Photo courtesy of James Borrol via Flickr.
The Bachmans warbler bird species pictured above was removed from the endangered species list.
By Lily Benn ’24
Staff Writer
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that they are removing 21 animal species from an existing list of endangered species due to an official declaration of their extinction.
According to the USFWS, these U.S. numbers come from the Endangered Species Act, which was implemented in December 1973. This policy was enacted to protect animals and plants that scientists and the U.S. government have designated as threatened or endangered. Since the act’s implementation, many species that live or once lived in the United States have been added to the list due to low numbers or else removed entirely due to population recovery or extinction.
Over a million species of organisms throughout the world are at risk of extinction, according to a United Nations report titled “Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services,” originally published in 2019.
According to CBS, the USFWS proposed delisting 23 species in 2021 due to their extinct status. This list contained all 21 of the species officially delisted in October 2023, with an additional two species no longer being considered, CBS explained.
The Guardian elaborated on this, writing that one of the two species was a Hawaiian herb commonly referred to as “Phyllostegia glabra var lanaiensis,” as newer studies have shown that there is a possibility for new habitats to be developed to assist the plant in population recovery. The article mentioned that the other species that remained endangered under the Endangered Species Act was the ivory-billed woodpecker, a large species of woodpecker with unconfirmed recent sightings that have led to a debate about its extinction status.
An article from the International Fund for Animal Welfare provided images and details about the 21 species that have been declared extinct this October. The largest category represented is birds, which comprise 10 out of the 21 species, according to IFAW. The article stated that most of the animals on this list were added to the Endangered Species Act after there had been no confirmed sightings for years, with some last confirmed sightings dating back to the 1960s.
One bird, the Bachman’s warbler, was previously native to the Southeastern continental U.S., the article continued. There used to be a larger number of swamplands that provided habitats for this small bird. However, according to IFAW, this species’ habitat was lost after the swamps were drained. Another species of bird declared extinct was the bridled white-eye, which used to be native to Guam and Florida.
According to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, the eight other bird species are honeycreepers previously endemic to Hawaii. They are known as the Kauaʻi ʻakialoa, Kauaʻi nukupuʻu — which has not had a confirmed sighting since 1899 —, Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, Large Kauaʻi thrush, Maui ākepa, Maui nukupuʻu, Molokai creeper and Po`ouli, the last of which was last sighted in 2004.
Outside of birds, the other species declared as extinct include the Little Mariana fruit bat, two fish — San Marcos gambusia and Scioto madtom — and eight mussel species — flat pigtoe, southern acornshell, stirrupshell, upland combshell, green blossom pearly mussel, tubercled-blossom pearly mussel, turgid-blossom pearly mussel and yellow-blossom pearly mussel. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that the last confirmed sighting of any of the species listed above, not including the birds, was of the stirrupshell in 1986.
According to IFAW, humans play a central role in the decline of the now-extinct, endangered and threatened species on this list. Destruction of habitats such as swampland and wetland drainage, as well as climate change events such as warming and the increase of natural disasters, are both factors. The spread of disease, invasive species and illegal poaching are also primary causes of all of the 21 species’ extinctions, the article explained.
In another article, NPR added that these species have been added to a list of 650 that have gone extinct, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirms.
However, the article points out some positive developments. Fifty-four species have since been taken off the endangered species list due to population recovery, and 56 have been re-listed as threatened after previously being endangered.
USFWS Director Martha Williams told NPR that the Endangered Species Act’s main goal is to help the species recover and reverse their downward trend toward extinction. NPR reported that 99% of the species on this list have not reached extinction since its beginning in the 70’s.
An article by ABC News emphasized that the continuation of conservation efforts is necessary to protect the millions of species of biodiversity on the planet.
Some elements aiding these efforts include government actions, such as the creation of the Endangered Species Act and the collaborative efforts of Indigenous tribes, governments and private citizens, ABC News reported.