21 Species Moved From 'Endangered' to 'Extinct' in America (cbsnews.com) 34
Nearly two dozen species are being taken off America's endangered species list, reports CBS News, "because they are extinct, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday."
Most of the species were listed under the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s or 1980s and were very low in numbers or likely already extinct at the time of listing. In the years since, "rigorous reviews of the best available science" have been conducted to determine whether the animals are extinct. "Federal protection came too late to reverse these species' decline, and it's a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it's too late," Service Director Martha Williams said. Scientists in 2019 warned that worldwide, 1 million species of plants and animals were at risk of extinction.
There are more than 1,300 species listed as either endangered or threatened in the United States under the Endangered Species Act. The 21 species being removed include one mammal, 10 types of birds, two species of fish and eight types of mussels. Eight of the 21 species were found in Hawaii.
From the agency's announcement: The 21 species extinctions highlight the importance of the Endangered Species Act and efforts to conserve species before declines become irreversible. The circumstances of each also underscore how human activity can drive species decline and extinction by contributing to habitat loss, overuse, and the introduction of invasive species and diseases...
The Endangered Species Act has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction. Thus far, more than 100 species of plants and animals have been delisted based on recovery or reclassified from endangered to threatened based on improved conservation status, and hundreds more species are stable or improving thanks to the collaborative actions of Tribes, federal agencies, state and local governments, conservation organizations and private citizens.
An official from the agency said in the announcement "The ultimate goal is to recover these species, so they no longer need the Act's protection."
There are more than 1,300 species listed as either endangered or threatened in the United States under the Endangered Species Act. The 21 species being removed include one mammal, 10 types of birds, two species of fish and eight types of mussels. Eight of the 21 species were found in Hawaii.
From the agency's announcement: The 21 species extinctions highlight the importance of the Endangered Species Act and efforts to conserve species before declines become irreversible. The circumstances of each also underscore how human activity can drive species decline and extinction by contributing to habitat loss, overuse, and the introduction of invasive species and diseases...
The Endangered Species Act has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction. Thus far, more than 100 species of plants and animals have been delisted based on recovery or reclassified from endangered to threatened based on improved conservation status, and hundreds more species are stable or improving thanks to the collaborative actions of Tribes, federal agencies, state and local governments, conservation organizations and private citizens.
An official from the agency said in the announcement "The ultimate goal is to recover these species, so they no longer need the Act's protection."
Nothing about ... (Score:3)
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"Eight of the 21 species were found in Hawaii."
Isolated on an island and still couldn't save them. How very...human. Two years ago we de-listed 23 species for (dramatic pause...) the same thing. Clickbait would call that a massive improvement.
And here I was assured that when the U.S. "liberated" the Kingdom of Hawaii that they did it to preserve the local wildlife! Ah, me.
Well, that's it, then. Let's give it back to the Hawaiians.
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And here I was assured that when the U.S. "liberated" the Kingdom of Hawaii that they did it to preserve the local wildlife! Ah, me.
The Kingdom of Hawaii didn't even exist until Europeans assisted in its creation by providing the arms needed for its then ruler to conquer the rest of the islands. People eventually gained voting rights, and the "kingdom" was dubiously but apparently legally (at least, most native Hawaiians seem to say so) voted out. There never has been any notable independence movement since the annexation.
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While it's true that Kamehameha the Great unified the islands with the help of his son-in-law John Young, and other individual europeans, the lion's share of the credit goes to him for embracing european methods and tactics - he was a unique leader of the warring factions at the time.
His wife, Kaahumanu, can be credited for destroying the old kapu religion in 1819, and then converting the Kingdom to christianity in 1820, after being preached to by congregationalist missionaries from connecticut.
These missio
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They want to stop evolution in its tracks.
Without extinctions there is no natural selection.
More... (Score:2)
Little Mariana fruit bat, Guam, last seen 1968 (Score:3)
Mussels, Hawaiian birds, etc:
https://www.fws.gov/press-rele... [fws.gov]
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The Kauai nukupuu was listed in 1970, but was last seen in 1899?
Another well known Kauai bird joins the list, but the "last song" was tributed to a lone male in captivity witnessed in 1987?
"The ESA has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction."
Ooooh, now I understand. It's all about the...metrics. Well that, and funding of course. Based on...metrics.
"Most of these species were listed under the ESA in the 1970s and 80s and were in very low numbers or likely already extinct at the time of listing."
Database cleanup efforts apparently take...decades. Because metri, er I mean funding.
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The Kauai nukupuu was listed in 1970, but was last seen in 1899?
Another well known Kauai bird joins the list, but the "last song" was tributed to a lone male in captivity witnessed in 1987?
"The ESA has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction."
Ooooh, now I understand. It's all about the...metrics. Well that, and funding of course. Based on...metrics.
"Most of these species were listed under the ESA in the 1970s and 80s and were in very low numbers or likely already extinct at the time of listing."
Database cleanup efforts apparently take...decades. Because metri, er I mean funding.
I was also puzzled by the Kauai nukupuu 1899 sighting, but decided on looking it up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] Apparently what happened is that later sightings were revised as being a different species.
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Wouldn't be surprised if the Hawaiian birds were either killed off by domesticated or feral cats (which seems to be a very common reason for bird extinctions everywhere) or if they were simply out-competed by the hordes of free roaming chickens that were introduced by Polynesians 500 or so years ago.
