The award, one of two bestowed in the agency’s Pacific Southwest Region, recognizes USFWS employees and the agency’s partners for contributions to the recovery of threatened and endangered species in the United States. Kelly was cited for his leadership efforts and hard work on programs aimed at preserving riparian brush rabbits which were at one time on the brink of extinction in the San Joaquin Valley.
“Patrick Kelly and the University’s Endangered Species Recovery Program staff are to be congratulated for their dedication and determination to make a difference in the ongoing efforts to preserve rare and endangered animals and plants,” CSU Stanislaus President Dr. Hamid Shirvani said. “CSU Stanislaus takes great pride in the accomplishments of this program made possible by a partnership that teams the expertise of its talented staff with local, state, and national agencies to find conservation solutions.”
Kelly spearheaded the ESRP’s riparian rabbit preservation project after the 1997 Central Valley floods raised serious concerns that the species would become extinct. The program entailed capturing animals for a propagation program, releasing them, health-checking the young, radio-collaring and tagging them, releasing them into the wild, and then monitoring them for survival, healthy reproduction, and habitat use. The brush rabbits were introduced on the San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge and adjacent private land as they were put back on the road to recovery.
Under Kelly’s direction, the recovery program was expanded to focus on increasing the numbers of rabbits released into the wild. A variety of other animals and some plants are on the project list for the ESRP which has generated more than $24 million in grants and contracts from public agencies since its startup 15 years ago. Kelly joined the CSU Stanislaus faculty in 1993 and became ESRP Director in 2002.
“The main reason our program has been so effective as a partner in applied conservation and ecological research with a variety of agencies is the combination of sheer dedication and hard work of a group of great employees,” Kelly said. “Both the current staff and past employees, from front office people and tech support to the Riparian Brush Rabbit team slogging it out in the field in all sorts of conditions, and the department, the College of Natural Sciences, and the University administration, have been turning in a tremendous team effort.”
Ren Lohoefener, Regional Director of the USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, applauded Kelly for his watchful eye, passionate commitment, scrupulous focus, and leadership. “Dr. Kelly has shown a commitment to the recovery of these species that goes well beyond expected actions,” Lohoefener said.