On May 16, 2008, America celebrates Endangered Species Day! The United States Senate has created Endangered Species Day as a national celebration of America's commitment to protecting our country's wildlife, fish and plants on the brink of extinction. Local Endangered Species Day activities will take center stage at the Surbeck Center Ballroom at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology on Friday, May 16. Events include:
2:5 p.m. Mini-conference on efforts and issues around South Dakota
2 p.m. Welcome and Introduction to South Dakota's threatened and endangered species (Jonathan Proctor, Defenders of Wildlife)
2:15 p.m. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species Program (Steve Fairbairn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
2:45 p.m. Threatened, Endangered, and Other Designations - Tools for Plant Conservation in the Black Hills and Surrounding Great Plains (Beth Burkhart, U.S. Forest Service)
3:15 p.m. Climate change and stream flow characteristics in the Missouri River Basin, 1957-2006 (Mark Anderson, U.S. Geological Survey)
4 p.m. Terns and Plovers and other Missouri River Threatened & Endangered Species (Michael Melius, author)
4:30 p.m. Conata Basin: Common Ground? (Bob Paulson, The Nature Conservancy)
5-6:30 p.m. Information booths and free buffet-style dinner*
*For dinner please RSVP to Hazel Bonner at (605) 342-5834x120 or bonpidge@gwtc.net, or to Christy Caswell at (605) 721-1458 or meowsnpurrs@hotmail.com.
6:30-8:45 p.m. Evening presentations
6:30 p.m. Multimedia wildlife presentation by local author/photographer Dan Licht
7:30 p.m. Species restoration on South Dakota's tribal lands
- Trudy Ecoffey, Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority: Oglala Sioux Tribe Wildlife Programs and Species Recovery Efforts
- Keith Annis, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Prairie Management Program: Black-footed Ferret Recovery Update
- Shaun Grassel, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Recreation: Black-footed Ferret and Swift Fox Recovery on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation: Highlights and Challenges
In South Dakota eight species are listed as "endangered" under the federal Endangered Species Act: the American burying beetle, black-footed ferret, Higgins eye pearlymussel, least tern, pallid sturgeon, scaleshell mussel, Topeka shiner and whooping crane. Three species are listed as threatened: piping plover, gray wolf and western prairie fringed orchid. An additional 18 species are on the state's list.
When it comes to endangered species, South Dakota is best known for its efforts to restore one of our nation's most endangered species: the black-footed ferret. Ferrets declined to only 18 in the 1900s due to a >90 percent reduction of their prey, prairie dogs. South Dakota has five black-footed ferret reintroduction efforts, and an estimated population of approximately 400 ferrets, which is almost half of all ferrets on earth.
Rapid City's 2008 Endangered Species Day is sponsored by: School of Mines Environment Club, Prairie Hills Audubon Society, Izaak Walton League of America, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Prairie Dog Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Humane Society of the United States, Maka Foundation, World Wildlife Fund and Biodiversity Conservation Alliance.
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