The third webinar on the Draft Range-Wide Conservation Strategy for the Gopher Tortoise is TOMORROW, Wednesday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. All are welcome.
Two additional webinars are scheduled for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5 and 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6. The webinars cover the same topics, so you need only participate in one.
To participate, call in to:
1-877-985-1937
and enter the passcode 2909506#
To view the PowerPoint:
1. Log on to
http://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?sigKey=mymeetings&i=443873429&p=&t=c
2. Enter the required fields. You do not need a password.
3. Indicate that you have read the Privacy Policy.
4. Click on Proceed.
You can also view the PowerPoint presentation by visiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's website at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/candidateconservation/examples.html. The draft strategy is available on that website as well.
The draft strategy is in joint development by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. The purpose is to outline the highest priority conservation efforts for the tortoise. If implemented, these efforts may preclude the need to list the eastern population under the Endangered Species Act.
Webinar Agenda:
1. Brief introduction to the webinar and an overview of the USFWS Southeast
Region Candidate Conservation website -- Stacy Shelton with USFWS Region 4
External Affairs
2. Importance of partnerships in gopher tortoise conservation and genesis of the
draft strategy -- Elsa Haubold with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission and Chair of the SEAFWA Wildlife Diversity Committee
3. Threats assessment based on the five listing factors; objectives and action
items to address the threats; tracking implementation by partners; and how to
submit comments -- Matt Hinderliter, USFWS Region 4 Lead Biologist for the
Gopher Tortoise.
For your scheduling purposes, the webinars to date have lasted less than an hour. However, we are prepared to stay on the line for up to 90 minutes to answer questions prior to providing written comments by Sept. 15 on this first draft.
If you have questions about how to join the webinar, please contact Stacy Shelton, Public Affairs Specialist in the Service's Southeast Regional Office at 404-679-7290 or stacy_shelton@fws.gov. Please join the webinar about 10 minutes early if you are unsure whether your software will support net conferencing, to download required updates.
To sign up for this listserve, please go to https://www.fws.gov/lists/listinfo/fw4candidateconservation.