPR
Crawfish Frog X R3U8,R3US,L2US,TMP
All of these species have suffered from habitat destruction,
and one, the Indiana bat, is susceptible to threat from pesti-
cides. Only 2 plant species of concern may be fonnc1 here,
Myriophyllum pinnatum (Walt.) BSP and Eryttu jnium americanum
Ker.; the former using palustrine and lacustrine areas and the
latter, palustrine and riverine habitats.
Prairie Pothole Region
The extensive Prairie Pothole wetlands that once extended
over a great portion of north central Iowa, have been reduced to
fragments. These lands produced a wealth of waterfowl, but the
pressures of agricultural expansion have decimated wetland
I I'
48
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acreage. The water quality of the few remaining potholes is
good, and some control of erosion and sedimentation is gained by
the retention of surface waters. The Pittman - Robertson Act of
1937 helped restore some drained marshes, and other programs may
help restore some acreage to wetland (EPA, July 198.).
In the 28 county region that holds the remaining potholes,
there are 19 counties which may provide habitat for Iowa's state
listed animal species. The border counties of the Pothole region
are Osceola, O'Brien, Buena Vista, Sac, Carroll, Guthrie, Dallas,
Polk, Story, Hardin, Franklin, Cerro Gordo, and Worth. Thsse
counties and those enclosed within the border described above,
may contain some pothole wetland habitat. The 19 counties
possibly retaining animal species of concern consist primarily of
the northern and the more central counties, though Sac County may
harbor one species and Buena Vista two. Twenty-five of the
counties in the Prairie Pothole r?gion are in heavy agricultural
agriculture. Seventeen of the 19 counties that may provide
habitat for threatened or endangered species are in this heavy
agricultural use category. Compounding the wetland loss due to
agricultural conversion, 15 of the counties are subject to
moderate to severe erosion over greater than 75 percent of their
land area.
These Prairie pothole counties may contain 19 animal species
of concern, which include: 1 mammal, the river otter; an
amphibian, the mudpuppy; 3 invertebrates, including 2 butterflies
and a mussel; 6 birds; and 8 fish (Table 16).
49
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COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
Table 16.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES
OF THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION COUNTIES. IOWA (19 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
River Otter X
Bald Eagle X
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Forster's Tern X
Double-Crested Cormorant X
King Rail X
Piping Plover X
Pugnose Shiner
Blacknose Shiner X
Weed Shiner X
Grass Pickerel
Chestnut Lamprey X
American Brook Lamprey
Orangethroat Darter X
Pearl Dace X
Mudpuppy X
Mulberry Wing Butterfly X
Baltimore Butterfly X
Fluted Shell Mussel
R2US,R2.J,R2AB,R3UB,L1UB
L10W, PFO, R20W
PFO
R2US,L2US,PU8,PEM
L10W, L?EM, PFO
PEM,R2Eli,L2UB,PAB, STG
R2US, L2US, PUB
L2AB,R3-B
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,COL
R3UB, R2UB, MFL
R3AB,L2AB,R3UB,CLR, SFL
R2UB,R3JB,L1UB,CLR
R2UB, R3UB, CLR
R3US, CLR, SFL
R3UB, CLR
R2UB,R3'JB,L1AB1L2EM
PEM,R2EM,PSS,STG,TMP
PEM,P:;,WPR
R2UB,R3UB
A large percentage of the animal species, approximately 42
percent, likely have been subject to decline from pesticides.
These include the pearl dace, blacknose shiner, 2 butterflies,
the bald eagle, piping plover, double-crested cormorant, and
Forster's tern. Sixty-three percent of the species that may have
been affected by pesticides may have been specifically affected
by herbicides. Habitat destruction has reduced 74 percent of the
species. Overutilization has historically reduced 1 species, the
river otter. Water pollution, including siltation, probably has
affected the pearl dace and the blacknose shiner.
The pearl dace and the blacknose shiner, which are also
sensitive to siltation, require c^ar water habitat as do 4 other
fish, comprising 75 percent of the endangered or threatened fish
50
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in the Pothole area. The 2 butterflies of the region require
standing water or wet prairie habitat. These 2 species likely
have been harmed by pesticides and herbicides, as well as habitat
destruction. Agricultural use and the erodability o± this
region, and the presence of numerous species especially sensitive
to the Oadverse effects associated with these land use
characteristics, imply that these species may experience
continued stress.
The counties in the Prairie Pothole region of Iowa which
contain wetland or waterway dependent plant species are found in
the north and central segment of the pothole area. Sixteen of
the twenty-eight Prairie Pothole counties may provide habitat for
plant species of concern. Thirty-eight species may be found in
these counties, representing 21 plant families. Fifty-eight
percent of the species using palustrine habitat use
palustrine habitat exclusively. Eleven species use lacustrine
habitat, and 5 of these are solely lacustrine dependent. Fifty
percent of the plant species use organic muck substrate, and most
of these are users of palustrine habitat with emergent \ ^getation
community association. Organic muck substrate may tend to be
disrupted less by certain agricultural impacts, such as erosion,
than other substrates such as sand.
Allamakee and Clayton Counties
Allamakee and Clayton Counties comprise a species rich area
located in the extreme northeast corner of Iowa, on the
Mississippi River. Allamakee County alone may harbor 12
threatened or endangered a.iimal species that are wetland or
waterway dependent (Table 17).
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Table 17.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF
ALLAriAKEE AND CLAYTON COUNTIES, IOWA (15 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
NAME OF HABITAT POLLUTION HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES 3ILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
River Otter X R2US,R2UB,R2AB,R3UB,L1UB
Bald Eagle XX X L10W,PFO,R20W
Red-Shoulder Hawk PFO
King Rail X PEM,R2EM,L2UB,PAB,STG
Lake Sturgc-on X XX R2UB,R20W,L1UB,R2RB,RIF
Pirate Perch R3'IB,L1A8,R3AB,CLR,SFL
Weed Shiner X R2UB,R3UB,MFL
Bluntnose Darter X R3UB,STG,SFL
Chestnut Lamprey X R2UB,R3UB,L1UB,CLR
Least Darter R2UB,R3UB,CLR
American Brook Lamprey R2UB,R3UB,CLR
Stinkpot Turtle X R2EM,PSS,R2UB,L1UB,STG,SFL
Mudpuppy X R2UB,R3UB,L1AB,L2EM,
Baltimore Butterfly XXX PEM,PSS,WPR
Higgins Eye Mussel XX X R2UB.STG
Seventy-five percent of the s ies of concern in this area
have been reduced by habitat destruction. The bald eagle and
Higgins-eye mussel likely have been adversely impacted by
pesticides and herbicides. Seventy-three percent of the species
use lower perennial riverine habitat, such as that provided by a
large river such as the Mississippi.
In Aliamakes and Clayton Counties 21 threatened or
endangered plant species may be found, representing 16 families.
All of the species except Brasenia Schreberi Geml. (water
shield) use palustrine habitat, and a majority of the species, 61
percent, use solely palustrine habitat. Five species combine
palustrine use with riverine habitat, and 4 combine lacustrine
and palustrine areas.
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Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
In Iowa, as in Missouri, tha big river systems of the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were not summarized because of
the diverse, far reaching geographic area covered by the numerous
counties the rivers pass through, and the small portion ~f each
county that may have wetland habitat. It is useful to note that
the river channels, oxbow lakes, and remaining sloughs and
marshes are very valuable habitat for waterfowl during the spring
and fall migrations. The original character of the rivers has
almost been destroyed, and the remaining wetlands are extrer.ely
valuable wildlife resources. These remaining wetlands are most
likely threatened by development of oxbow lakes for recreational
and agricultural use, lowering of the ground water table from
water use by urban areas and irrigation, and other negative
impacts wrought by agricultural and other development.
KANSAS
Wetlands and Endangered Species Overview
Kansas hrs wetlands of two major types, inland fresh water
and inland saline water areas. Dahl (1990) estimated that about
435,000 acres of wetlands, or 50 percent of the original acreage
remains. Approximately 204,000 acres of salt marsh existed in
Kansas, according to a 1955 inventory (EPA Profile of
Environmental Quality, Kansas, September 1980). Estimates placed
the number of acres of salt marsh remaining in 1978 at 122,400,
or 60 percent of the 1955 estimate. Kansas wetlands are few, and
accordingly, very valuable for wildlife, especially migratory
waterfowl. Kansas is situated on the Central Flyway with the
53
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Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area being an essential stop for many
birds using this migratory route. More than half of all of the
shorebirds that use this flyway during the spring migration pass
through Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area (Garten, 1987). The
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, which has freshwater ^nd saline
wetlands, is a federally managed area, vital for migratory birds.
Agricultural practices, dams, and channelization projects
are potentially the major threats to Kansas wetlands. Draining,
filling, sedimentation, chemical and pesticide runoff, and
depletion of ground water supplies due to agriculture's heavy
irrigation dependence, likely threaten the remaining wetlands.
Kansas wetlands are very vulnerable due to lack of legal
protection. Weak regulatory programs and a lack of provisions
against stream channelization, diversion,' and dam construction,
as well as lack of low-flow protection for small channels and
streams, continue to be problems within the state. It is
generally recognized that many practices in upstream river
reaches within Kansas, such as the construction of impoundments,
and increased demand for water in existing impoundments and from
ground water, deplete the available water in rivers and streams.
Many vital habitats like the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area in
western Kansas have been affected by the lack of water as a
result of one or more of these practices.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks administers the
state's threatened and endangered species listing program. There
are 46 species listed by the state and 36 of them are wetland or
waterway dependent for some portion or all of their lifecycle.
