The Ivory-billed woodpecker It was the largest woodpecker in the United States and one of its most iconic birds. For 77 years, its existence sparked a passionate debate: Officially it was last seen in 1944 in a forest known as the Singer Tract in northeast Louisiana, but ornithologists documented sightings much later and some were even presented as evidence. blurred images. The discussion ended this week. The ivory-billed woodpeckerCampephilus) is one of the 23 names that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has now proposed to withdraw from the Endangered Species Act of this country for not deserving of the It is a pity to continue trying its recovery: its extinction is taken for granted. Besides of Ivory-billed, the definitive death of another 10 birds, a bat, two fish, a plant and eight mollusks is also certified.
As the US Fish and Wildlife Service affects, the purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to protect and recover varieties at risk of extinction and the ecosystems on which they depend, but for these 23 animals and plants the action measures “They arrived too late.” In the case of the ivory-billed woodpecker, This was included in 1967 in one of the first laws for the protection of fauna and flora in the US, which would later lead to the Endangered Species Act. But despite the measures put in place to recover and protect the forests where it took refuge, it had been a long time since there had been any authenticated sighting.
“With climate change and the loss of natural areas pushing more and more species to the brink, now is the time to drive proactive, collaborative, and innovative efforts to save America’s wildlife. The Endangered Species Act has been incredibly effective in preventing species extinction and has also inspired action to conserve endangered species and their habitat before they need to be listed as endangered or threatened, ”said Deb Haaland, Head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Despite these 23 losses forever, this US body considers that the Endangered Species Act is working successfully to prevent the extinction of more than 99% of the species included in the list to be protected, a list in which They have included 1,677 varieties since 1967. In fact, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, in this time 54 species abandoned this classification because they had recovered and another 56 went from being classified as “endangered” to “threatened”.
Of the other species officially declared extinct, there are eight birds that only lived in Hawaii – such as the Kauai akialoa, the Kauai nukupuu or the Maui ākepa – and one exclusive to the island of Guam – the bridled white-eye – also In the pacific. As the Fish and Wildlife Service points out, “endemic species on the islands face a higher risk of extinction due to their isolation and small geographic scale.” This is a problem, as Hawaii and the Pacific Islands are home to more than 650 animals and plants on the US Endangered Species List, more than any other state. And most of these varieties cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Also missing is the Bachman’s warbler or Bachman’s warbler, a songbird that raised in the American Southeast and wintered in Cuba. Also included in the list of endangered species in 1967, the last time it was seen in the US was in 1962 and in Cuba there are no records since 1981. For the US Administration, it has already ceased to exist.
The other lost species are a bat that has not been seen since 1968 —the Little Mariana fruit bat—, a fish that was only found in Texas —the San Marcos gambusia—, another from an Ohio river —the Scioto madtom—, a plant from Hawaii –Phyllostegia glabra where. lanaiensis– and eight freshwater mollusks.
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