USFWS Declares Wildlife Species Extinct

On Wednesday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service declared 23 wildlife species extinct. The 23 species were on the endangered species list. Climate change and loss of habitat are the reasons cited for the species extinction.

For these species, the Endangered Species Act did not come in time. These species were endangered before Congress passed the ESA. But since its enactment, the ESA has successfully prevented the extinction of 99% of the listed species.

Since the inception of the ESA, fifty-four species have been removed due to recovery. And fifty-six species were downlisted from endangered to threatened status. Needless to say, the ESA is working despite this dismal report.

The following chart is from the USFWS.

Species proposed for delisting due to extinction:

Species Name	Where Found	When Listed	Last Confirmed Sighting
Bachman’s warbler	FL, SC	1967	1988
Bridled white-eye (bird)	GU (Guam)	1984	1983
Flat pigtoe mussel	AL, MS	1987	1984
Green-blossom pearly mussel	TN, VA	1984	1982
Ivory-billed woodpecker	AR	1967	1944
Kauai akialoa (bird)	HI	1967	1969
Kauai nukupuu (bird)	HI	1970	1899
Kauaʻi ʻōʻō (bird)	HI	1967	1987
Large Kauai thrush (bird)	HI	1970	1987
Little Mariana fruit bat	GU (Guam)	1984	1968
Maui ākepa (bird)	HI	1970	1988
Maui nukupuʻu (bird)	HI	1970	1996
Molokai creeper (bird)	HI	1970	1963
Phyllostegia glabra var. lanaiensis (plant)	HI	1991	1914
Po`ouli (bird)	HI	1975	2004
San Marcos gambusia (fish)	TX	1980	1983
Scioto madtom (fish)	OH	1975	1957
Southern acornshell mussel	AL, GA, TN	1993	1973
Stirrupshell mussel	AL, MS	1987	1986
Tubercled-blossom pearly mussel	AL, IL, IN, KY, OH, TN, WV	1976	1969
Turgid-blossom pearly mussel	AL, AR, MO, TN	1976	1972
Upland combshell mussel	AL, GA, TN	1993	mid-1980s
Yellow-blossom pearly mussel	AL, TN	1985	1980s