54
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wetlands. Among these are three groups in which all the members
use wetlands: (1) invertebrates, including the flat floater
mussel, Scott riffle beetle, and the slender walker (an
amphibious snail); (2) 11 fish; and (3) 11 amphibians. Members
of three other groups use wetlands in part: 2 of 9 reptiles (the
Eastern hognose and checkered garter snakes); 1 of 3 mammals (the
gray bat); and 8 of 9 state listed birds. Kansas assigns its
species of concern to 1 of 2 categories, threatened, or
endangered. The categories have the same meaning as the federal
categories. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is very
active in assigning critical habitat areas to its threatened and
endangered animal species. Kansas currently does not provide
legal protection to plant species other than those found within
the state that are on the federal endangered species list.
However, the Kansas Natural Heritage Program tracks a number of
wetland or waterway dependent plant species that are listed as
rare.
The database information on the wetland and waterway
dependent species of plants and animals in Kansas was compiled
from various sources, including experts in the Department of
Wildlife and Parks, the Natural Heritage Program staff; the FWS
at the Manhattan, Kansas, Ecological Services Office; and
reference books. Printouts of the database information are
included in Appendix A through D.
Ninnescah River Basin
The Ninnescah River Basin Floodplain is a drainage area
including both the North and South Forks of the Ninnescah. It is
bordered on the east by the Arkansas River. Five counties are
55
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included in this area: Pratt, Reno, Kingman, Sedgwick, and
Sumner. These counties include state-designated critical habitat
areas for the snowy plover, speckled chub, Arkansas river shiner,
whooping crane, interior least tern, Arkansas darter, and white-
faced i! is.
Wetlands in this Basin have high natural productivity.
Wetlands of the area also act as filters for alluvial runoff,
improve ground water quality, detain runoff water for flood
control, prevent stream bank erosion, provide beautiful vistas
and can be managed for hunting.
The potential threats to this area appear to be many.
Direct threats include drainage for agriculture, pollution by
agricultural runoff, and sedimentation. An indirect threat to
wetlands in this five-county region is the declining ground water
level due to irrigation. Unauthorized stream channel alterations
and drainage of wetlands by private land owners contribute to
cumulative impacts that are difficult to control.
Ten Kansas threatened or endangered species may use the
wetlands or waterways in the Ninnescah River Basin fiuodplain
Table 18.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE NINNESCAH
RIVER BASIN FLOODPLAIN AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES, KANSAS (10 species)
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLIrJE
WATER OVER
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle
Whooping Crane
Eskimo Curlew
Snowy Plover
Interior Least Tern
White Faced Ibis
Speckled Chub
Arkansas River Shiner
Arkansas Darter
Eastern Hognose Snake
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
L10W,PFO,R20W
X R2UB,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
X PUB,PEM,PUS
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2EM,PEM,L2UB,PAB,STG
R3UB.SMT
R2UB,.LD
R3UB, R3AB,CLR,SFL
PEM.PSS
56
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Each of the 3 fish species requires a particular habitat
type: the Arkansas darter needs clear, slow flowing water; the
speckled chub can tolerate some turbidity; and the Arkansas river
shiner requires a seasonal spring flood flow in order to spawn
successfully. The southernmost county downstream ale .g the
Ninnescah River, Sumner County, suffers from moderate to severe
erosion on 75 percent of its lands, and may harbor the Arkansas
darter which requires clear water habitat.
Sixty-six percent of the bird species of concern, including
the whooping crane, bald eagle, interior least tern, and Eskimo
curlew, in this area likely have suffered from the deleterious
effects of pesticides, Additionally, these birds may have
experienced stress from other sources contributing to their
decline: herbicides for the bald eagle, water pollution for the
whooping crane, and overutilization from hunting for the crane
and the Eskimo curlew.
Ninety percent of the species have experienced habitat
destruction. Sand substrate is used by 7 of the 10 threatened or
endangered animal species in this area, and is essential to 2 of
the fish species. The snowy plover and interior least tern also
require sand habitat in the form of dry sand bars with sparse
vegetation in braided rivers. This habitat type is very rare in
Kansas, primarily due to human activities within these waterways.
Three rare plant species may be found in Reno County within
the Ninnescah River drainage area. These are Scirpus Hallii Gray
(Hall's bulrush), Hypericum majus (Gray) Britt. (greater St.
John1s-wort), and Pilularia americana A. Braun (American pill-
i
wort) . /\11 of these plants can use palustrine habitat with
57
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emergent vegetation. S. Hallii Gray may also be found in lakes
and rivers, and P. americana A. Braun may also inhabit lakes.
Neosho River Basin
The Neosho River basin floodplain is also an area with
wetland resources, including the Neosho Waterfowl Management Area
and wetlands that may be found in Labette, Neosho, Woodson,
Allen, and Coffey Counties. The Neosho River and it's
tributaries flow through these counties and the Verdigris River
borders them to the west. Cherokee County in the southeast
corner of the state, which borders the Neosho River, will be
considered separately because of its unique habitat properties.
This five county area provides state designated critical habitat
area for the Neosho madtom.
There are 10 threatened or endangered animal species on the
Kansas list that may be found in the Neosho Basin. Five birds
may be found here, as well as, 2 fish, the northern crawfish
frog, and the eastern hognose snake (Table 19).
Table 19.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE NEOSHO RIVCR BASIN
AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES, KANSAS (10 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
NAMES OF HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle X
Eskimo Curlew X
Snowy Plover X
Piping Plover X
Interior Least Tern X
White Faced Ibis X
Neosho Madtom X
Redspot Chub X
Eastern Hognose Snake
Northern Crawfish
Crawfish Frog X
L10W,PFO,R20'J
PUB,PEM,PUS
R2US,PUB,L2US
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2EM,PEM,L2UB,PAB,STG
R3UB,R2UB,CLR,RIF
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,MFL
PEM,PSS
L2AB,R2US,R4AB,PEM,
TMP.WPR
58
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Both fish, the Neosho madtom and the redspot chub, require
clear water habitat, the first using riffles, and the second
mixed or medium flows. The northern crawfish frog uses temporary
seasonal water for breeding. The remaining species except for
the piping plover and the least tern use a variety of habitat.
The piping plover and interior least tern require very specific
habitat for nesting, namely, sand bars of braided rivers with
little or no vegetation.
Reductions in the populations of 4 of the bird species
likely are partially the result of pesticide use. The bald eagle
population has been reduced by pesticides and the curlew has
suffered from overutilization due to hunting.
Ninety percent of the species have experienced decline from
habitat destruction. Labette, the southernmost county in the
drainage area, may experience moderate to severe erosion on 75
percent or more of its land. Labette County also may have
populations of the Neosho madtom and the redspot chub which
require clear water and may be harmed by pollution or siltation.
Four rare plants may be found in the Neosho Ri"er area
counties: Carex trianqularis Boeckl. and Rhynchospora Harveyi W.
Boott. of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), as well as Saqittaria
ambigua J.G. Sm. and Urtica chamaedryoides Pursh (weak nettle).
All 4 of the species use palustrine habitat, 2 using palustrine
habitat only. The others use lacustrine and riverine habitat in
combination with palustrine.
Cherokee County
Cherokee County, in the extreme southeast ~orner of Kansas,
has a habitat unique to the state, the Ozark Plateau region.
Cherokee County alone may harbor 11 threatened or endangered
59
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animal species using wetlands or waterways at some time in their
lifecycle. This group (Table 20) consists of 3 fish, 1 reptile,
and 7 amphibians. Five of the amphibian species found here are
endemic populations, existing only in the Ozark Plateau habitat
fragment in Cherokee County Four of these 5 amphibians are
salamanders that use cave habitat wholly or partially, and the
other is the eastern narrowmouth toad which requires clear,
temporary, seasonal water for breeding. Three of the cave using
salamanders prefer cold water habitat, and 3 of the 7 amphibians
use temporary seasonal water for breeding. Five of the species
of concern, 3 fish and 2 salamanders, use gravel-cobble or
rubble-boulder sized substrate. Habitat destruction is the
contributing factor to 91 percent of these species' declines to
threatened or endangered status.
Cherokee County may provide habitat for 7 rare wetland or
waterway dependent plant species, 4 of them in the sedge family
(Cyperaceae). All of the species may be located in palustrine
habitat, 3 of them use only palustrine habitat. The other 4
species are ..js^ciated with a combination of palustrine and other
habitat types.
Cherokee Lowlands
The remainder of Cherokee County contains the Cherokee
Lowlands habitat type, as does parts of Labette, Crawford, and
Bourbon Counties. Exclusive of the 5 Cherokee County endemic
animal species, there are 8 other species of concern that may be
found throughout the Cherokee Lowland area. Table 20
indicates the 5 endemic specie!s which may be ''found solely in
60
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Cherokee County, and the remaining 8 species which may be found
throughout the Cherokee Lowland Counties. Three of these species
require specialized habitat: the Neosho madtom, which requires
clear water and riffles; the northern crawfish frog, which uses
temporary, seasonal and wet prairie habitat; and the central
newt, which prefers standing water. Habitat destruction is
likely the major factor contributing to the decline of 91 percent
of these species.
Two rare plant species in addition to the 7 listed in
Cherokee County may be found in the Cherokee Lowlands area.
These are Sagittaria ambiqua J.G. Sm. (Kansas arrowhead) and
Platanthera praeclara Sheviak & Bowles (western prairie fringed
orchid), the former using a varied habitat assemblage, and the
latter using palustrine habitat with emergent or scrub-shrub
vegetation. Platanthera praeclara Sheviak & Bowles is known to
have been reduced in number due to habitat destruction.
