Success Stories

Recovering endangered and .threatened species is challengmgand can be a rewarding process. Thefollowingsuccess stories descri?erecovery projects that are making adifference for endangered andthreatened species in Tennessee.Remember, you can be a part ofendangered and threatened speciesrecovery. Continue to explore andlearn about Tennessee's diverse andwonderful ecosystems!

Order of Appearance:

• Success on the Clinch River• Gray Bats on the Comeback• Abram's Creek: Reintroduction• Success of Four Listed Fishes• American Peregrine

Falcon Delisted!

Success on the Clinch River

Is there a riverineecosystem in yourcommunity? Imagine thedifference you could makefor wildlife and native plantsin your area by taking partin a stream restorationproject! Remember, whatwe put on the land mayeventually enter the streams!Tell afriend about theClinch River CommunityProject! Participate in alocal stream cleanup.Dispose of trash properly.Explore Tennessee'sdiverse ecosystems!

The Clinch RiverThe nearly pristine Clinch Riverflows through remote areas of theRidge and Valley Province ofnortheastern Tennessee and Virginia.The Clinch forms the headwaters ofthe species-rich Tennessee Riversystem and remains its mostimportant tributary. The portion ofthis stream that flows throughHancock County, Tennessee, is hometo 15 species of federally protectedfreshwater mussel and fish species.Several more endangered speciesoccur upstream in Virginia. Thisdiversity makes the Clinch River oneof the most important sites in theworld for imperiled aquatic creatures.

Threats

The Clinch River has beenthreatened by sediment fromerosion caused by poor land-usepractices. Riparian vegetation alongsome stretches of the stream hasbeen damaged or destroyed. Thisriverine ecosystem has also beenthreatened by pollutants fromisolated industrial developments.

Clinch River Community ProjectThe Clinch River CommunityProject began in the early 1990s.The goals of the project includedthe protection and restoration ofriparian habitats along the ClinchRiver in Hancock County. TheNature Conservancy has been thedriving force behind this project andhas partnered with governmentagencies, local officials,and, mostimportantly, landowners.

SuccessHands-on activities such as bankstabilization, trash removal, and thefencing of riparian areas to preventtrampling from livestock are allmaking a difference for plants andwildlife in this ecosystem. Theseactions have helped to preserve andenhance the Clinch's water quality.There have been significantreductions in sediment from erosionand other pollutants that threaten theaquatic life of the Clinch. Stream-bottom habitats essential for aquaticcreatures have been protected fromtrampling by livestock and thesmothering effects of silt and muck.The future of the Clinch Riverdepends on the continuation of suchefforts. Residents of Hancock Countyare learning more about the richnatural heritage of the Clinch Rivervalley thanks to this ongoing project.

Gray Bats On The Comeback

The gray bat (Myotis grisescens)depends on cave ecosystemsthroughout the year. It is perhapsmore dependent on caves than anyother mammal in the United States.To thrive, these bats requireundisturbed caves for winterhibernation, and warm caves forraising their young in the summer.When a maternity colony is disturbedby visiting humans, thousands ofyoung may be dropped to the cavefloor and abandoned. Disturbanceduring hibernation causes the bats touse up the stored energy that theyneed to survive the winter. AB a

result of human disturbance anddestruction of their caves, this speciesdeclined drastically and was listed asan endangered species on April 26,1976. Thankfully, recovery effortsare working.

Gray bat populations are stabilizedor increasing in numbers at the mostimportant maternity and hibernationcaves. Dedicated field biologists,researchers, and conservation mindedcavers have made this possible byfencing or gating cave entrances andrestricting access during the timesthe bats are present. This allows thebats to hibernate and raise theiryoung undisturbed. The cave gatesand fences are specially designed topermit bats and other cave life tofreely enter and leave the caves, butkeep unauthorized visitors out whenthe bats are present.Gating and fencing caves is no easyfeat. It takes an incredible amount ofmanpower to get tools, generators,fencing materials, and steel to thecave sites. In many cases, numerousvolunteers have given up entireweekends and have driven long

distances to help build thesefences and gates. It takes manydedicated people working together tohelp save and recover species, but itcan be done.

These efforts have been rewardedwith a significant increase in thenumbers of gray bats in Tennessee.AB an example, the gray batmaternity colony at Nickajack Cavenear Chattanooga was disturbed sofrequently by recreational boaters onBunersville Lake that theyabandoned the cave. The TennesseeValley Authority, working with theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and theTennessee Wildlife ResourcesAgency, constructed a fence thatprotects the bats and the colony.AB a result, the colony has recoveredto pre-disturbance levels.

Abram's Creek:Reintroduction of Four Listed Fishes

SmokyMadtom

Duskytail darter Etheostoma percnurum EndangeredSmoky madtom Noturus baileyi EndangeredSpotfin chub Cyprinella monacha ThreatenedYellowfinmadtom N oturus jlavipinnis Threatened

Nongame FishesThe smoky madtom, yellowfinmadtom, duskytail darter, and spotfinchub are members of a large group ofspecies known as nongame fishes.They each have specific habitatrequirements and uniquecharacteristics. All four of them canbe found in Abram's Creek, amountain stream that flows throughthe Great Smoky Mountains NationalPark in Blount County, Tennessee.While game fish species (those caughtby fishermen for sport and food) havebeen successfully introduced andreintroduced throughout the countryfor a long time, few nongame fishreintroduction efforts havebeen attempted.

Threats

Icthyocides are chemicals that wereused in 1957to eliminate unwantednongame fisqes from Abram's Creekin the hope of improving the stream'strout fishery. The chemical treatmentdid not improve the trout fishery, but

many nongame fish species wereeliminated from the creek. At thattime, resource managers did notrealize the vital connection betweennongame fishes and the success andhealth of a riverine ecosystem. Sincethen, some nongame fish species havereturned to the creek from upstreamand downstream sources. TheChilhowee Reservoir, whichimpounded the lower end of Abram'sCreek, along with other contributingfactors, blocked nearly half of the63 fish species that once inhabitedthe stream from returning.

