Endangered Species Protections Could Be Starting Too Late, According to Study

[UngulateNerd92]

A new study published in the journal PLoS ONE suggests that by the time endangered species are given protection by the federal government—it’s too late.

To complete the study, which was published on Oct. 12, researchers evaluated 970 cases involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the past 30 years. And they found that the service kept species on the waiting list for protection much longer than the act proposes. By the time animals are officially listed as threatened or endangered, their populations are too small to rebound.

“Since it was passed in 1973, the Environmental Species Act has served as an inspiration and model for conservation policy,” said Columbia University doctoral student Erich Eberhardand, who helped author the research. “Our analysis suggests its strength is being undercut by listing too late with too small populations and too little funding.”

Endangered Species Protections Could Be Starting Too Late

 

[Pantheraman]

I knew the usfws was incompetent, but good grief...this is just a straight-up joke.

 

[birdsandbats]

I didn't realize we needed a study to tell us this.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

I didn't realize we needed a study to tell us this.

Yeah, that should be the most obvious realization. Needing a study to realize this, haha... give me a break!

 

[Pantheraman]

Yeah, that should be the most obvious realization. Needing a study to realize this, haha... give me a break!

Welcome to the USA, where the only thing wildlife conservation related we're even remotely good at is caring for game animals.

Case in point: :
"Findings included in the report:

• More than half of U.S. bird species are declining.
• U.S. grassland birds are among the fastest declining with a 34% loss since 1970.
• Waterbirds and ducks in the U.S. have increased by 18% and 34% respectively during the same period.
• 70 newly identified Tipping Point species have each lost 50% or more of their populations in the past 50 years, and are on a track to lose another half in the next 50 years if nothing changes. They include beloved gems such as Rufous Hummingbirds, songsters such as Golden-winged Warblers, and oceanic travelers such as Black-footed Albatrosses."

"“While a majority of bird species are declining, many waterbird populations remain healthy, thanks to decades of collaborative investments from hunters, landowners, state and federal agencies, and corporations,” said Dr. Karen Waldrop, chief conservation officer for Ducks Unlimited. "

2022 U.S. State of the Birds Report Reveals Widespread Losses of Birds in All Habitats—Except for One

 

[Great Argus]

songsters such as Golden-winged Warblers,

This one has been a long-known problem, ironically by the northward march of one of its own cousins that it hybridizes with, Blue-winged Warbler.

 

[birdsandbats]

This one has been a long-known problem, ironically by the northward march of one of its own cousins that it hybridizes with, Blue-winged Warbler.

It doesn't help that ash forests are an important nesting habitat for them. They can nest in young aspen forests as well but there simply less of that around.