Table 20.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF CHEROKEE COUNTY
AND CHEROKEE LOWLANDS IN KANSAS (13 species)
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES [ECLINE
WATER SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Neosho Madton X
Redspot Chub X
Arkansas Darter X
Eastern Hognose Snake
Cave Salamander *** X
Graybelly Salamander *** X
Grotto Salamander *** X
Dark^Sided Salamander *** X
Eastern Narrowmouth Toad *** X
Green Frog X
Northern Spring Peeper X
Northern Crawfish Frog ** X ,
Central Newt *• X
** These species not found in Cherokee County itself
*** These species endemic to Cherokee County Ozark Plateau
R3UB,R2UB,CLR,RIF
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,MFL
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,SFL
PEM.PSS
R3UB,PFO,PUB,COL,CAV
R3UB,COL,CAV
R3UB,COL,CAV
PFO,PUB,R3UB,L2AB,L2EM,TMP,CAV
L2AB,L2EM,R4US,R4AB,CLR,TMP
R3UB,L1AB,L2EM,STG,SF'
PFO,PUB,L2AB,L2EM.R4AB,STG,TMP
L2AB,R2US,R4AB,PEM,TMP,WPR
PUB,PEM,PFO,L1AB,L2EM,STG
-------
Marais des Cygnes River Basin
The Marais des Cygnes River Basin area in Linn, Miami, and
Franklin Counties, contains the Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area
of approximately 2,500 acres, and other wetland resources. The
area has high natural productivity, and water qualit^ is good.
Wetlands, such as at the Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area and the
Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge, provide the region
with flood dampening benefits and catch and detain silt. Over
150,000 ducks migrate through the area yearly, and much of the
privately-owned wetlands in the area are managed for waterfowl
hunting. The bald eagle, flat floater mussel, and horr.yhead chub
have critical habitat designated in portions of these counties.
The Marais des Cygnes River has legally protected minimum
stream flow, although the small tributaries feeding these wet-
lands do not. Threats to the wetland viability are diversion of
upstream water, pollution from agricultural runoff, small private
impoundments reducing available water, and coal mining activity.
A total of nine state listed animal species of concern may be
found in this area (Table 21).
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
Table 21.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE MARAIS des CYGNES
RIVER BASIN AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES, KANSAS (9 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle X
White Faced Ibis X
Hornyhead Chub X
Eastern Hognose Snake
Central Newt X
Northern Spring Peeper X
Green Frog X
Northern Crawi.sh Frog X
Flat Floater Mussel
L10W,PFO,R20W
R2EM,PEM,L2UB,PAB,STG
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,MFL
PEM.PSS
PUB,PEM,PFO,L1AB,L2EM,STG
PFO,PUB,L2AB,L2EM,R4AB,STG,TMP
R3UB,L1AB,L2EM,STG,SFL
L2AB,R2US,R4AB,PEM,TMP,WPR
R2UB,L1UB,SFL
62
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All 4 amphibians require standing, temporary seasonal water,
or wet prairie habitat. The factors that may have contributed to
the decline of the species of concern in this area include:
habitat destruction for 78 percent of the species of the area;
pesticides and herbicides for the bald eagle; and water
pollution, including siltation, for the hornyhead chub which
requires clear, mixed or medium flowing water. The species that
require standing or clear water aquatic environments may be
especially susceptible to increased adverse impacts on the area
wetlands and. waterways. No rare plant species are listed from
this region.
Douglas, Atchison, Republic, Cloud, and Lincoln Counties,
Kansas
Douglas County contains the BaKer Wetland, an approximately
600-acre parcel south of Lawrence, Kansas. Douglas County may
provide wetland habitat for 8 animal species of concern (Table
22 ) .
Table 22.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF DOUGLAS COUNTY,
KANSAS. CONTAINING BAKER WETLAND (8 species)
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER SPECIAi:ZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle X
Eskimo Curlew X
White Faced Ibis X
Pallid Sturgeon X
Hornyhead Chub X
Flathead Chub X
Eastern Hognose Snake
Northern Crawfish Frog X
L10W,PFO,R20W
PUB,PEM,PUS
R2EM,PEM,L2UB,°AB,STG
R2UB,R20W,RFL,TUR
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,MFL
R3US,R2UB,SMT,FLD
PEM.PSS
L2AB,R2US,R4AB,PEM,TMP,WPR
63
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Eighty-seven percent of the animal species have been
adversely affected by habitat destruction. Pesticides and herbi-
cides may have contributed to the bald eagle's decline, and
pesticides are likely to have affected the Eskimo curlew's and
pallid sturgo?Vs decline. The sturgeon also has likely been
affected by decline due to water pollution and overutilization,
the hornyhead chub by water pollution, and the Eskimo curlew by
overutilization. No rare plant species are listed for this area.
Atchison County, in northeast Kansas along the Missouri
River, contains the 25 acre Muscotah Marsh. Three animal species
of concern may use this area's wetland and waterway habitats
(Table 23).
Table 23.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL . .cu.ES OF ATCHISON COUNTY,
KANSAS, CONTAINING MUSCOTAH MARSH (3 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER-
NAMES OF HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SIL1ATION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle X X .X L1CW,PFO,R20W
Chestnut Lamprey X R2UB,R3UB,L1UB,CLR
Amphibious SnaiI
The bald eagle and chestnut lamprey may be found in the Big
River or tributaries in the county. The threatened amphibious
snail, the slender walker, has critical habitat designated in
Muscotah Marsh. Three rare plant species may be found in this
county: Carex aguatilis Wahlenb. var. altior (Rudb.) Fern.
(water sedge), Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. (floating foxtail
grass), and Platanthera praeclara Sheviak & Bowles (western
prairie fringed orchid). P. praeclara is known.to inhabit palus-
trine habitat with emergent or scrub-shrub vegetation and to have
64
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been adversely affected by habitat destruction. Muscotah Marsh
is an artesian marsh, or fen, which is rare in Kansas. Part of
the area is subject to livestock grazing, and could suffer from
overgrazing. Heavy use of ground water could have an impact on
ground water flow to the marsh.
Located in north-central Kansas, Republic County has wetland
resources that include the 900 acre Talmo Marsh, which has been
primarily drained but could be restored, and the Republican
River, which drains the county. The 1,300 acre Jamestown
Wildlife Area is located in both Republican and Cloud County.
Four threatened or endangered a.iimal species can be found here,
all of them birds, including the bald eagle, whooping crane,
white faced ibis, and Interior least tern, which may also be
found in Cloud County (Table 24).
Table 24.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES Of REPUBLIC
AND CLOUD COUNTIES, KANSAS, CONTAINING TALMO HARSH (4 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
NAMES Of HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUC1 io,, PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SlLfATION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle XX X L10I,,PFO,R20U
Whooping Crane XX XX R2U8,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
Interior Least Tern X X R2US,L2US,PUB
White Faced Ibis X R2EM,PEM,L2UB,PAB,STG
One rare wetland-dependent plant may be found in Republic
and Cloud Counties, Spiranthes lucida (H.H. Eaton) Ames (yellow
lipped or shining ladies' tresser) which uses palustrine habitat
with emergent or scrub-shrub vegetation. The Muscotah marsh has
high value habitat for migratory birds and fair water qua^ty.
It is threatened by water depletion due to drainage for farmland,
surface wuter use for irrigation, and channel alterations in
65
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drainages that feed the marsh. The bird populations that nay be
found here likely have been reduced due to combinations of agri-
cultural stresses, overutilization, and habitat destruction.
Lincoln County is a valuable area for waterfowl and shore-
birds during migration. It is one of the few inland sa..t marshes
and can have approximately 1,000 to 1,300 acres of inland salt
marsh, depending on water availability, The two species in Table
25 may be found in Lincoln County.
Table 25.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF LINCOLN COUNTY,
KANSAS, CONTAINING SALT CREEK MARSH (2 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASON FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER- SPECIAL IZFD
NAMES OF HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Whooping Crane XX XX R2UB,L2UB,PU_- ,L2AS,PEM
Pallid Sturgeon X XX R2UB,R20W,RFL,TUR
Both these species, the whooping crane and the pallid
sturgeon, probably have been reduced in number by a combination
of habitat destruction, wa^er pollution, and overutilization from
hunting and fishing. The whooping crane has been negatively
impacted by pesticides as well. One rare plant species ^hat uses
wetlands may be found here, namely Hypericum maius (Gray) Britt.,
which requires palustrine habitat with emergent vegetation. This
county is vulnerable to loss of water due to provisions for
impoundments to be placed on intermittent drainages, cumulative
impacts and reductions in flows to wetlands by private land
owners.
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Rice and Stafford Counties
Rice and Stafford Counties contain the Rattlesnake and Salt
Creek floodplains as well as -he Quivira National Wildlife
66
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Refuge, which contains nearly 5,000 acres of saline and fresh-
water wetlands. These wetlands are known to have high ecological
productivity, and waterfowl and shorebird production is signifi-
cant most years. The saline marshes in these counties comprise
80 percent of the saline marsh habitat in the state. S:It reten-
tion in the marshes reduces salt accumulation downstream in years
of normal rainfall, though salt concentrations may be high in
outflow streams during floods. Rapid growth in irrigated crop-
land, which lowers the water table; cumulative impacts from
upstream diversions, which reduce the amount of water the area
receives; and use of alluvial ground water by private landowners
appears to put continued pressure on the water resources supply-
ing vital salt and freshwater wetlands in these counties.
State designated areas within these two counties provide
critical habitat for four birds: the snowy plover, the whooping
crane, the interior least tern, and the white-faced ibis, as well
as one fish, the Arkansas darter. In addition to these species
with assigned critical habitat, three other birds, two fish, and
the eastern hognose snake may also be found here (Tcble 26).
Table 26.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF RICE AND STAFFORD
COUNTIES, KANSAS, CONTAINING QUIVIRA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (11 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
COMMON WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
NAMES OF HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
SPECIES DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTA1ION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle X X L10W,PFO,R20W
Peregrine Falcon X X R20U.L10W
Whooping Crane XX XX R2UB,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
Snowy Plover X R2US,L2US,PUB
Piping Plover X X R2US,L2US,PUB
Interior Least Tern X X R2US,L2US,PUB
White Faced Ibis X R2EM,PEM,L2UB,PAB,STG
Speckled Chub X R3UB.SMT
Arkansas River Shiner X R2UB,FLD
Arkansas Darter X R3UB,R3AB,CLR,SFL
Eastern Hognose Snake PEM,PSS
67
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Three of the birds nest on sandbars of braided rivers that
have little or no vegetation. The Arkansas darter needs clear
water, while the Arkansas river shiner requires seasonal flood
flow to spawn successfully. With continuing pressure for water
diversion for agriculture, pressure on species such as the
Arkansas river shiner could increase. Five birds, or 45 percent
of the species that may use wetlands or waterways in these
counties, are suspected to have decreased in number due to
pesticides and all but 1 of the species have been reduced by
habitat destruction.
