Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): forest service

The wild turkey may be America’s greatest wildlife conservation success story

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 16, 2017

Three male wild American turkeys displaying full plumage. The turkey’s bald head can change color in seconds with excitement or emotion. The birds’ heads can be red, pink, white or blue. [Photo credit: Larry Smith2010]

When most Americans think about great wildlife success stories, they think about the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, or possibly the recent news of sea turtle recovery.

What many people forget, or perhaps never knew, is that America’s wild turkey population was once estimated to be approximately 30,000 – a number comparable to today’s estimates for polar bears worldwide.

Thankfully for us (and the gobblers), American wild turkeys now number close to seven million.

So how did the turkey bounce back? The answer lies in what some consider America’s greatest wildlife conservation success story. Read More »

Posted in Wildlife Protection / Also tagged American wild turkey, bald eagle, conservation, ecosystems, Endangered Species Act, endangered species act success stories, hunting, National Wild Turkey Federation, Thanksgiving, theodore roosevelt, turkey, wildlife | Read 1 Response

What’s next for the greater sage-grouse? A public lands strategy

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 19, 2016

A few months have passed since the greater sage-grouse was deemed “not warranted” for listing under the Endangered Species Act. But that doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten about the bird. Nor have the countless agency staff at the Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) who continue to work to ensure that the bird stays off of the Endangered Species List.

The listing decision signaled that the state, federal and other conservation plans for the greater sage-grouse should be enough to ensure healthy populations, and now we must continue the hard work on implementing these plans.

BLM and FS have already committed to developing Regional Mitigation Strategies for the greater sage-grouse within one year of the September 2015 listing decision – a strategy that I hope will bring consistency, transparency and high standards to mitigation on public lands. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged BLM, conservation, ecosystems, endangered species list, greater sage-grouse, habitat exchanges, mitigation, regional mitigation strategy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Comments are closed