These are some of the most endangered animal species in each state, from sea turtles to dragonflies
Federal wildlife officials have recently announced the presumed extinction of some 22 animals that formerly existed in the U.S., including 11 birds, eight freshwater mussels, two fish, and a bat. The source of their elimination is primarily human activity — the upsetting of natural evolutionary changes through habitat destruction, pollution, over-hunting and -fishing, and, potentially most devastatingly, climate change.
We can expect extinction numbers to grow at an unprecedented rate as human populations spread and the earth gets hotter. Two years ago, the United Nations sounded the alarm, warning that a million species of plants and animals around the world, out of eight million existing today, were threatened with extinction, and that climate change has accelerated the rate at which they will leave the face of the earth entirely.
The U.N. estimates that 75% of land environments and 66% of marine environments have already been altered by human activity, causing a 20% reduction in the abundance of land animals, as well as a potential reduction in fish biomass of up to 25% by the end of the century.
For the United States, the picture is less gloomy, at least for the immediate future, thanks to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), passed in 1973, which lists endangered and threatened species and provides for their protection and restoration. The law has, thus far, been a brilliant success, with 99% of listed species brought back from the edge of extinction. Most of the American animals now considered extinct, including many on the most recent list, died off before the enactment of the ESA.
What the ESA has taught us is that we can take effective action to slow extinction rates through sound management of human activities as they affect animal populations and habitat. Without such vigilance, animal species whose existence we have come to take for granted could disappear forever.
To determine the most threatened animals in every state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Environmental Conservation Online System to find two animals listed as “endangered” that are native to each state. Information on the animals’ habitat also came from USFWS.
1. Alabama
Selected endangered species: Cavefish (speoplatyrhinus poulsoni), Sturgeon (scaphirhynchus suttkusi)
2. Alaska
Selected endangered species: Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis), Short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
3. Arizona
Selected endangered species: Yaqui Chub (gila purpurea), Three Forks Springsnail (pyrgulopsis trivialis)
4. Arkansas
Selected endangered species: Ivory-Billed Woodpecker (campephilus principalis), Ozark Hellbender (cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi)
5. California
Selected endangered species: Riparian Brush Rabbit (sylvilagus bachmani riparius), Buena Vista Lake Ornate Shrew (sorex ornatus relictus)
6. Colorado
Selected endangered species: Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly (boloria acrocnema), Meadow Jumping Mouse (zapus hudsonius luteus)
7. Connecticut
Selected endangered species: Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii dougallii), Indiana Bat (myotis sodalis)
8. Delaware
Selected endangered species: Hawksbill Sea Turtle (eretmochelys imbricata), Leatherback Sea Turtle (dermochelys coriacea)
9. Florida
Selected endangered species: Florida Bonneted Bat (eumops floridanus), Florida Panther (puma concolor coryi)
10. Georgia
Selected endangered species: Etowah Darter (etheostoma etowahae), Reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi)
11. Hawaii
Selected endangered species: Kauai `O`O (moho braccatus), Akikiki (oreomystis bairdi)
12. Idaho
Selected endangered species: Banbury Springs Limpet (idaholanx fresti), Bruneau Hot Springsnail (pyrgulopsis bruneauensis)
13. Illinois
Selected endangered species: Illinois Cave Amphipod (gammarus acherondytes), Fanshell (cyprogenia stegaria)
14. Indiana
Selected endangered species: Fat Pocketbook (potamilus capax), Rayed Bean (villosa fabalis)
15. Iowa
Selected endangered species: Spectaclecase (cumberlandia monodonta), Higgins Eye (lampsilis higginsii)
16. Kansas
Selected endangered species: Gray Bat (myotis grisescens), Neosho Mucket (lampsilis rafinesqueana)
17. Kentucky
Selected endangered species: Relict Darter (etheostoma chienense), Kentucky Cave Shrimp (palaemonias ganteri)
18. Louisiana
