ML060940302

Fws 1997a, Website Reference Used in Chapter 2 NMP FSEIS

ML060940302
Person / Time
Site:	Nine Mile Point
Issue date:	06/06/1997
From:	US Dept of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service
To:	Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML060940302 (1)

Text

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Threatened and Endangered Species American Harts-Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum)

The American harts-tongue fern is a federally threatened species. Threatened species This fern can be found in are animals and plants that are climates as different as likely to become endangered in Canada and Alabama, the foreseeable future.

suggesting that it had Endangered species are ani-spread widely since the last mals and plants that are in ice age. danger of becoming extinct.

Identifying, protecting, and restoring endangered and threatened species is the primary objective of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services endangered species program.

Habitat This fern is found in close association with outcrops of dolomitic limestone, in coulees, gorges and in cool limestone sinkholes in mature hardwood forests. It requires high humidity and deep shade provided by mature forest canopies or overhanging rock Photo by A. M. Evans cliffs. It prefers soils high in magnesium.

Why Its Threatened Although this plant is found over a very wide area, from Alabama to Canada, its populations tend to be very small and isolated due to its unique habitat. Because of its natural rarity, it is particularly vulnerable to disturbance. Many activities threaten the American harts-tongue.

Quarrying, recreation and residential development have all destroyed these plants and their habitat. Canadian populations are threatened by lumbering and the development of land for ski resorts and country estates, among U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service other activities. By removing shade trees, logging raises light levels and Endangered Species Division lowers humidity, decimating any American harts-tongue ferns in that area.

1 Federal Drive Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056 612/713-5350 Federal Relay Service 1-800-877-8339 http://midwest.fws.gov/endangered 1997