The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made the decision to remove 21 species from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to their unfortunate extinction. The agency’s director, Martha Williams, emphasized the importance of conserving imperiled species in a press release. She stated, “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. The ultimate goal is to recover these species, so they no longer need the Act’s protection.”
Most of the species that have been delisted were initially listed under the ESA in the 1970s and 1980s when their populations were already very low or likely extinct. Among the species are the Little Mariana fruit bat, which was last confirmed to have been seen in Guam in 1968, 10 types of birds, two species of fish, and eight species of mussels.
One of the birds being removed from the list is the Bachman’s warbler, which used to be found in Florida and South Carolina. The last confirmed sighting of this species was in the 1980s. Additionally, eight of the birds were native to Hawaii, and their decline was attributed to the destruction of their forest habitats through development and agriculture. The introduction of non-native mosquitoes carrying avian pox and avian malaria further contributed to their extinction.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service highlighted the success of the ESA in saving 99% of listed species from extinction. Over 100 species have been delisted or reclassified from endangered to threatened based on recovery or improved conservation status. The collaborative efforts of various stakeholders, including Tribes, federal agencies, state and local governments, conservation organizations, and private citizens, have played a significant role in stabilizing or improving the status of hundreds more species.
The complete list of the delisted species can be found on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website.
