Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2014 - 52

State Wildlife Action Plan:

Identifying
Conservation
Actions to Protect
Pennsylvania's
At-Risk Species
Eastern Spadefoot

by Diana Day

photo-Tom Diez

Conservation Coordinator

and Chris Urban

The State Wildlife Action Plan is the blueprint for
the protection, recovery and management of some
of Pennsylvania's most vulnerable species and their
habitats. As part of the congressionally required State
Wildlife Action Plan revision process, identifying
conservation actions is one of the eight required
Removal of a dam on Great Trough Creek, Trough Creek State Park,
elements to be addressed in the plan. Current and
Huntingdon County
anticipated threats to Pennsylvania's imperiled species
can be diverse and expansive. In light of such threats, it is
A common, prominent threat to species in Pennsylvania
crucial that conservation actions are effective and efficient,
is a change in habitat (i.e., loss or modification) that can
providing native, imperiled species with the opportunity to
impede survival. Habitat modification is the number
recover and thrive. In this article, we identify conservation
one threat to most species and is the primary culprit
actions to address some prominent threats facing species
attributable to a species becoming listed as threatened or
at-risk and the challenges for addressing these threats.
endangered. Most directly, a crucial conservation action
A threat can be characterized as any factor that impacts
would be to avoid or minimize changes to habitats. This
the survival of a species. For example, a threat may be
could include a variety of land protection measures such
a disease, competition for food or habitat, predation,
as voluntary conservation easements, developing openchanges in environmental conditions such as hydrology
space ordinances or promoting land use practices that are
or temperature, reduced quantity or quality of habitat or
beneficial to habitats. Conservation actions addressing
physical or chemical features that interrupt the life-history
habitat modification could also include implementation
of a species.
of a broad range of activities that are often termed Best
Broadly stated, a conservation action is any activity that
Management Practices, such as establishing buffers to
directly or indirectly reduces or eliminates the effects of one
protect streambanks and shorelines, livestock exclusion
or more threats to a species or its habitats. It is important
fencing, re-establishing ecologically appropriate native
to recognize that often threats are complex and similarly
habitats and similar practices.
may require many conservation actions to improve their
Habitat modifications representing long-term threats
effectiveness. Let's look at some of the threats noted in
may be historical (i.e., legacy) such as some dams and
the September/October 2013 article of the Pennsylvania
strip-mined lands. Dams pose a significant threat to the
Angler & Boater magazine (www.fishandboat.com/
ecological function of streams by fragmenting habitats
anglerboater/2013ab/vol82num5_sepoct/10wap.pdf) and
and impeding migrating fishes (e.g., American Shad
identify some potential conservation actions.
and American Eel), thus impacting related species

52

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * September/October 2014

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photo-courtesy of American Rivers

Natural Diversity Section Chief
http://www.fishandboat.com/anglerboater/2013ab/vol82num5_sepoct/10wap.pdf http://www.fishandboat.com/anglerboater/2013ab/vol82num5_sepoct/10wap.pdf
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2014

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