Two rare plant species may be found in wetland or waterway
habitat in this area. These are Carex bauxbaumii Wahlenb. (brown
bog sedge) and Ruppia maritima L. (ditch-grass), the former
solely using palustrine habitat, and the latter using palustrine
habitat in association with lacustrine littoral habitat.
Cheyenne Bottoms and Barton County
Barton County, Kansas is home to Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife
Area, a haven of approximately 14,000 wetland acres within a
40,000 acre basin. The Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest fresh-
water wetland in the state, and is so vital for waterfowl and
shorebird production and migration that it has been designated by
the FWS as a Wetland of International Importance. Lands within
Barton County provide designated critical habitat for five
species: the whooping crane, the Interior least tern, the white-
faced ibis, the speckled chub, and Arkansas river shiner. The
species that may use this county are listed in Table 27.
68
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COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
Table 27.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF BARTON COUNTY,
KANSAS, CONTAINING CHEYENNE BOTTOMS WILDLIFE AREA (7 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Whooping Crane X
Piping Plover X
Interior Least Tern X
White Faced Ibis X
Arkansas River Shiner X
Speckled Chub X
Eastern Hognose Snake
R2UB,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
R2US,L2US,PUB
R?US,L2US.PUB
R2EM,PEM,L2UB,PAB,STG
R2UB,FLD
R3UB,SMT
PEM.PSS
This area has suffered from the cumulative impacts of weak
water appropriation regulation, increased irrigation, and expand-
ed upstream water diversion. Six of the 7 animal species of
concern that may be located in Bartc - bounty, including all of
the birds and the 2 fish, have suffered population reductions due
to habitat destruction. Three bird species were likely reduced
by pesticides, including the wnooping crane which also has
suffered from water pollution and overutilization. The Arkansas
river shiner, ~n endangered fish that may be found in Barton
County, needs a regular spring flood flow to successfully breed.
No threatened or endangered plants have been identified from
Barton County.
Playa Wetlands
Numerous counties in the southwest guadrant of Kansas may
contain examples of a rare and valuable wetland resource, the
Playa wetlands. Playas are usually small, intermittent, isolated
basins that hold water in the spring and may remain inundated
throughout wet years. The major concentration of Playas in
69
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Kansas is scattered throughout. 28 counties, that form a
rectangle, with Greely County as the northwest corner, Barton the
northeast corner, extending to Morton in the southwest, and
Barber County in the southeast corner.
The Playa area likely held around 84,000 acres 01 wetlands
in 1954. The current acreage is unknown. Most Playa water
bodies are less than ten acres in size. Many Playas -re culti-
vated once the spring water evaporates. When water remains in a
Playa long enough to postpone farming, the wetland is v«ry impor-
tant to migrating birds (EPA, July 1989) . Runoff and rainfall
are the water sources for these scattered, yet valuable, wet-
lands. Because of this water source, and the Playas1 intimate
association with agricultural areas, these wetlands are very
vulnerable to the effects of agriculture, such as pesticide
runoff and siltation. As most Playa wetlands occur on private
property, it is possible that unregulated filling and draining of
these wetlands could be a continued threat. Twelve of the coun-
ties containing Playa wetlands use 75 percent or more of their
lands for agriculture.
Sixteen Kansas state listed threatened or endangered species
(Table 28) may be found in this region using the Playa wetlands,
other permanent wetlands or waterways, and rivers within this
large section of counties. The Scott riffle beetle, endemic to
Scott County and requiring well oxygenated riffles, is 1 of the
listed species that may be found here, as are the western green
toad, checkered garter and eastern hognose snakes, 5 fish, and
7 birds.
70
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Table 28.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES
OF THE PLATA WETLANDS COUNTIES. KANSAS (16 species)
COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER
HABITAT POLLUTION/
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION
Bald Eagle X
Peregrine Falcon X
Whooping Crane X
Piping Plover X
Snowy Plover X
Interior Least Tern X
White Faced Ibis X
Flathead Chub X
Arkansas Darter X
Speckled Chub X
Arkansas River Shiner X
Sicklefin Chub X
Checkered Garter Snake X
Eastern Hognose Snake
Western Green Toad X
Scott Riffle Beetle X
OVER- SPECIALIZED
HUNTING/ HABITAT
FISHING REQUIRED
L10W,PFO,R20W
R20W,L10W
X R2UB,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2EM,PEM,L2UB,PAB,STG
R3UB,R2UB,SMT,FLD
R3UB,R3AB,CLR;SFL
R1UB.SMT
R2UB.FLD
R2UB,TUR,RFL
R3US,R3EM,L2US,L2EM,STG,SFL
PEM.PSS
PEM,PSS,WPR,TMP
R3'JB,R3RB,WCX,RIF
Two fish requiring seasonal flood flows for breeding are
found in these counties, as are 3 other animal species
requiring standing, temporary, or wet prairie type habitat: the
green toad, garter snake, and white-faced ibis.
Detrimental effects associated with agricultural use appear
to have irr.facted bird species that may use the Playa area. Five
birds likely have been affected by pesticide , including the bald
eagle and whooping crane. The bald eagle may have experienced
some decline due to herbicide impacts, and the whooping crane to
water pollution and overutilization. All but one of the species
of concern in this region have experienced all or part of their
population reductions from habitat destruction.
Four plant species of concern may be found in five of the
twenty-eight counties comprising the Playa area. These 4 species
are: Carex bauxbaumii Wahleno. (brown bog sedgex , Ruppia
71
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marjtima L. (ditch-grass), Sagittaria ambiqua J.G. Sm. (Kansas
arrowhead), and Elatine triandra Schk. (a waterwort). All four
of these plant species use palustrine habitat either alone or in
association with lacustrine and riverine areas.
NEBRASKA
Wetlands and Endangered Species Overview
Nebraska has two major wetland complexes, the Sandhills and
the Rainwater Basin. In 1972, 188,000 wetland acres remained in
the state, down 32 percent from a 1962 survey. Much of the wet-
land loss resulted from conversion of wetlands to agricultural
use and water level drawdown for irrigation use (EPA, September
1980). The Rainwater Basin is used by approximately 5 to 7
million ducks and geese during *-'••; annual migrations. The
Sandhills, which may contain over 98,000 wetland acres, support
half a million Sandhill cranes, and 5 to 7 million ducks and
geese each spring. The Sandhills wetlands complex overlays
portions of the Ogallala Aguifer Formation, having both under-
ground aguifers and surface waters in the wetlands complexes
(EPA, July 1989).
Agricultural activity and proposed upstream water projects
may continue to be threats to the viability of wetlands through-
out Nebraska. The increase in center-pivot irrigation and contam-
ination of ground water and surface water from agricultural
chemicals poses problems for both wildlife and wetlands. Center-
pivot irrigation is believed to be the greatest threat to the
Sandhills wetlands. Upstream vater projects in Nebraska,
Colorado, and Wyoming have the potential to destroy key wildlife
habitat of the Platte River and its associated wetlands (EPA,
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July 1989). An additional threat to the waterfowl using the
Nebraska wetland areas, and particularly the Rainwater Basins, is
avian cholera, a disease that strikes and spreads among stressed
and overcrowded birds. Avian cholera strikes when proper condi-
tions are created in dry years with late winter st)rms. --everal
large outbreaks may have killed up to 200,000 birds from 1975 to
1989 (EPA, July 1989).
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is the agency
responsible for Nebraska's threatened and endangered species
program. The Game and Parks Commission designates the animal
species to be placed on the threatened and endangered species
list, which currently includes 19 animal species, 8 of which are
also federally listed. Nebraska uses the terms threatened and
endangered, with the same definitions as those used for the
federal list. Fourteen of the state listed species, or 74
percent, are wetland or waterway dependent at all or some portion
of their lifecycle. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
provided a great deal of information for this report on the
causes contributing to the decline of the rare species on its
state list. Nebraska currently does not have its own list of
threatened or endangered or legally protected plants, though it
does protect the federally listed western prairie fringed orchid,
Platanthera praeclara Sheviak & Bowles, and the eastern prairie
fringed orchid, Platanthera leucnphea (Nuttall) Lindley.
One of 4 mammals on the Nebraska list is wetland
dependent, the river otter. The other animals include 6 fish and
7 of 8 listed birds that are wetland or waterway users. Six of
the 7 birds that use wetlands are also federally listed, the
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Arctic peregrine falcon being state listed only. The only
invertebrate that is state listed is riot a wetland user, and no
amphibians or reptiles are currently state listed.
The database information on the wetland and waterway
dependent species in Nebraska was compiled from various sources,
including experts in the Game and Parks Commission, such as the
Natural Heritage Program staff; experts in the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service; and various reference books. Printouts of the
database information are included in Appendices A through D.
Northeast Counties Drained by the Niobrara and Missouri
Rivers
Along the northern edge of eastern Nebraska are four
counties, Boyd, Knox, Cedar, and Dixon, which are drained by the
Missouri and the Niobrara Rivers. These counties contain areas of
wetland habitat and large river waterways, and may provide
habitat to 6 species of concern: 2 large fish, the pallid and
lake sturgeons; and 4 birds, the piping plover, the interior
least tern, the bald eagle and the whooping crane (Table
29) .