Reintroduction

The University of Tennessee atKnoxville combined efforts with theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, theTennessee Wildlife ResourcesAgency, the National Park Service,and the U.S. Forest Service torestore the species diversity andhealth ofAbram's Creek. In 1986,the

fish restoration project in Abram'sCreek began. The first steps of

the project were to (1) ensurethat Abram's Creek would haveconsistently clean water and(2) develop propagation andreintroduction techniques for therare fishes. Today, ConservationFisheries, Inc. leads thereintroduction effort by researchingand developing theseneeded techniques.

Spotfin chubs were collected from theLittle Tennessee River and releaseddirectly into Abram's Creek in 1986.Yellowfin and smoky madtom eggsand young were collected from thewild in 1986and raised in captivity,and juveniles were released intoAbram's Creek later in the year.Duskytail darter nest clutches werecollected from the wild in 1992,one year before the species waslisted. Young darters were raised incaptivity and released into Abram'sCreek. Since the beginning of the

project, over 2,600 adult and youngspotfin chubs have been

Tell afriend aboutAbram's Creek and thisnongame fish reintroduction.Learn more about nongamefish species and theirhabitats. Help with localstream cleanups and waterquality monitoring projects,and report illegal dumping.Explore Tennessee'sdiverse ecosystems!

released into Abram's Creek, aswell as 1,500smoky madtoms,500 yellowfin madtoms, and over1,300duskytail darters.

SuccessBeginning in 1995,consistentobservations indicated that all fourspecies were surviving in Abram'sCreek. They appeared to be healthy,and three of the four reintroducedspecies were breeding. Maleduskytail darters have been observedguarding large nests, pairs ofyellowfin madtoms and smokymadtoms were seen preparing nests,male smoky madtoms were seenguarding their eggs, and youngmadtoms and darters have beenobserved. Future releases will beneeded in order to ensure success,and biologists are now looking atother streams for futurereintroduction sites. They hope toreintroduce these nongame fishes

into other historical habitats by theyear 2000. It will take many moresuccessful reintroductions beforethese species no longer need theprotection provided by theEndangered Species Act.

American Peregrine Falcon Delisted!(Falco peregrinus anatum)

Tell afriend about theAmerican peregrine falcon.Protect high-elevationecosystems by supportinglocal, regional, and nationalclean air standards. Viewperegrines from a distance.Use pesticides carefully andcorrectly or practice organicgardening. Take pride inTennessee's wildlife!

StatusThe American peregrine falcon waslisted as endangered on June 2, 1970,and delisted in August, 1999. It isnow protected by the Migratory BirdTreaty Act and the Lacey Act.

DescriptionThe American peregrine falcon is amedium-sized falcon, about the sizeof a crow, with long, pointed wingsand a long tail. The adult is slategray above, with a white throat. Thewings, tail, and sides have black bars.Black tear-shaped marks appearbeneath each eye. The underpartsare white to reddish-buff, with manyblack bars and spots. The legs andfeet are yellow. The peregrine canreach speeds of up to 200 miles perhour-three times faster than anycar on a highway-and can see up toa mile away!

HabitatPeregrine falcons typically nest oncliffs that overlook the sunoundinglandscape. A sheltered cliffledgewith a flat floor that has small rocksor pebbles is usually best. The falconhave been known to nest on talltowers and buildings as well.Peregrines usually hunt overwaterways, fields, swamps, andmarshes. The peregrine can be foundas far north as Alaska and as farsouth as Mexico. Historically,peregrine falcons only nested inTennessee's high elevationecosystems, but today they will alsonest on bridges and buildings in citiesand urban areas.

Life HistoryPeregrines usually choose a nestingsite by March. During late Marchand April the female will lay 3 to 5eggs that are yellowwith brownspots. Chicks stay in the nest for 6to 7 weeks before learning to fly andhunt. The parents will return to thesame nesting site year after year.Peregrines may head for the coastduring winter months to search forfood, but they return to their nestingarea in the spring.

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Role in the EcosystemPeregrines are mighty predators;they sit at the top of the food chain.They hunt in the air for waterfowl,songbirds, and sometimes flyingmammals, like bats, which live off ofinsects and plant material. Shouldsomething go wrong with any link inthis chain, the peregrines will beaffected. The health of these amazingbirds is dependent on a healthyfood chain.

ThreatsThe peregrine falcon declinedprimarily because of an insecticidecalled DDT. It built up in their bodiesas they fed on animals that had eatencontaminated insects and seeds. Thechemical caused the falcon's eggshellsto be too thin, so they often werecrushed before their chicks couldhatch. Loss of habitat, illegal hunting,egg collecting, and disease also playeda part in the peregrine's decline.

RecoveryBy 1965,the entire easternpopulation of the American peregrinefalcon had been extirpated. Acaptive-breeding program began in1971at Cornell University in NewYork. The United States banned theuse ofDDT in 1972,although it is stillused in many Latin Americancountries. Since that time, peregrineshave been successfully raised incaptivity and reintroduced into thewild. Newly hatched chicks were first

released in 1974. The release process,known as "hacking," involves raisingthe chicks in special boxes at the topsof towers and on cliff ledges.Caretakers feed the birds but arehidden from their view. Soon thebirds are free to fly and hunt on theirown. Nationwide, more than 1,000peregrines have been released since1974,and in 1997a pair of endangeredfalcons nested and raised young in theGreat Smoky Mountains NationalPark. It was the first time peregrines

had nested successfully in the parksince the 1940s!