WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Diverse Group of Species May be Threatened with Extinction

Bats, Birds, and a Tiny Frog Will be Considered for Endangered Species Act Listing
Contact: Taylor Jones (505) 490-5141

Washington, DC – Eighteen species from around the world will move closer to protection under the Endangered Species Act today as a result of formal requests submitted by WildEarth Guardians. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will initiate more in-depth status reviews of 15 bat species, the Flores hawk-eagle, the Ridgeway’s hawk, and the Virgin Islands coquí (a species of frog). Based on the petitions, the Service has determined that all of these species may warrant Endangered Species Act protection due to a wide array of threats.

“Species around the world are grappling with the loss of their homes, exploitation and persecution by humans, and the ever-increasing threat of climate change,” said Taylor Jones, Endangered Species Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “These species need legal protection and they need it now; we must do everything in our power to ensure the ongoing extinction crisis does not claim them as the next victims.”

Guardians petitioned 15 species of bat in 2010, citing threats including human persecution, loss of rare cave habitats, and the potential threat of white-nose syndrome. The Ridgway’s hawk remains in only one rainforest in the Dominican Republic, in a population with only 160-240 mature individuals. There are only 100-200 Flores hawk-eagles remaining in Indonesia, and their monsoon forest habitat is threatened by climate change and resulting severe storms. The Virgin Islands coquí is threatened by development in its habitat in the British Virgin Islands. Guardians petitioned all three species in 2011.

Listing species under the ESA has proven an effective safety net; more than 99 percent of plants and animals listed persist today. The law is especially important as a bulwark against the current extinction crisis; plants and animals are disappearing at a rate much higher than the natural rate of extinction due to human activities. Scientists estimate that 227 species would have gone extinct if not for ESA listing. Listing species with a global distribution can both protect the species domestically, and help focus U.S. resources toward enforcement of international regulation and recovery of the species.