COMMON
NAME OF
SPECIES
Table 29.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE MISSOURI AND
NIOBRARA RIVERS DRAINAGE AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES, NEBRASKA (6 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION HUNTING HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SiLTATION FISHING REQUIRED
Bald Eagle X
Whooping Crane X
Piping Plover X
Interior Least Tern X
Lake Sturgeon X
Pallid Sturgeon X
L10W,PFO,R20W
R2UB,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2US,L2US,P'JB
R2UB,R20W,L1UB,R2RB,RIF
R2UB,R20W,RFL,TUR
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The decline in populations of these animal species through-
out this area may be strongly associated with agricultural prac-
tices, as all 4 bird species may have declined due to pesticide
contamination. All 6 species of concern have been affected by
habitat destruction. Both sturgeons appear to have bem reduced
in number by water pollution and overutilization, as was the
whooping crane. The bald eagle is well known to been adversely
affected by pesticide usage. All 6 species primarily make use of
lower perennial habitat, which is comprised of habitat in and
along the larger rivers. The piping plover and interior least
tern rely on sand bars free of heavy vegetation within braided
rivers for nesting.
Merrick, Nance, and Platte Counties
Three counties directly southeast of the Sandhills, Merrick,
Nance, and Platte, hold a wetland complex of 1,137 small isolated
wetlands, the majority of which are less than five acres in size.
The wetland acraage in tne complex within these counties may
total 3,337 acres (EPA, July 1989). In addition, these counties
are drained by the North Loup and Platte Rivers. The small
wetlands appear to have reasonably good water quality, provide
breeding ground for waterfowl, and provide habitat for migratory
birds. Loss of water due to a drop in the water table from
irrigation, runoff of agricultural chemicals, and piltation
threaten these wetlands. Platte County, for example has at least
seventy-five percent of its area in agricultural production.
The threatened or endangered animals that may use these
counties are listed in Table 30.
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COMMON
NAMES OF
SPECIES
Bald Eagle
Whooping Crane
Piping Plover
Interior Least Tern
Table 30.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES OF THE MERRICK, NANCE,
AND PLATTE COUNTIES UETLANDS COMPLEX; RAINWATER BASIN;
AND CHASE, PERKINS, AND LINCOLN COUNTIES, NEBRASKA (4 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
HABITAT POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISHING REQUIRED
L10W,PFO,R20U
R2UB,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2US,L2US,PUB
Three of these bird species use sand substrate. The piping
plover and interior least tern require it exclusively, breeding
on sandbars of braided rivers where vegetation is scarce. They
also share wetland habitat type preferences, using lower per-
ennial rivers, palustrine wetlands with unconsolidated bottoms,
and lake or pond littoral zones. ~ > causes of endangerment for
these birds are also shared. Pesticides and habitat destruction
have likely reduced all three species, with water pollution and
overutilization also adversely affecting the whooping crane.
The bald eagle also may be found in these counties.
Rainwater Basin Counties
The Rainwater Basin in south-central Nebraska is a wetland
complex of 20,942 acres that is spread among a 17-county area.
The majority of the land falls in York, Fillmore, Hamilton,
Clay, and Kearney Counties. Five to 7 million migrating
geese and ducks pass through the Rainwater Basin each year.
The wetlands also provide some flood control by retaining water
and some erosion control by collecting sediments; however, the
water quality of these wetlands appears to be deteriorating and
': I'
the water supply is decreasing due to drainage activities.
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The second largest avian cholera epidemic decimated 72,000 to
80,000 ducks and geese in 1980 (EPA, July 1989), a situation pro-
bably exacerbated by environmental stresses, crowding of water-
fowl onto decreasing acreage, and reduced water quality and
quantity. The major threat to wetlands in the Basin co^ld be
continued agricultural land conversion.
The threatened and endangered species assemblage that uses
the Rainwater Basin is the same as that listed in Table 30 above.
The habitats used and the threats mentioned for the bird species
in Merrick, Nance and Platte Counties are similar in the Rain-
water Basin area. Eleven of the 17 counties that make up some
portion of the Rainwater Basin are used for agricultural produc-
tion on 75 percent or more of their land, and 6 of these heavy
agricultural use counties also experience moderate to severe
erosion on 75 percent or more of their land. Hall County within
the Rainwater Basin, and Seward County, east of the Basin, may
have populations of the western prairie fringed orchid (Platan-
thera praeclara), which uses palustrine habitat with emergent or
scrub-shrub vegetation.
Chase, Perkins, and Lincoln Counties
Chase, Perkins, and Lincoln Counties contain a complex of
about 8,000 acres of wetlands. These counties are in the south-
west high plains,, and are drained by the Platte and Republican
Rivers and their tributaries. A major breeding ground for water-
fowl, this wetland complex appears to have good water quality,
but poor water supply, as only 7.5 percent of Chase County's
basins ere permanently flooded 'and all of Perkins County wet-
lands consist of temporarily floo led basins. The major threat to
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these basins is center-pivot irrigation which could lead to
increased conversion of wetland acres to agriculture (EPA. July
1989). Seventy-five percent or more of Perkins County is
currently in agricultural production.
The threatened or endangered species which use t.iis region
are those listed in Table 30 above.
Sandhills Counties
The Nebraska Sandhills Region provides approximately 98,635
acres of wetland habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, fish and
wildlife (EPA, July 1989). Twenty-four counties comprise this
region. The majority of the Sandhill habitat type is found in
Cherry, Grant, Arthur, Brown, and Rock County. The Geological
productivity of this region is high, and the water quality is
excellent. The Sandhills Region is the largest undivided region
of grassland in the U.S., and the underlying aquifer may hold
over one billion acre-feet cf water. The Niobrara River flows to
the north and its headwaters and tributaries run through the
Sandhills, as do the headwaters of the Elkhorn River to the east.
The threats to this valuable area of wetlands ana waterways
appear to lie in its exploitability for row-crop agriculture and
water supply. Drainage, center-pivot irrigation, and ground water
withdrawal are currently proceeding on a slow, but continual,
basis. Eight counties within the Sandhills have 75 percent or
more of their land as rangeland.
There are 8 state listed threatened or endangered species
that may use wetlands and waterway habitat within the Sandhills
(Table 31).
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COMMON
NAMES HAi
SPECIES OF DEi
Bald Eagle
Whooping Crane
Piping Plover
Interior Least Tern
3ITA
JTRUi
X
X
X
X
Table 31.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES
OF THE SANDHILLS REGION COUNTIES, NEBRASKA (8 species)
KNOWN OR SUSPECTED REASONS FOR SPECIES DECLINE
WATER OVER- SPECIALIZED
POLLUTION/ HUNTING/ HABITAT
DESTRUCTION PESTICIDES HERBICIDES SILTATION FISH'NG REQUIRED
Northern Redbelty Dace X
Finescale Dace
Pearl Dace
Blacknose Shiner
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
V
X
X
L10W,PFO,R20W
R2UB,L2UB,PUB,L2AB,PEM
R2US,L2US,PUB
R2US,L2US,PUB
R3UB,L2AB,CLR,COL
R3UB,L2AB,CLR
'JSUB.CLR
R3UB,R3AB,CLR,COL
Four species of fish use these waters, each of which
requires clear water habitat, indicating a suspected intolerance
to siltation and pollution. Two of these fish, the northern
redbelly dace, and the blacknose shiner, need clear and cold
water. The northern redbelly dace and the finescale dace use
sand substrate exclusively. The other fish that is found in the
Sandhills is the pearl dace. All of these fish likely have seen
their numbers reduced to threatened status by a combination of
pesticides, herbicides, habitat destruction, and water pollution,
including siltation. All of the animal species have been
impacted by habitat destruction and probable pesticide
contamination. The western prairie fringed orchid, which uses
palustrine habitat with emergent or scrub-shrub vegetation, is
found in Cherry County of the Sandhills Region.
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Lancaster County
The saline wetlands in Lancaster and southern Saunders
Counties, Nebraska, are one of the most limited and tnreatened
natural communities in the state (Nebraska Game and Parks Commis-
sion, 1990). Most of the salt marshes have been drained or
filled for agriculture and for urban development. No threatened
or endangered animal species are reported from Lancaster County,
but the federally listed western prairie fringed orchid
(Platanthera praeclara (Sheviak & Bowles) nay be found there.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES BY HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS
The previous section discussed the distribution of threat-
ened and endangered species within each state by geographical or
ecological regions containing wetland and waterway habitat. This
section will look at specific habitat components or
characteristics, and factors that caused population reductions in
the listed species. The section will attempt to determine what
habitat types may be most essential to the rare species of Region
VII.
RIVERINE HABITAT
Riverine habitat was the most extensively used habitat type
by the 237 threatened and endangered animal species located in
wetlands and waterways listed in this report. Upper perennial
(smaller) rivers with unconsolidated bottoms were the most
commonly used riverine habitat. Upper perennial rivers, the
headwaters and tributaries of lower perennial rivers, were used
by 104 animal species, while tl'.e larger lower> perennial rivers
were used by 68 species. Thirty animal species used both upper
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and lower perennial riverine habitat types. Nine species of
concern used intermittent rivers and streams. This group
consisted of amphibians, with the exception of 1 fish, the Topeka
shiner, which can live in small pools in intermittent streams
during drier periods.
Eleven species of frogs, toads, and salamanders used river-
ine habitat with temporary, standing water. Two frogs and toads
needed clear, temporary water. The northern crawfish frog relies
on temporary water and wet prairie habitat. Among the group
using riverine habitat using group, Strecker's chorus frog, the
eastern narrowmouth toad, and the Topeka Shiner likely have been
reduced by water pollution, including siltation.
Riverine habitat was the second r*-1-. frequently used habitat
for wetland and waterway dependent chreatened or endangered
plants in Region VII. Eighty-four of the 313 plant species are
solely or partially located in riverine habitat. Riverine
unconsolidated shore (shore area with gravel-cobble or smaller
sized substrata and rocky shore areas of upper perennial rivers
were used by 54 plant species. Among the group using shore
habitat, sand was the preferred substrate of 20 species. Upper
perennial riverine habitat in the aquatic bed or emergent
vegetation area was the next most common habitat type, with
fifteen species using it. Fourteen plant species preferred other
types of riverine habitat.
