The purpose of the great lakes piping plover salvage captive rearing program is to support the recovery of the great lakes piping plover population by increasing the number of plover chicks that…

The purpose of the great lakes piping plover salvage captive rearing program is to support the recovery of the great lakes piping plover population by increasing the number of plover chicks that fledge each year. The objective of the program is to operate the captive rearing facility at the detroit ZOO and the university of michigan's biological station (umbs) to raise and release chicks from abandoned eggs. Salvage captive rearing is one of the action items in the 2003 great lakes recovery action plan. Action item 7 is develop emergency methods to prevent extirpation. The current efforts support item 7.21 to captive-rear abandoned eggs to supplement natural production. In 2021, the captive rearing program released 13 captive reared chicks, supplementing the wild fledged population in the field. Activities to be performed include: - preparation of the captive rearing facility, including assembling both conditioning pens. - updating and providing rearing protocols to participants prior to the season. - working with the plover monitors, university of minnesota, sbdnl, and the USFWS to arrange for transportation of abandoned eggs or chicks from field sites to umbs. - recruiting experienced seasonal interns to replace DZS staff traveling to umbs to incubate eggs and rear chicks. Arrange and schedule so that staff is available from end of april through mid-august. - purchasing all needed feed items for chick rearing, permanent and portable incubators and supplies and equipment for the rearing operation. - supporting short-term needs if, for example, a clutch of eggs is pulled in the event of an emergency. - assisting in the release of all fledged captive chicks as needed. - facilitating the removal, winterizing and storage of all materials and equipment at the conclusion of the breeding seasons. - supporting sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore remote incubation site program o work with sbdnl supervisors on incubator/candling training as needed. O work with sbdnl and USFWS on short-term EGG management, including when vulnerable eggs should be returned to the nest or considered abandoned and sent to umbs for captive rearing. - supporting relocation activities from other field sites o provide portable incubators and training on their use to plover monitors. O advising monitors during abandonment events so eggs can be safely transported to umbs for incubation.