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Endangered & Threatened Species Protection Guide ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH & SAFETY
HOW TO AVOID SENSITIVE SPECIES CONFLICTS Minimize disturbance by: • Keeping your vehicle on existing roads and project areas • Only disturb vegetation or soil if necessary, after a pre-activity survey has been conducted, and ensure that habitat degradation will not occur • Integrate habitat enhancement during the reclamation process • Do not attract wildlife • Do not leave food wrappers or scraps on ground • Do not ever feed wildlife • Keep open pits fenced or provide escape ramps • Avoid injuring plants or animals by: • Checking for wildlife under vehicles • Obeying speed limits • Do not hunt, kill, harm, or harass any wildlife at a work site • Do not take, transport, possess, or sell any endangered, threatened, or candidate species of wildlife
Photo: Conservativeblog.com
• Do not damage or destroy an endangered plant • Avoid damaging or removing vegetation • Report dead or injured eagles to the local Fish & Wildlife office • For more information visit: www.fws.gov/midwest/MidwestBird/eaglepermits/index.html • Avoid wetland margins (the edge of wetland vegetation) by 110 yards. Doing so will likely alleviate many impacts associated with habitat disturbance, destruction, and degradation • During road construction, culverts should be used to prevent damming or funneling of water that normally would reach a wetland basin • During spring and summer, young animal encounters in urban areas, mountains and the plains are common. In all cases: leave them alone. They may seem to be abandoned but usually they’re not and they are better off left alone • If you find a dead doe by the side of the road with a nearby fawn, remember it is illegal to take it into your home. Call a licensed rehabilitator if you feel the need. For a list of licensed wildlife rehabilitators: www.agfc.com/en/resources/wildlife-conservation/wildlife-rehabilitation • Hunters and fisherman please remember to pick up your waste monofilament lines, empty shotgun shells, and brass
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SPILLED OIL IMPACTS BIRDS, SMALL MAMMALS, AND OTHERWILDLIFE All species information and photos provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) websites and the following websites: • www.gf.nd.gov/wildlife • www.blm.gov/about/laws-and-regulations • www.fws.gov • nas.er.usgs.gov/default.aspx For more information regarding North Dakota’s wildlife and vegetation please visit: • www.npwrc.usgs.gov/projects/all For more information about recommended management practices for reducing oil and gas impacts to wildlife: • www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/contaminants/oilpits.htm North Dakota does not have a state specific endangered or threatened species list. Only those species listed by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 are considered threatened or endangered in North Dakota
DISCLAIMER Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate species list may change. For more information please contact Jen Stoelzel at Jen.Stoelzel@Whiting.com Last Update: September 2019
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Photo Credit: USFWS
Photo Credit: USFWS
Pallid Sturgeon
Piping Plover
Scaphirhynchus
Charadrius melodus
Federal Status: Endangered
Federal Status: Threatened
This Sturgeon’s snout is flattened and shovel shaped with an underslung mouth. Named for its pale coloration, it is a close relative to the common shovelnose sturgeon. It can reach a maximum length of about 60 inches and a maximum weight of about 86 pounds when in the northern part of their range.
The Piping Plover is about 7 inches in length and is often described as being pale gray-brown. For nesting, piping plovers make shallow scrapes in the sand which they line with pebbles or rocks. The female lays 3-4 eggs and both parents share in incubation duties. Depending on food availability, it takes the young from around 18-28 days to begin flying.
Habitat: Its preferred habitat is found in the Upper Missouri, Little Missouri and Lower Yellowstone Rivers in North Dakota.
Habitat: The Piping Plover’s preferred habitat is shoreline sand areas on the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, and alkali wetlands.
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DID YOU KNOW?
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits a person from “taking” threatened and endangered species. “Take” is defined as: to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. If any person or entity knowingly violates any provision of the Act, they will be subject to civil penalties and/or criminal charges.
Photo Credit: J. Michael Lockhart, USFWS
Photo: Credit USFWS
Black-Footed Ferret Mustela nigripes
Northern Long-Eared Bat
Federal Status: Endangered
Myotis septentrionalis
The Back-Footed Ferret has a tan body with black legs and feet. It also has a black tip on the tail and a black face mask. This ferret has short legs with large front paws and claws designed for digging.
Federal Status: Threatened
Habitat: The preferred habitat of the Black-Footed Ferret is prairie dog colonies.
The Northern Long-Eared bat is a medium-sized bat that is about 3 inches in length, but with a wingspan of 9-10 inches. Its fur color is medium to dark brown on the back and tawny to pale-brown on the underside. This bat is distinguishable by its long ears. Habitat: These bats hibernate in caves and mines in winter and roost or colonize in trees or caves during the summer.