LACUSTRINE HABITAT
Seventy-one animal species out of the 237 listed in this
report either wholly or partially used lacustrine (lake)
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habitat. Twenty use limnetic (deepwater) areas, 38 used littoral
(shallow water) zones, and 13 species used both the limnetic
areas and littoral zones of lakes. Habitat destruction con-
tributed to the decline of 60 percent of the limnetic area users,
to 73 pe-cent o^ those using the littoral zone and 92 percent of
those using both lake zones. Pesticides likely effected the
status of 21 percent of the littoral zone users, but were not a
large factor among limnetic zone users. Temporary wrter was a
component of the habitat required by 11 of the littoral zone
using species, including 10 amphibians.
For the animal species of concern, the most commonly used
limnetic habitat type was the aquatic bed area. Aquatic beds
have a predominant submerged plant component. Fifty-nine percent
of the species using a lake or pond's limnetic zone could be
found in the aquatic bed area. The unconsolidated bottom was
used by 28 percent, and open water was the third most commonly
used in the limnetic zone.
The most commonly used littoral habitat was of the emergent
vegetation classification, used by 46 percent of the animal
species that use the littoral zone. The next most frequently
used was unconsolidated bottom, used by 35 percent, followed by
aquatic bed and unconsolidated shore habitats.
Sixty-five wetland dependent plant species, of the 313 plant
species found in the four-state area listed in this report, can
be found in lacustrine habitat. Sixty-two of the 65 used
lacustrine littoral habitat. Sixteen plants using the littoral
zone preferred sand suostrate, and 12 preferred mud. Four
species
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used lacustrine limnetic habitat, 2 of them, members of the
pondweed family (Najadaceae), used limnetic habitat exclusively.
PALUSTRINE HABITAT
Of the 237 animal species, 65 species use palustrine
habitat. Twenty-one percent of these species solely use palus-
trine habitat, including the 4 wetland-reliant mammals: the rice
rat, swamp rabbit, gray and Indiana bat, as well as 3 of the 4
wetland-dependent butterflies. Eighty-three percent of the
palustrine habitat users are reported to have declined in number
due at least partially to habitat destruction. Forty-four of the
65 animal species using palustrine habitat may be found in
Missouri. Seventeen are found in Iowa, and 14 in Kansas. Only
5 of the Nebraska species use palustrine habitat, all of which
are the 5 federally listed birds: the bald eagle, whooping
crane, and three shore birds. These birds, except for the bald
eagle, may use palustrine habitat of the unconsolidated bottom
classification for foraging.
The most common classification of palustrine habitat in use
by the threatened and endangered species in the four state region
is emergent. There are 34 animal species using palustrine
emergent habitat, more than half of them birds that use the
emergent vegetation for nesting and foraging. Seventy-six
percent of the emergent vegetation users may be found in areas
having rooted vascular plants. Ninety-four percent of the
emergent vegetation using animal species have been affected by
habitat destruction. Sixty-six percent of the species us^ng
palustrine habitat of the emergent classification are found in
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Missouri, and about 20 percent each in lova and Kansas. Two
federally endangered birds in Nebraska, the whooping crane and
Eskimo curlew, use emergent vegetation.
The emergent vegetation classification also contained the
majority of the plants using palustrine habitat. One hundred
fifty-nine plants of the 313 plant species listed in this report
made use of this habitat. Forty-four plants relied on it exclu-
sively.
Another heavily used palustrine wetland classification is
forested wetland. Twenty-seven animal species use it, and 7 of
them rely on forested palustrine wetland alone or in conjunction
with habitat of the palustrine scrub-shrub type. Among the
species reliant on palustrine fo"" "ted or scrub-shrub are the
cherrystone snail, 2 raptors, the swamp rabbit, northern
metalmark butterfly, and 2 bats. Seventy-threa percent of the
animal species using the forested classification are found in
Missouri, 23 percent in both Iowa and Kansas. The bald eagle is
the only species that uses forested wetland habitat that may be
found in Nebraska. Palustrine wetlands ol the aquatic bed
classification are used by 30 animal species. A combination of
palustrine wetland with emergent and aquatic bed classification
is used by 22 animal species., including 13 birds, and 4 reptiles.
This habitat type could be wet woods bordering on marsh, or
swamp.
One hundred nine wetland dependent plant species used
palustrine forested wetlands, making this the second most
commonly used palustrine habitat type for plant species of
concern. Forty-four species used the palustrine forested
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classification exclusively. Some of these species may be
species reportedly found in upland areas in Iowa that may also
use wetland habitat.
Deciduous trees are the preferred habitat of the majority of
the animal species using palustrine forest. Dead trees serve as
habitat for £ animal species. Habitat uses include sunning by
the western chicken turtle, nesting or roosting by the bald
eagle, and shelter by the mole salamander. One invertebrate
species, the bluff vertigo snail, uses palustrine forest and
palustrine areas with a moss-lichen classification.
Palustrine aquatic bed habitat is used by 50 spacies of
plants. All of these plants used this habitat type in combina-
tion with other habitat types and cl -• -,if ications. Palustrine
habitat with emergent vegetation forms the habitat assemblage for
20 of the 313 plant species listed. Scrub-shrub habitat is used
by 22 threatened or endangered plant species. Other palustrine
habitat types are used by 10 species.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
Preferences for other habitat characteristics regardless of
systems can be observed. Fourteen animal species are reported to
use unconsolidated shore habitat. Eight threatened or endangered
animal species use unconsolidated shores of both lakes or rivers.
Five animal species use river shores only. Two substrate types
are primarily used by these species: 4 species use sand, and 9
use vascular emergent wetlands. Of the 4 sand-using species, 3
require sand .shores or sand bars relatively free of vegetation to
breed. These include the piping and snowy plovers, and the
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interior least tern. All of the species of concern in Region VII
using sandy habitat have been solely or partially reduced in
number due to habitat destruction.
Emergent and aquatic bed habitats, either alone of in
association with each other, a:•-> used by 76 animal species. This
represents 32 percent of wetland or waterway using animal spe-
cies. Eighty-two percent of these species that require either
emergent or aquatic bed vegetation, have suffered from habitat
destruction. Twenty-two percent may have experienced population
declines due to v/ater pollution.
Moss-lichen habitat is used by 2 species: the bluff vertigo
snail, found only in Crawford County Missouri; and the four-toed
salamander, found in Crawford and several othe- Missouri
counties. Moss-lichen habitat is also used by 3 plant species
of concern.
A habitat type used by 5 shorebirds, the terns and 2
plovers, is the unconsolidated shores of lower perennial rivers,
combined with lacustrine littoral unconsolidated shore, and
palustrine unconsolidated bottom. This habitat assemblage
represents the breeding and feeding areas of these 5 rare
shorebird species. The black tern and Forster's tern use the
above combination with emergent habitat as well, as they nest
among emergent plants. The snowy and piping plovers and interior
least terns, on the other hand, nest on sparsely vegetated sand.
Another habitat assemblage that is heavily used is the
marsh, swamp, or vegetated margins of rivers and lakes. These
margins consist of the following habitats: palustrine aquatic
bed, palustrine emergent, lower perennial riverine, and lacus-
trine lit-oral unconsolidated bottom. This is a habitat complex
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used by 10 birds including the northern harrier, the marsh v.'ren,
and 8 wading birds. Three of the wading birds that need this
habitat, the little blue heron, black-crowned night heron, and
snowy egret, use deciduous trees for their breeding colonies.
All of the species using this marsh-swamp habitat complex have
experienced habitat destruction.
SPECIAL SUBSTRATE REQUIREMENTS
Sixty-one of the 237 animal species listed for Region VII
used rooted vascular, floating vascular, or unknown submergent
plants as the substrate of their preferred habitat. Twenty-five
percent of these species are believed to have suffered reduction
due to water pollution. The plant species using plant substrates
totaled 9, all of them using palustrine habitat solely or in
combination, with riverine and lacustrine habitat. The log fern
(Dryopteris celsa (Palmei) Small) and 10 animal species of
concern use dead vegetation, primarily trees, in wetland or
waterway habitat. Sixty percent of the dead vegetation-using
animal species, which includes 4 fish, one amphibi~n, and a
reptile, use standing or slow flowing water regimss. The other
dead vegetation-users are the bald eagle, osprey, double-crested
cormorant, and the bluff vertigo snail. Twenty-two threatened or
endangered plant species grow in association with deciduous
trees, most of these in palustrine forested habitat.
Seven animal species, among them 3 amphibians and 4
reptiles, use loam substrate. The amphibians (the mole
salamander, the Illinois chorus frog, and the eastern spadefoot
toad) dig or use holes in soil for shelter, as do the reptiles,
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for shelter or egg laying. Ten plant species use loam substrate,
including 4 endangered orchids.
Three invertebrate and 4 fish species may be found using
substrate assemblages containing limestone. The invertebrates
are 2 snails,, the bluff vertigo an^. cherrystone snail, and the
northern metalmark butterfly, all of which use limestone ledges
along wetlands or waterways. The fish include the Ozark
cavefish, black redhorse, and the freckled and Neosho madtoms.
All of the fish use the smaller, upper perennial rivers.
Eighteen plant species use limestone, and in particular, the
majority may use wet limestone ledges, bluffs, and talus slopes.
Seventy-two animal specias use bedrock, rubble-boulder, or
gravel-cobble sized substrate. Tu ~ animal species represented
are fish, invertebrates (mainly mussels), and amphibians. Fifty-
one percent of the species using larger substrates use faster
flowing water, such as rapid flowing, mixed or medium flowing, or
riffle water regimes. Only 19 percent used slow flowing or
standing water. Two plant species, Dryopteris celsa (Palmer)
Small (log fern) and Lycopdium digitatum A. J^aun (a clubmoss),
use rubble-boulder substrate.
