Type: other

Article abstract: Once the beaches of southern California teemed with California least terns [Sterna antillarum (=albifrons) browni]. Today, least tern numbers are so depleted that both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Federal Register 35:16047, October 13, 1970; Federal Register 35:8495, December, June 2, 1970) and California Fish and Game Commission (California Department of Fish and Game 1980) consider the subspecies in danger of extinction and classify it as an endangered species. The goals of this recovery plan are to prevent extinction and return the California least tern population to a stable, nonendangered status. The plan summarizes available biological information on the terns, identifies their ecologic needs, and proposes orderly and comprehensive actions to restore them to a viable population and ultimately to delist the species.