Selected endangered species: Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (lepidochelys kempii), Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (picoides borealis)
19. Maine
Selected endangered species: Atlantic Salmon (salmo salar), Roseate Tern (sterna dougallii dougallii)
20. Maryland
Selected endangered species: Hay’s Spring Amphipod (stygobromus hayi), Maryland Darter (etheostoma sellare)
21. Massachusetts
Selected endangered species: Plymouth Redbelly Turtle (pseudemys rubriventris bangsi), Hawksbill Sea Turtle (eretmochelys imbricata)
22. Michigan
Selected endangered species: Hungerford’s Crawling Water Beetle (brychius hungerfordi), Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly (somatochlora hineana)
23. Minnesota
Selected endangered species: Karner Blue Butterfly (lycaeides melissa samuelis), Piping Plover (charadrius melodus)
24. Mississippi
Selected endangered species: Mississippi Sandhill Crane (grus canadensis pulla), Dusky Gopher Frog (rana sevosa)
25. Missouri
Selected endangered species: Tumbling Creek Cavesnail (antrobia culveri), Grotto Sculpin (cottus specus)
26. Montana
Selected endangered species: White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), Black-Footed Ferret (mustela nigripes)
27. Nebraska
Selected endangered species: Salt Creek Tiger Beetle (cicindela nevadica lincolniana), Whooping Crane (grus americana)
28. Nevada
Selected endangered species: White River Spinedace (lepidomeda albivallis), Pahrump Poolfish (empetrichthys latos)
29. New Hampshire
Selected endangered species: Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii dougallii), Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
30. New Jersey
Selected endangered species: Leatherback Sea Turtle (ermochelys coriacea), Dwarf Wedgemussel (alasmidonta heterodon)
31. New Mexico
Selected endangered species: Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (hybognathus amarus), Jemez Mountains Salamander (plethodon neomexicanus)
32. New York
Selected endangered species: Clubshell (pleurobema clava), Indiana Bat (myotis sodalis)
33. North Carolina
Selected endangered species: Saint Francis’ Satyr Butterfly (neonympha mitchellii francisci), Cape Fear Shiner (notropis mekistocholas)
34. North Dakota
Selected endangered species: Whooping Crane (grus americana), Pallid Sturgeon (scaphirhynchus albus)
35. Ohio
Selected endangered species: White Cat’s Paw (epioblasma obliquata perobliqua), Mitchell’s Satyr Butterfly (neonympha mitchellii mitchellii)
36. Oklahoma
Selected endangered species: Ozark Big-Eared Bat (corynorhinus townsendii ingens), Winged Mapleleaf (quadrula fragosa)
37. Oregon
Selected endangered species: Vernal pool tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi), Loggerhead Sea Turtle (caretta caretta)
38. Pennsylvania
Selected endangered species: Indiana Bat (myotis sodalis), Northern Riffleshell (epioblasma torulosa rangiana)
39. Rhode Island
Selected endangered species: Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Hawksbill Sea Turtle (eretmochelys imbricata)
40. South Carolina
Selected endangered species: Carolina Heelsplitter (lasmigona decorata), Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
41. South Dakota
Selected endangered species: Poweshiek Skipperling (oarisma poweshiek), Scaleshell Mussel (leptodea leptodon)
42. Tennessee
Selected endangered species: Nashville Crayfish (orconectes shoupi), Laurel Dace (chrosomus saylori)
43. Texas
Selected endangered species: Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken (tympanuchus cupido attwateri), Houston Toad (bufo houstonensis)
44. Utah
Selected endangered species: Humpback chub (Gila cypha), Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (empidonax traillii extimus)
45. Vermont
Selected endangered species: Dwarf Wedgemussel (alasmidonta heterodon), Indiana Bat (myotis sodalis)
46. Virginia
Selected endangered species: Shenandoah Salamander (plethodon shenandoah), Virginia Fringed Mountain Snail (polygyriscus virginianus)
47. Washington
Selected endangered species: Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit (brachylagus idahoensis), Island marble Butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus)
48. West Virginia
Selected endangered species: Guyandotte River Crayfish (cambarus veteranus), Diamond Darter (crystallaria cincotta)
49. Wisconsin
Selected endangered species: Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (bombus affinis), Hine’s emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana)
50. Wyoming
Selected endangered species: Kendall Warm Springs Dace (rhinichthys osculus thermalis), Wyoming Toad (Bufo hemiophrys baxteri)