Eighty-one threatened or endangered animal species use the
smaller substrate types: sand, silt, mud, or organic muck. Most
use these substrates in various combinations. Three bird species
and 7 fish use sand alone as their preferred substrate. The
birds, the piping and snowy plover, and the interior least tern,
specifically use sand habitat types for breeding. The sand-
dependent fish have a variety of water characteristics in
addition to sand substrate: the speckled and flathead chub can
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tolerate some turbidity well, the flathead chub and the Arkansas
river shiner need seasonal flood flows for breeding, and the
Sabine shiner, fines^ale and northern redbelly dace require clear
water. Sixteen species in Region VII are primarily ir.-d and
organic muck users, such as the alligator snapping turtle, swamp
darter, central mudminnow, and the northern leopard frog. Sixty-
seven threatened or endangered wetland plant species are reported
to have a preference for sandy substrate. An additional 19 plant
species prefer mud, and 26 use organic muck substrate.
SPECIAL WATER CHARACTERISTIC REQUIREMENTS
Water regime characteristics were included only for the
listed threatened and endangered an:~ 1 species, because very
little data was published regaruing water requirements for
wetland and waterway plant species.
Of the various water regimes the temporary ones, such as
seasonally-filled pools and wet prairie, are used by 14 species,
including the ^r'chern harrier, 2 butterflies, and 11 amphibians.
Nine of the amphibians and the 2 butterflies use palustrine
habitat with temporary water. Ninety-three percent of the
species using temporary water have been effected by habitat
destruction and 36 percent likely have been reduced in number due
to pesticide impacts. Temporary waters often are created by an
accumulation of runoff, and typically do not have flushing
capabilities to reduce pollutant impact.
The majority of the Region VII threatened or endangered
animal species for which a water 'flow characteristic preference
was indicated used standing water. Thirty-nine species use
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standing water, 33 of them in habitat type combinations that
included palustrine habitat. Sixty-seven percent of these 39
species required rooted vascular plants as their preferred
substrate within the standing water habitat. Seven of the 10
amphib:'ans u<=ing standing water, and. 1 butterfly, required
temporary standing water.
The 2 fish using standing water are the bluntnose and the
swamp darters. Eighty-seven percent of the spec.es using
standing water had suffered reduction due to habitat destruction.
Water pollution was listed as a contributing cause of dacline for
1 species, the bluntnose darter.
The next most frequently designated water regime was slow
flowing water, which was used by 35 species of conc:rn. Twenty
fish, 8 reptiles, 5 mollusks, and 2 amphibians used this water
type. Fifty-four percent of these species were effected by
habitat destruction. Although the percentage is not as large as
for those using standing water, it is still a significant
percentage. .A notably large number of species that may be found
in slow flowing water, 37 percent, likely './ere affecte^ oy water
pollution including siltation. All of the species requiring slow
slowing water, whose decline may have been exacerbated by v.-ater
pollution, are fish species. Eleven of these fish species
require clear and slow flowing water.
Twenty-one species use water with a medium flow or waterway
habitats having flow rates that are mixed, from slow at some
times, to rapid at others. Thirteen of these species were
mollusks and 8 were fish. Fifty-seven percent of the medium or
mixed flow using species h ^ d been reduced by habitat
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destruction, and additionally, the redspot and hornyhead chubs
and snuffbox mussel, were probably reduced by water pollution.
Rapidly flowing water was the water type used by the fewest
threatened or endangered species of wetland and waterways. Five
fish, 5 mollusks, and 1 mayfly could be found in rapidly flowing
water, and all but 1 of these use gravel-cobble substrate alone
or in combination with other substrates. Forty-five percent of
the species had been affected by habitat destruction, and 27
percent likely have been affected by water pollution. Three fish
species, the pallid sturgeon, sturgeon chub, and sicklefin chub,
were users of rapidly flowing water.
Clear water is necessary for 37 species: 27 fish, 8
invertebrates (including 2 isopods, 1 crayfish, 3 amphipods, and
2 mollusks), and 2 amphibians. Horwowa (1989) notes a distinct
pattern of response to water guality decline by "clear water
using fauna." These species initially decline and are eventually
eliminated. Tubifed worms replace clear water using
invertebrates in seriously affected areas. In more mildly
affected area^, tne midge, Chlronomus, becomes established,
followed by isopod crustaceans of the Asellus genus, and an
eventual re-establishment of the clear water fauna if the water
quality improves.
Eleven of the rare species needing clear water also required
slow flowing water. Three animal species using clear water used
mixed or medium flows, and 2 used rapid flows. Fifty-one percent
of the clear water users have habitat destruction as a reason for
their population declines. Twenty-nine percent of the clear
water users were likely reduceu wholly or partially by water
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pollution, and within this group, the blackr.ose shiner, and the
finescale, pearl, and northern redbelly daces, were also likely
affected by a combination of pesticides, herbicides, and habitat
destruction. Strecker's chorus frog, a clear and temporary water
user, was probably reduced by pesticides as well.
Numerous animal species require specialized water habitats.
Thirteen species used caves, including 2 .fish, the Czark and
spring cavefish; 7 invertebrates, among them 3 amphipods, 2
crayfish, 1 snail, 1 flatworm, and 4 amphibians, all salamanders.
The 3 amphipods are noted as having been affected by water
pollution and the 4 salamanders by habitat destruction. In
addition to the 13 species using wet areas of caves, the gray and
Indiana bats use dryer areas of c~- ~s as roosting and breeding
habitat. Eleven animal species were users of riffles, including
9 fish, the tumbling creek cavesnail, and the Scott riffle
beetle. Ninety-one percent of the riffle users were reduced by
habitat destruction and 36 percent probably by water pollution.
Other specialized water regimes used by chreatened and
endangered animal species are wet prairie, Uoc^ by 8 specie:;, and
well oxygenated water, used by 16 insect species. Eight of the
insect species are reliant en oxygen-rich waters are
stoneflies. Stoneflies are absent from water when the oxygen
concentration drops much below saturation for an appreciable
period of time (Horwood, 1989) . Mayfly nymphs are less tolerant
than stoneflies to oxygen depletion, and caddisfly larvae, are
somewhat more so. Six insects are shallow, well oxygenated water
users, including 1 stonefly ana 5 caddisfly insects, all are
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found in Missouri (3 in Oregon County), and all use upper
perennial riverine habitat with unconsolidated bottoms. Two
mayflies and the Scott riffle beetle also use well oxygenated
water.
The wet prairie users are the western green toad northern
crawfish frog, western fox snake, three massasaugas (including
the eastern and western varieties), the Baltimore butterfly, and
the Sora rail. One hundred percent of these species experienced
decline due to habitat destruction.
Two fish, the flathead chub and Arkansas river shiner, need
seasonal spring flood flows to spawn successfully. Th-a chub may
be found in Kansas and Missouri, and the shiner in Kansas. The
shiner uses streams and rivers that fl-^ ' and have sand bottoms.
CAUSES OF SPECIES DECLINE
OVERVIEW
This section will discuss the known and suspected reasons
for decline of species within the four state region. Reasons for
the decline of animal species have been more widely documented
than tliose of plant species. For this reason, the causes of
decline of animal species of concern will be discussed in more
detail. If the decline of a plant species of concern has been
documented, it will be noted in the appropriate section. Some
reasons for decline are highly suspected but have not been
thoroughly documented.
HABITAT DESTRUCTION
Habitat loss is recognized to be one of the primary causes
of extinctions (Loucks, 1985). This appears to be the singular
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primary reason for species decline in Region VII. One hundred
twenty species in the four-state area, 44 percent of the wetland
and waterway dependent threatened and endangered animal species,
have been reduced wholly or partially by habitat destruction.
One hundred percent of the m. Timals, 81 percent of the birds, 87
percent of the reptiles, 90 percent of the amphibians, 63 percent
of the fish, and 13 percent of the invertebrates have experienced
reportable habitat destruction. The overall percentage >f species
reduced by this cause is 76 percent if the invertebrates are ex-
cluded from the figures. The low percentage of invertebrates
reported to be affected by habitat destruction may reflect the
scarcity of information available on many little-studied inverte-
brate species.
The causes of population decline in .threatened and
endangered plant species has not been well researched. Only 6
wetland plant species have a recorded cause of decline, and each
of these are ieported to have declined due to habitat
destruction. Five of these species use palustrine habitat with
emergent vegetation, seemingly a very important habitai. component
for many of the Region VII threatened or endangered plant
species.
Ehrenfeld (1970) stated that 62 percent of the total land in
the U.S. was privately owned. The percentage may not have
changed greatly in twenty years. Federal laws that can aid in
protecting wetland and waterway habitat essential for wildlife
either do not apply, or are difficult to apply to the countless
small land parcels of private land owners. Comprehensive
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planning of wetland and waterway areas for agricultural and urban
expansion is needed to protect these areas from future loss.
Such planning should be encouraged at all levels of government,
especially at the local level with landowner cooperation.
Federal programs could provide education and incentive to
encourage this effort.
OVERUTILIZATION
Overutilization from hunting and fishing or other human
harvesting, has led to the decline of 6 Region VII threatened or
endangered animal species. The lake and pallid sturgeons were
used by the fishing industry; the river otter was harvested as a
furbearer and removed as a suspected fishery pest; and the
whooping crane, Eskimo curlew, and great egret were hunted for
sport, food or plumage.
The Eskimo curlew, one of the rarest bird species, was
abundant a century ago. Freedman (1989) notes that its abun-
dance, coupled with its large size, fine taste, tameness, and
gregarious nature, led to its relentless exploitation jy market
hunters. The Eskimo curlew migrates through the United States
and Canadian prairie on its route from the Canadian low-Arctic
breeding grounds to the South American coast and pampas. On
these migrations, the Eskimo curlew was hunted to the brink of
extinction.
