Public comment is currently being accepted by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife as it considers additions to the state’s list of endangered and threatened animals. Two coastal birds, two species of bats and three invertebrates have been proposed to be added to the endangered list, while another bat species is up for “threatened” status.
These distinctions are important because they allow the state to enforce stricter rules for the protection of these species, which can mean the difference between survival and extinction.
We’re glad to see the state planning to update these lists, which were last amended in 2009. Currently, there are 22 species listed as endangered and 23 listed as threatened in Maine. By adding species to the lists, they are covered by the provisions of the Maine Endangered Species Act, and can receive support from the state’s biologists to ensure the protection of their habitat from development or interference, and restrictions on human practices that can negatively impact them. Those on the list are closely monitored and action plans are developed to help them recover so they can once again be considered viable on their own.
The great cormorant and black-crowned night heron are set to join the endangered list, as their populations are plummeting. The cormorants have dropped to an alarming 50 pairs statewide, compared to 250 pairs in the late 1990s. That’s a very quick decline that demands action, before it’s too late and these shorebirds are lost forever or need to be bred in captivity for reintroduction. The night heron species has also seen a drop in population, numbering about 250 pairs in the state, whereas they used to be about 400 pairs in the 1980s.
It’s often difficult for biologists to determine what’s causing the population drop, although eagle predation of the young has been determined as one factor in the cormorants’ decline.
Easily the most concerning is the plight of the bats, however, which have been decimated by a very present danger: white nose syndrome. The little brown bat and northern long-eared bat have seen their populations nearly wiped out by this fungal growth, with 5.7 to 6.7 million American bats succumbing, and a mortality rate of up to 90 percent in some caves, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Eastern small-footed bat, not as hard-hit, is being considered for the “threatened” list.
If granted these designations, these mammals will be better protected by provisions such as banning humans from entering their caves, where they might inadvertently spread the fungus, and will provide scientists with more funding to study the disease in the hopes of preventing the very possible extinction of these animals.
Bats are essential to our ecosystem, eating thousands of insects every night, and the devastation caused by this disease has been very disturbing. Not only could several species of bats go extinct in the Northeast and beyond, but the U.S. Forest Service has reported that the die-off would also mean 2.4 million pounds of insects will go uneaten every year, which could result in crop damage and other issues, as reported in the Boston Globe.
We support the bats’ addition to the list and hope it makes a difference in saving them from extinction. Adding them, along with the shorebirds and the invertebrates proposed for the list ”“ the cobblestone tiger beetle, frigga fritillary butterfly and six-whorl vertigo snail ”“ will be a step in right direction to save them from extinction. The impact of losing any species from our ecosystem is far-reaching and difficult to predict. With the right precautions, we won’t have to see how it plays out.
Those interested in submitting public comments in writing to the DIFW must do so by Aug. 15. Comments submitted by email should be sent to becky.orff@maine.gov; or send written comments by mail to: Becky Orff, Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, 284 State St., No. 41 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.
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