Wake-Up Call! 21 Species Deemed Extinct By US Wildlife Officials, How Many Next?
A solemn and depressing declaration has been made by the U.S., declaring 21 endangered species extinct.?This statement serves as a wake-up call to the urgent need for conservation activities on a worldwide scale, in addition to serving as a stark reminder of the ongoing biodiversity catastrophe.
What Did The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Declare?
In accordance with the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is delisting 21 species that are nearing extinction.?The Service determined these species are extinct and should be removed from the list of species protected under the ESA based on thorough examinations of the best available science for each species.?
Most of these species were either already extinct or possessed extremely low populations when listed under the ESA in the 1970s and 1980s.?
Service Director Martha Williams said, "Federal protection came too late to stop the decline of these species, and it's a wake-up call on the necessity of protecting imperilled species before it's too late."?
As we celebrate the Endangered Species Act's 50th anniversary this year, we are reminded of the Act's mission to act as a safety net that halts the process of extinction.?The goal is to restore these species so they no longer require protection under the Act.
In its most recent "wake-up call" for conservation, the U.S. Fish and?Wildlife?Service has downgraded almost two dozen endangered species to extinct.
Despite not taking effect until the beginning of next month, the EPA said on Tuesday that 21 species would be removed from the Endangered Species Act due to extinction.
Which Are The?Extinct Species?
Twenty-one species, including mussels, bats, and birds, have been classified as extinct.?These were previously listed as threatened and endangered on the federal level.
Among the extinct species are:
- Eight honeycreeper birds from Hawaii
- Guam's Bridled White-Eyed Bird,?
- The Mariana Fruit Bat,?
- The San Marcos Gambusia, a one-inch Texas Fish,?
- The Scioto Madtom,?
- A tiny catfish found only in the Big Darby Creek in Ohio,?
- The Guam-bridled white-eyed bird
- A black and yellow songbird known as the Bachman's warbler can be found in various southern states and Cuba.?
- The green-blossom pearly mussel, southern acornshell, stirrupshell, tubercled-blossom pearly mussel, turgid-blossom pearly mussel, highland combshell, and yellow-blossom pearly mussel are the eight freshwater mussels.
How Many Species Have Now Gone Extinct In The United States?
The species had not been spotted since 1899 and as recently as 2004, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service first suggested removing them from the endangered and threatened species list in 2021.?
According to the Centre for Biological Diversity, 650 species have vanished from the United States.?The organisation claims that invasive species, pollution, and climate change are some of the causes of species loss.?
Due to the consequences of climate change, 39% of amphibian species will likely go extinct between 2004 and 2022. According to Fish and Wildlife, the number of birds in North America has decreased by about 3 billion since 1970.?Nevertheless, 99% of the species on the endangered and threatened lists are still alive.?
According to Fish and Wildlife, 54 species have been removed from the list due to recovery efforts, and 56 have been downgraded from endangered to threatened.??
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