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How many bird species are endangered or extinct because of windmills?
Mention of domestic cats killing birds reminds me of the argument that cats kill more birds than windmills therefore something something. If preserving birds is a priority then perhaps we should take care on where we put windmills, how many windmills we put up, and take measures to prevent windmills we do put in place from killing endangered birds. I heard that just painting the blades of a windmill different colors can prevent bird kill
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How many bird species are endangered or extinct because of windmills?
Mention of domestic cats killing birds reminds me of the argument that cats kill more birds than windmills therefore something something. If preserving birds is a priority then perhaps we should take care on where we put windmills, how many windmills we put up, and take measures to prevent windmills we do put in place from killing endangered birds. I heard that just painting the blades of a windmill different colors can prevent bird kills.
Um, probably none?
The impact of a windmill on an individual bird is quite bad, the impact on the population as a whole is a rounding error [mit.edu]:
Much of the data about bird deaths at wind facilities comes from studies published in 2013 and 2014. Those studies gave a wide range for the number of birds that die in wind turbine collisions: from 140,000 up to 679,000. The numbers are likely to be higher today, because many more wind farms have been built in the past decade.
Those numbers are not insignificant, but the
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But if your main objection to windmills is the welfare of birds then you don't have any actual objections to windmills.
I don't have any real objections to windmills, only the bullshit that domestic cats are a greater hazard.
We know that wind farms kill endangered species like bald and golden eagles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
The Act has at times hindered renewable energy projects. Wind turbines can kill and injure birds, including eagles, potentially exposing their operators to criminal liability under the Act, even those which have taken steps to reduce eagle mortality. A draft of guidelines for the wind energy industry, which incorporates means for applying for "incidental take" permits under the Act and thus avoiding its penalties, was released in 2011 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
If windmills don't kill eagles then there's no need for a federal exception to penalties for the eagles killed by windmills. I'm quite certain domestic cats aren't killing eagles, especially when there's warnings to cat owners to keep their kittens indoors when eagles are in the area. Eagles hu
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But if your main objection to windmills is the welfare of birds then you don't have any actual objections to windmills.
I don't have any real objections to windmills, only the bullshit that domestic cats are a greater hazard.
I'm sorry, but did you look at the numbers at all? Either find a source that the numbers are BS or come up with an argument with less than a million bird deaths is worse than more than a billion.
We know that wind farms kill endangered species like bald and golden eagles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
The Act has at times hindered renewable energy projects. Wind turbines can kill and injure birds, including eagles, potentially exposing their operators to criminal liability under the Act, even those which have taken steps to reduce eagle mortality. A draft of guidelines for the wind energy industry, which incorporates means for applying for "incidental take" permits under the Act and thus avoiding its penalties, was released in 2011 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
If windmills don't kill eagles then there's no need for a federal exception to penalties for the eagles killed by windmills. I'm quite certain domestic cats aren't killing eagles, especially when there's warnings to cat owners to keep their kittens indoors when eagles are in the area. Eagles hunt cats, cats don't hunt eagles.
You realize that large Eagles aren't the only endangered birds around?
As for your citation, yes, some eagles are killed by windmills and it's a concern, though on its own not a serious risk to the recovery if they use countermeasures. The waivers are more due to the fact that the laws are strict enough to make some
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I'm sorry, but did you look at the numbers at all?
Yes, I have looked at the numbers. Have you?
Either find a source that the numbers are BS or come up with an argument with less than a million bird deaths is worse than more than a billion.
Here's a source:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u... [nbcnews.com]
There are an estimated 31,800 golden eagles in the Western U.S. with an estimated 2,200 killed annually due to human causes, or about 60% of all deaths, according to a study released last week by leading eagle researchers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other entities.
The study concluded that golden eagle deaths âoewill likely increase in the futureâ because of wind energy development and other human activities.
With 2200 killed annually from human activity, out of a population of 31800, and the numbers killed likely to increase from more windmills then that could be a problem for golden eagles.
You realize that large Eagles aren't the only endangered birds around?
I do realize that. My complaint is that people consider the hundreds of eagles killed by windmills every year a non-issue because billions of birds are killed by domestic cats every year. Cats don't kill eagles, windmills kill ea
Their genomes (Score:2)
Do we at least have their genomes on a usb drive somewhere, if not on NCBI?
What I get from this is... (Score:2)
How many new species were discovered? (Score:2)
What people appear to forget is that species have gone extinct over time long before we understood the concept of a species. Also happening over time are the discovery of new species, some because we just simply haven't seen them before but also because new species develop. If it weren't for the extinction and creation of species then life as we know it would not exist on Earth, including humans.
I'm not claiming that because species have gone extinct before that this somehow gives humanity permission to c
If cockroaches write... (Score:2)
make that 23 (Score:1)
Extinction Is Natural (Score:2)
Eliminating Redundancy (Score:2)
Taking the Devil's Advocate side - so what? Do we really need 8 more species of mussels? They just filter out nutrients from the water, so is any species of them adding anything more than any other to the ecosystem?
What I think we are seeing here is the next stage of evolution - call it Globality. We are shrinking the world - bringing every species into competition with every other, either intentionally or not (most not). Because of that, all species are in a gigantic "steel cage" match. And only the f