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<br />Part II <br />RECOVERY <br /> <br />Recoverv Ob.iectives and Criteria <br /> <br />Short-term: The short-term recovery objective for the pallid sturgeon is to <br />prevent species extinction by establishing three captive broodstock <br />populations in separate hatcheries that are initially composed of five to <br />seven wild adult males and five to seven wild adult females each, by 1998. <br />Immediate actions also will be undertaken to protect all wild individuals from <br />harm, harassment, or death (take), protect remnant habitats, and to restore <br />functions of the large~river ecosystem.believed important to recOVer self- <br />sustaining populations of pallid sturgeon. <br /> <br />l:ong-term: The long-term obJective is,to downlist and delist the species <br />through protection and habitat restoration activities by 2040. Delisting may <br />be considered when pallid sturgeon are reproducing naturally in the wild and <br />populations are self-sustaining within each of six recovery-priority areas. <br />Delisting criteria are undeterminable at this time. Preliminary downlisting <br />criteria have been identified. <br /> <br />Downlisting may be considered when: <br /> <br />1. a population structure with at'least 10 percent sexually mature <br />females occurring within each recovery-priority management area has <br />been achieved, and <br /> <br />2. when there are sufficient population numbers present in the wild to <br />maintain stability. These population numbers are not yet <br />quantifiable; additional biological and population information is <br />needed. <br /> <br />These are interim criteria. These cri~eria may be modified or other <br />downlisting criteria may be identified in the future as more information is <br />obtained. Downlisting may be possible by 2025 if the required criteria are <br />met. <br /> <br />Recoverv-Prioritv Manaaement Areas <br /> <br />Any remaining physical habitat for pallid sturgeon is typically now only found <br />within the flowing reaches of the main stem Missouri, Yellowstone, and <br />Mississippi Rivers. However, some recovery tasks include actions at main stem <br />reservoirs and in major tributaries when those actions would benefit pallid <br />sturgeon in downstream reaches. Six recovery-priority management areas are <br />i dent i fi ed and will recei ve pri ority for impl ementat i on of appropri ate <br />recovery tasks. The recovery-priority areas were selected based upon most <br />recent pallid sturgeon records of occurrence and the probabil ity that these <br />areas still provide suitable habitat for restoration and recovery of the <br />.species. These areas are typically the least degraded and have the highest <br />habitat diversity, and in some reaches still exhibit a natural channel <br /> <br />16 <br /> <br />__.. u_n__n_~~,__'_'__.____.___.~ <br />