AGRIULTURE POLLUTANTS
A number of the agents that have caused the decline in
populations of the threatened and endangered species discussed in
this paper are introduced to aquatic environments from
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agricultural sources. Pesticides, including herbicides, may
drift directly into wetland habitat from aerial spraying, or may
runoff from farm land. Clark (1985) states that two-thirds of
the insecticide used in agriculture is applied by aircraft, a
means of application that can result in 50 to 75 percent of the
chemical drifting downwind and settling in non-target areas,
which may be drainage ditches, streams, or noncultivated land.
The heavy rates of soil erosion noted for some counties,
especially those with high agricultural usage, could contribute
to water pollution from agricultural chemicals and from
siltation. Clark (1985) notes that a FWS and EPA study of water
quality identified nonpoint source pollution, particularly
agricultural nonpoint source pol]"''on, as adversely affecting
fish life in streams across the United States. Such pollutants
from agricultural runoff were reported to be the primary cause of
problems in 29.5 percent of the stream miles surveyed.
Agricultural sources of pollution were considered a "major
concern in 17.3 percent of the stream miles surveyed." (Clark,
1985)
HERBICIDES
Herbicides have been implicated as possible contributing
factors in the decline of eleven animal species: the gray bat,
bald eagle, Illinois chorus frog, all 4 butterflies listed in
this report, and 4 fish. Three of them, 2 butterflies and
the Illinois chorus frog, use standing water or wet prairie
habitat. One plant species, Lindera melissaefolium (Walt.)Blume
' i
(pondberry), is known to have been deleteriously affected by
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herbicide usage. Between 1976 and 1982, herbicide usage on corn
increased by 18 percent nationally, and on soybeans it was
increased by 56 percent. In 1977. over 95 parcent of the corn
and soybeans grown in Iowa received herbicides (Clark, 1985).
WATER POLLUTION
The term "water pollution", as considered in this study,
consists of such possible criteria as increased turbidity,
hydrologic modifications like channel changes, oxygen
concentration changes, and sedimentation. Twenty-two species
are likely to have been partially reduced by water pollution,
including siltation. The gray bat, Strecker's chorus frog,
whooping crane, one amphipod, 4 mussels, and 14 fish comprise
this group. The Kansas well araphipod, cypress minnow and
bluntnose darter may have experienced water pollution as either
the major or sole contributing factor in their reduction.
The many clear water users can be adversely affected by
turbidity increases from sources such as silt, algae, and
bacteria. Turbidity, which reduces the light available to deeper
water, increases temperature stratificati i in slow moving or
standing water, and reduces the normal mixing of oxygen and its
transport to deeper water. Clark (1985) lists numerous adverse
impacts on aquatic life from pollutants that increase turbidity,
such as decreased light penetration which reduces primary
productivity from photosynthetic activity. Decreased primary
productivity in turn reduces zooplankton and aquatic invertebrate
consumer species. Loss of these consumers increases problems for
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fish by disrupting eight feeding, in displaying visual cues for
courtship behavior, and in physical effects from gill damage and
abrasion.
Sedimentation has the potential to profoundly harm aquatic
ecosystems. increased silt loads from agricultural runoff,
especially after storms in erosion prone areas, can be
devastating to lakes, rivers, and streams. So...e of the
repercussions of sedimentation are: displacement of plants
requiring a firmer bottom substrate (such as sand, whica was most
commonly used by Region VII species) with plants using soft
substrate; abrasion from bed-load that causes plant loss from
scouring; accretion of material between spaces of aravel and
rocks; destruction of habitat for small animals, such r.s stonefly
larvae or salamanders; and interference with fish reproductive
behavior.
PESTICIDES
Pesticides are likely to have affected 30 animal species,
including the gray and the Indiana bat, the Illinois c...^us frog
and Strecker's frog, all 4 butterflies, 4 mussels, 6 fish, and 12
birds listed in this report. This represents 39 percent of the
Region VII threatened or endangered bird species. Five of the 7
birds of prey have been impacted by pesticides and the remaining
birds are users of aquatic insects, aquatic invertebrates, or
fish as the major portion of their diet.
Pesticide bioaccumulation through the food chain, especially
in the case of DDT, has greatly harmed bird populations. A
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nonlethal dose of DDT ingested by plankton in aquatic systems
subject to agricultural runoff, is deposited in the fatty tissues
of subsequent feeders. The fat soluble DDT in the plankton, once
eaten by a predatory fish, becomes part of the fish fatty tissue,
and so on up the chain of aquatic feeders. When birds of prey
consumed fish with high DDT levels, the pesticide accumulation
all but destroyed the bird's reproductive success. Data compar-
ing the eggshell thickness of pre-1945 bird populations to post-
1945 populations, showed shell thickness reductions of: 30
percent in Texas bald eagles and Wisconsin double-crested cormo-
rants; 26 percent in California peregrine falcons; 24 percent in
Alberta, Canada, northern harriers; 21 percent in northern United
States osprey; and 18 percent in New Jersey black-crowned night
herons (Freedman, 1989) . All of the^e species may be found in
Region VII, and may continue to be affected by pesticides.
Horwood (Abel, 1989) discusses the two-pronged effects that
pesticides may have on non-target animal species. One concern is
the effect of short term acute pesticide exposures on non-target
organisms. The second concern is the effect of chronic low level
exposure. Horwood (1989) states "in lowland rivers draining
agricultural areas, pesticides are more likely to be present at
low but fairly consistent levels, and in this case the major
areas of toxicological interest will be their potential sublethal
effects, their capacity to accumulate in individual organisms and
via the food chain."
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Federal law, such as the Endangered Species Act and the
federal species list that the Act promulgates, is an essential
step in species protection. Unfortunately, a list prepared on
the federal level cannot be as responsive to the unique status of
each species that may be threatened within a state. Plant spe-
cies, especially, receive less attention in the process of pro-
posal and confirmation for listina as threatened or endangered
species. Further study within Region VII may provide the oppor-
tunity to include more wetland plant species for Kansas and
Nebraska, where lists of plant species afforded legal protection
have yet to be fully developed.
In the course of collecting *~u • plant and animal database
information, it became apparent that research into the decline of
plant species was deficient, while being fairly abundant for
animals. It would be very useful to. have a better understanding
of the threats that face plants. Perhaps historical population
studies of currently threatened species can be analyzed with a
focus on the anthropomorphic versus natural ^abitat change^, that
have occurred over time.
Additional study of wetland and waterway dependent species,
with an ecological community-based focus also may provide valu-
able information. Such a study could highlight the needs of rare
species (in terms of habitat acreage required, plant and animal
associations needed, and level of human use tolerated), how these
needs are impacted by competition vith the more abundant species,
and how environmental alterations affect theise interactions.
Loucks (1985) expresses the desire to see long term experimental
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studies on the local disappearance of species from preserves of
Carious sizes and under various stresses. Such a study might
help to predict a rare specie's response to stress from develop-
ment of various types, so management of habitat can be optimized.
Studies of the rare species of wetlands and waterways may
provide insiaht into the changes wrought in an ecosystem when
species diversity is lost and the myriad of interconnections
between species, both producers and consumers, is reduced. The
importance of species interactions is not well known. Norton
(Wilson, 1986) discusses "keystone species," explaining that when
the Florida alligator populations dipped dangerously .ow in the
early 1970's, other species populations declined in number.
Wildlife biologists noted that in the dry winter season, many
species depend on alligator wallows as a water sources, and these
became scarce. Norton asks, "Must we say then, that the value of
the alligator includes the value of most of the wildlife in the
Florida Everglades?" Norse (Draggan, 1985) similarly explores
the costs of thp loss of the American chestnut, Castanea dentata
(Marsh.) Borkh., from eastern forests due to the chestnut blight
fungus. The chestnuts provided a fairly constant supply of nuts,
while some species replacing them provide none, or as in oaks,
provide abundant nuts some years and none in others. The chest-
nut loss may have had repercussions by increasing competition
among nut eaters.
Studies of wetland areas using a ranking system, such as
that outlined by Hoage (1985) in his discussion of state Natural
Heritage Inventories, analyze mariy factors to distinguish those
species in peril from less common but stable species. The ,
endangerment ranking factors are listed in Table 32.
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Table 32.
Element (Species) Endangerment Ranking Factors
(Hoage, 1985)
(1) Number of Element Occurrences (i.e., a single nert
site)
(2) Total Population Size
(3) Total Range
(4) Number of Protected Element Occurrences (i.e., within
designated preserves)
(5) Relative Ecological Fragility
(6) Relative Degree of Threat
(7) Degree of Legal Protection
(8) Taxonomic Distinctness
Such an analysis of threatened and endangered animals and
plants may lead to the protection of species as a habitat assem-
blage, recognizing the important and inter-connectedness of all
elements (species). One of the most endangered animal species in
the U.S. is the Indiana bat. Hoage (1985) note:: that an
important locality for the bat is Barnett Cave in Foster's Woods,
Tennessee. A population of the regionally rare lady's tresses
orchid, Spiranthes ovalis Lindl., and a population of the
federally listed potato bean, Apios Priceana Robins., also use
Foster's Woods, so the importance of protecting that habitat
assemblage becomes apparent. Increased state an<_ federal
involvement in promoting species protection on an integrated,
habitat-based level could be an important outcome of such a
study.
Finally, the ways that threatened and endangered plants and
animals are affected by federal, state, and local policy and law
should be studied in depth. The guestion of whether or not our
intricate system of pro-developmer.t and pro-conservation laws and
policies are working at cross purposes deserves clear study so
that our nation's ecological, environmental, and economic health
does not suffer.
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Aldo Leopold stated long ago that the first rule of success-
ful tinkering is to save all the cogs and wheels (Hoage, 1985).
With a strong, concerted effort to save the vital "cogs and
wheels," our wetlands and waterways and the threatened and endan-
gered species that raly on them, may persist as valuable, viable,
multi-functional areas while we continue to tinker with planet
Earth.
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