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5 WILDLIFE HIGHLIGHT Sprague’s Pipit Anthus spragueii Federal Status: Candidate Counties: Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Divide, Dunn, Golden Valley, McKenzie, McLean, Mountrail, Pierce, Renville, Stark, Ward, and Williams. The Sprague’s Pipit has a small, buff colored face with a large eye-ring. It can be recognized by its white outer tail feathers and brown striped body. The Sprague’s Pipit is a ground nester that breeds and winters on open grasslands.
Photo: Andrew Jordan, TX, 01/2012
Sprague’s Pipits spend the winters in the Southwestern US and Northern Mexico and migrate north towards North Dakota in the summers.
Sprague’s Pipit Range
This rare and declining songbird performs the longest known flight display of any bird. Sprague’s Pipits eat mostly insects and spiders, as well as some seeds.
Breeding Range
Migration Corridor
Winter Range
As their native habitat has been overgrazed and converted for farmland, this bird has experienced dramatic declines. This species is in danger of extinction without significant conservation action.
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Photo Credit: Adam Mann
Photo Credit: USFWS
Interior Least Tern
Whooping Crane
Sterna antillarum
Grus americana
Federal Status: Endangered
Federal Status: Endangered
The Interior Least Tern is the smallest North American Tern. With a length of 9 inches, a wingspan of 20 inches, and light, buoyant flight, it has the appearance of being very delicate on its wings.
The Whooping Crane stands at 5 feet tall with a 7-foot wingspan and is the tallest bird in North America. It is stunningly white except for black wing tips, legs, and a red crown and cheeks.
Habitat: Least Terns nest on midstream sandbars of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers and shorelines of Lake Sakakawea.
Habitat: Roosting occurs within one mile of shallow marshes and agricultural cropland and is considered optimum Whooping Crane habitat during spring and fall.
Red Knot Calidris canutus rufa Federal Status: Threatened This migratory bird is about 10 inches in length and has a 20-inch wingspan. Adult Red Knot’s feathers change through the seasons but generally consist of grey, brown, and barred feathers. In Autumn, adults show traces of red feathers on their underparts. Photo: USFWS
Habitat: The Red Knot’s habitat are tidal flats and shores during the summer. In migration and winter time they nest on coastal mudflats and tidal zones, sometimes on open sandy beaches of the sort favored by Sanderlings. They nest in the Arctic tundra, usually on high barren areas inland from coast, but typically near a pond or stream.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Much of central and northeastern North Dakota lies in the Prairie Pothole Region, an area that is about 1,000 miles long and 300 miles wide and includes portions of Canada, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. The region was created by the Wisconsinan glacier that existed from about 40,000 years ago to 12,000 years ago. The glaciation covered most of North Dakota, except the southwest portion of the state, and created millions of potholes when glaciers retreated. The Wisconsinan glacier was the driving force in creating North Dakota’s wetlands.
The aerial photo (right) provides a sense of the number and density of wetlands within North Dakota. Credits: Left: plainswindeis.anl.gov. Right: USFWS
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Photo Credit: Dnr.state.mn.us
Photo Credit: USFWS
Western Prairie Fringed Orchid
Poweshiek Skipperling
Plantanthera praeclara
Arisma poweshiek
Federal Status: Threatened
Federal Status: Endangered
This orchid is distinguished by large, white flowers that come from a single stem. The flower is fringed on the margins giving it a feathery appearance. This orchid can grow up to 3 feet tall.
The Poweshiek Skipperling is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 1 inch. It is dark brown above with some light orange along the wing margins and a lighter orange head.
Habitat: The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid occurs in moist, tall grass prairies and sedge meadows. In North Dakota, it is commonly found with sedges, reed grass, and rushes or where those plants meet big bluestem, little bluestem, and switch grass.
Habitat: Poweshiek Skipperlings live in tall grass prairie in both high, dry areas as well as low, moist areas.
DID YOU KNOW?
North Dakota is primarily a prairie state, but it does have a number of vegetation types unique to the Upper Midwest. North Dakota’s climate is continental and is characterized by windy conditions, large variances in temperature, both on a seasonal and daily basis, and precipitation ranging from low to moderate. The state’s highest point is White Butte in the southwestern corner of the state, standing at 3,506 feet above sea level. The lowest point at 750 feet above sea level is in extreme northeastern North Dakota.
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Photo Credit: National Park Service
Photo Credit: USFWS
Gray Wolf
Dakota Skipper
Canis lupus
Hesperia dacotae
Federal Status: Endangered
Federal Status: Threatened
The Gray Wolf, being a keystone predator, is an integral component of the ecosystems to which it typically belongs. Males range in size from 95-99 pounds and females range from 79-85 pounds. The wide range of habitats in which wolves can thrive reflects their adaptability as a species.
