Florida ES Sand-Placement Statewide Biological Opinion

Florida ES Sand-Placement Statewide Biological Opinion
2015-FLES-Sand-Placement-Statewide-Biological-Opnion.pdf2.73 MB

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s revised Statewide Programmatic Biological Opinion (SPBO) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Civil Works and Regulatory sand placement activities in Florida

Author(s)
Publication date
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Green sea turtle hatchling in the sand
Florida Ecological Services Office
Serving Florida by conserving our most imperiled species and working with others to conserve plants, fish, and wildlife.
Conservation Office
Gainesville,FL
Panama City,FL
Jacksonville,FL
Vero Beach,FL
Program
A rocky shoreline of a river. The water is calm. Mist and green branches line the river.
The Ecological Services Program works to restore and protect healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants and the environments upon which they depend. Using the best available science, we work with federal, state, Tribal, local, and non-profit stakeholders, as well as private land owners, to...
Program
Baileys Crossroads,VA
Species
A large sea turtle swimming along a reef

Loggerheads were named for their relatively large heads, which support powerful jaws and enable them to feed on hard-shelled prey, such as whelks and conch. The carapace (top shell) is slightly heart-shaped and reddish-brown in adults and sub-adults, while the plastron (bottom shell) is...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A hawksbill sea turtle, showing its distinctive tortoiseshell pattern across head, flippers, and carapace, swims above coral through bright blue water.

The endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle is one of seven species of sea turtles found throughout the world. One of the smaller sea turtles, it has overlapping scutes (plates) that are thicker than those of other sea turtles. This protects them from being battered against sharp coral and rocks during...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A scaly, dark-grey reptile hatchling, partially covered in sand on a beach

The leatherback is the largest, deepest diving, and most migratory and wide ranging of all sea turtles. The adult leatherback can reach 4 to 8 feet in length and 500 to 2000 pounds in weight. Its shell is composed of a mosaic of small bones covered by firm, rubbery skin with seven longitudinal...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A green sea turtle swims along the bottom of the reef.

The green sea turtle grows to a maximum size of about 4 feet and a weight of 440 pounds. It has a heart-shaped shell, small head, and single-clawed flippers. Color is variable. Hatchlings generally have a black carapace, white plastron, and white margins on the shell and limbs. The adult...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A greenish brown sea turtle laying on the beach

The Kemp's ridley turtle is the smallest of the sea turtles, with adults reaching about 2 feet in length and weighing up to 100 pounds. The adult Kemp's ridley has an oval carapace that is almost as wide as it is long and is usually olive-gray in color. The carapace has five pairs of costal...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
The Southeastern beach mouse is the largest beach mouse; it averages 139 millimeters in total length and 52 millimeters in tail length. Although it is darker and more buffy than the Anastasia Island beach mouse, it is still lighter than most inland subspecies of the oldfield mouse.
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The Anastasia Island beach mouse and the Southeastern beach mouse are two of six existing coastal subspecies of the oldfield mouse (Peromyscus polionotus). The oldfield mouse is a wide-ranging species in the Southeast. One of the largest species of beach mice (averaging 138.5 millimeters in length...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The Choctawhatchee beach mouse has a small body, haired tail, relatively large ears, and protuberant eyes. Head and body length is 2.7 to 3.5 inches; tail length is 1.7 to 2.5 inches. The upper parts are colored orange-brown to yellow-brown, the underparts are white, and the tail has a variable...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The Perdido Key beach mouse has a small body, haired tail, relatively large ears, and protuberant eyes. Its head and body length is 2.7 to 3.3 inches; the tail length is 1.7 to 2.5 inches. The upper parts are colored grayish fawn to wood brown with a very pale yellow hue and an indistinct middorsal...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
A small white bird with light grey wings, orange legs and a black cap

The roseate tern is about 40 centimeters in length, with light-gray wings and back. Its first three or four primaries are black and so is its cap. The rest of the body is white, with a rosy tinge on the chest and belly during the breeding season. The tail is deeply forked, and the outermost...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
FWS and DOI Region(s)
Southeast
Services
ESA Section 7 Consultation