| Safe Harbor on the Hart
Ranching family looks to past for future of conservation 
Blair Hart with his 'girls,' part of the beef cattle herd he manages on the Little Shasta and Butte Creek ranches in northern California. Photo courtesy of the Hart family trust By Jennifer Jones and Susan Sawyer
December 6, 2019 In the shadow of Mt. Shasta lies the Butte Creek Ranch, its alpine meadows carpeted in lush green grass sprinkled with colorful wildflowers and bordered by a mature forest. Cows and calves peacefully doze in a clearing as an eagle soars overhead. For over 160 years, this summer scene has played out for six generations of the Hart family. Their ranching legacy began in 1852 when Louisa Hart arrived in the Shasta Valley with her two toddler sons to start a new life working the land. Recently, the Harts guaranteed the continuation of this legacy by working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a plan that balances their land use with conserving the rich natural resources of Butte Creek. In 2015, Blair Hart and his wife Susan approached the Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office about developing a Safe Harbor Agreement for the Butte Creek Ranch. Safe Harbor Agreements are voluntary agreements between landowners and the Service to promote conservation actions on private property that benefit species protected under the Endangered Species Act. See the full story...
Service employee recognized for fish recovery work
Brown's 'herculean' efforts to restore fish habitat leads to American Fisheries Society honor 
Matt Brown has spearheaded efforts to increase instream flows in Battle Creek and provided fisheries expertise in the construction of the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project. Credit: Jim Earley/USFWS By John Heil
December 12, 2019 For over 25 years, Matt Brown has worked tirelessly and collaboratively in the Sacramento River watershed to enhance, restore and re-populate winter, spring, fall, and late-fall run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead populations. The deputy project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Red Bluff office has focused on tributaries of the Sacramento River, where he has worked with numerous state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations. The American Fisheries Society California/Nevada Chapter recently honored Brown for his work by naming him the 2019 winner of its Conservation Achievement Award. The Conservation Achievement Award recognizes non-member individuals or groups for outstanding contributions or service to fisheries conservation. See the full story...
From caterpillars to a career
A biologist's pathway to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Sam Lantz at Milagra Ridge, where she helped translocate endangered Mission blue butterflies. Photo courtesy of Sam Lantz/USFWS By Meghan Snow
December 19, 2019 Growing up between Davis and Winters, California, Samantha Lantz raised goats and horses. She also collected monarch caterpillars every year and raised them until they became butterflies. "I think my interest in animals sparked my interest in biology," she said. It was an interest that turned into a career. Today, Lantz, who goes by Sam, is a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Sacramento Field Office. She works in the Recovery Division reviewing the latest science available on threatened and endangered species and drafting reports that include strategies for helping their wild populations recover. The Service wasn't Lantz's first stop in conservation. Her undergraduate work at Willamette University in Oregon led her to pursue a master's at Florida Atlantic University where she studied habitat restoration in the Everglades. She then pursued her Ph.D. in bird behavior at Tulane. See the full story...
Endangered condor takes first flight
One quarter of California condor population in Southern California now wild-fledged 
Condor 262 (pictured) is the father of recently-fledged condor chick 980, marking the 25th condor chick to successfully fledge in the wild in the Southern California flock. Credit: USFWS By Ashley McConnell
January 2, 2020 An endangered California condor chick has successfully fledged from a cliff-side nest near the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in Ventura County, California. The young condor took its first short flight on Oct. 14, six months after being raised by its parents in the mountains above Fillmore. Out of the 100 birds in the Southern California flock, 25 have now successfully fledged in the wild. The chick, known as condor 980, hatched on April 10 and was raised by 9-year-old female condor 563 and 18-year-old male condor 262. The chick's mother, condor 563, was hatched and raised at the Oregon Zoo before being released at Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge in 2011. The chick's father, condor 262, comes from the first established nest in the wild since the species was re-introduced in 1992. "What's fascinating about the dad in this case, is he came not only from the first nest in the wild since the early 90s, but he also came from a three-parent household," said Molly Astell wildlife biologist with the California Condor Recovery Program. "Two female condors paired with a single male and each laid an egg in the same cavity, which is pretty rare." To give both eggs the best chance at hatching successfully, biologists brought the egg containing 262 into captivity. In 2002, 262 was released back into the wild at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. See the full story...
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