The Dakota skipper is a small to mid-sized butterfly that inhabits highquality tall grass and mixed-grass prairie in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States. They are a brownish-orange color and have a more powerful flight than most butterflies. The species is presumed to be extirpated from many sites within its occupied range in the United States.
Habitat: Wolves are habitat generalists and lived throughout the Northern hemisphere. Suitable habitat must have sufficient access to prey, protection from excessive persecution, and areas for denning and taking shelter.
Habitat: The Dakota Skipper is found in high quality native prairie containing a high diversity of wildflowers and grasses. Habitat includes two prairie types: 1) low (wet) prairie dominated by blue-stem grasses, wood lily, harebell, and smooth camas; and 2) upland (dry) prairie dominated by bluestem grasses, needlegrass, pale purple and upright cone-flowers, and blanketflower.
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Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Bombus affinis Photo Credit: Tamara Smith/USFWS
Federal Status: Endangered
The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee live in colonies that include a single queen and female workers. The colony produces males and new queens in late summer. All rusty Patched Bumble Bees have entirely black heads, but only worker and male bees have a rusty reddish patch centrally located on the back. The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee emerges in spring and is one of the last species to go into hibernation. In autumn, founding queens, workers and males die — only new queens go into hibernation over winter. Habitat: The Rusty Patched Bumble Bees once occupied grasslands and tall grass prairies of the upper Midwest and Northeast. Bumble bees need areas that provide nectar and pollen from flowers, nesting sites (underground and abandoned rodent cavities or clumps of grasses), and overwintering sites for hibernating queens (undisturbed soil).
DID YOU KNOW?
Bumble bees are keystone species in most ecosystems, necessary not only for native wildflower reproduction, but also for creating seeds and fruits that feed wildlife as diverse as songbirds and grizzly bears. Habitat loss and degradation, intensive farming and pesticide use have been identified as contributing to the decline of the bumble bee populations. You can help conserve not only the Rusty Patch Bumble Bee but all pollinators by growing a garden or add a flowering tree or shrub to your yard. Use native plants in your yard and avoid invasive non-native plants and remove them if they colonize your yard. Provide natural areas — many bumble bees build nests in undisturbed soil so reduce tilling soil and mowing where bumble bees might nest.
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5 WILDLIFE HIGHLIGHT
Greater Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus Federal Status: not listed per 2015 determination with updated status review in 2020 “Spotted Owls of the Prairie� The Greater Sage Grouse is the largest North American grouse species, weighing an average of 6.3 pounds. They are a year-round resident of North Dakota and rely on the sagebrush for food, habitat, and nesting.
The Greater Sage Grouse peak breeding season occurs from early May to midJuly, and the brood-rearing habitat tends to stay in sagebrush communities or near dry stream bed channels, ridges, gravel pits, and roads. To learn more about the Greater Sage Grouse, visit: https://gf.nd.gov/ wildlife/id/grassland-birds/greatersage-grouse
Greater Sage Grouse Range
This species is in danger of being threatened and possibly endangered as the degradation of sagebrush throughout North America continues. The decline in this plant is due to grazing, fires, invasion of exotic plants, and human-related destruction. Recent studies have indicated that the Greater Sage Grouse lacks resistance to the West Nile Virus that may transfer from direct and indirect human contact to the species and their nesting sites.
Current Greater Sage Grouse Distribution Historical Greater Sage Grouse Distribution
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What You Can Do As a Whiting employee, contractor, or visitor, you are responsible for protecting wildlife and the environment. Your participation is essential. Each employee, contractor, and visitor should be familiar with the measures that are listed below: • Learn to identify potentially sensitive habitats • Understand what species inhabit your area, the habitat types and where they occur • Keep your vehicle on existing roads and observe the posted speed limit • Remove food and solid wastes from project sites • No firearms are permitted on Whiting property or in company vehicles (Whiting Policy) • Clean up oil, produced water, and chemical spills • Keep well cellars covered and drained to protect wildlife • Use belt guards, screens, lids, or netting to protect wildlife from moving equipment and tanks • All containers and vent stacks must be closed, netted, or screened • Never purchase products made from threatened or endangered species • Respect the lease owner’s property • Coordinate drilling activities to minimize impacts to wildlife during migration and breeding seasons • Use closed containment systems to collect oil field produced water. For more information visit: https://www.blm.gov/about/laws-and-regulations
Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation Environmental, Health and Safety 1700 Lincoln Street Suite 4700 Denver, CO 80203 www.Whiting.com
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