4. Comprehensive Plan - Laserfiche WebLink

residential uses. As a result of these changes, several flora and fauna in the county are now listed as endangered, threatened, or candidate species. Based on the current information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are currently three species in the Threatened or Endangered categories, protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, with a likelihood of occurring in Cass County. These three birds are the Bald Eagle, Whooping Crane, and Peregrine Falcon which all have their migratory range within the county. In addition to these three birds, the county also has nine other plants and animals species that were former candidates for the list and currently a concern for species management. This includes the Western Burrowing Owl (bird), Black Tern (bird), Northern Goshawk (bird), Loggerhead Shrike (bird), Ferruginous Hawk (bird), Greater Redhorse (fish),Wolf's Spike-Rush (plant), Regal Fritillary (butterfly), and Elktoe (mollusk) (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1995). Cass County is also located within the Central Flyway, the corridor used semi-annually by waterfowl between their breeding and wintering grounds (Figure 1.6). Ten states, two provinces, and one territory make up the Central Flyway; the wetlands, river systems, lakes, and vegetation along this corridor are used as the birds move between their breeding grounds in the north and the wintering grounds in the south. The marshlands and wetlands found in Cass County created by the natural prairie potholes provide ideal habitats for these migrating birds (Figure 1.8). Waterfowl numbers have been greatly reduced since early settlement of North America from the drainage of these types of marshlands for developments (Central Flyway Waterfowl Council 1994). 17