CELEBRATING OUR FOUR-LEGGED AND NO-LEGGED FRIENDS

WRITTEN BY AMANDA LUREY

ILLUSTRATED BY SIMONE BADARUDDIN

Although there have been legitimate concerns about environmental issues in 2021 –– like severe climate events or air pollution –– there were also some recent wins for endangered species worth celebrating. In 1973, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, which lists species that are considered “of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational and scientifi c value to the Nation and its people.” Th e United States pledged to conserve these species. A common misconception is that once a species is classifi ed as endangered, they are fated to wither away in population and die out. But the truth is species bounce around from label to label, from endangered to threatened, and so on, thanks to organizations and communities that care about our ecosystems and create rehabilitation plans. Th e U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works “to conserve, protect and enhance fi sh, wildlife and plants and their habitats.” Th e fi rst of its eight responsibilities is to “protect and recover endangered and threatened species.” Th e organization creates recovery plans and partnerships with the goal for the at-risk species to be a self-suffi cient part of the ecosystem, so they don’t need the protection of the ESA. A delisted species is a species that has been removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants, meaning that numbers have improved well enough to be self-sustaining. According to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Offi ce, a couple of local species were delisted in 2021:

Gray wolves are mammals that roam across most of North America but were hunted brutally; they are the ancestor of all domesticated dogs and are the largest living wild canine species. Th ey can easily be identifi ed by their fl uff y tails, gray to tan torso and pointed ears. When gray wolves started gaining protection in the 1960s, they were exterminated from the continental U.S. –– except in Michigan and Minnesota. Fifty years later, gray wolves are still federally listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of Oregon, defi ned by a boundary line from the Washington border to the Nevada border. Wolves east of that line – U.S. Route 395 – are delisted, though, as of Jan. 4, 2021. Gray wolves are critical to specifi c ecosystems in Oregon by keeping elk and deer populations in check.

Th ere were only 11 populations and fewer than 30,000 plants when this species was listed as endangered in 1988 because of an increase in active fi re suppression, causing the loss of prairie land. But as of March 5, 2021, there were more than 24 populations and over 11 million plants. Th e greatest amount of Bradshaw’s desert parsley is in the southern part of the Willamette Valley. Th e plant is fl ourishing today because of native prairie restoration and habitat management. Th is plant stands roughly a foot high and blooms with yellow fl owers from late April to early May; it also contributes to the local ecosystem through interactions with bees, fl ies, wasps and beetles.

According to Th e National Wildlife Federation, an ecosystem will drastically change if any species goes completely extinct. It also emphasized that “once gone, they’re gone forever, and there’s no going back.” As more species are slowly delisted from being endangered or threatened, the ecosystem shifts back into alignment. Seeing one species thrive enough not to need government protection proves restoration is possible. It allows for resources to be spread wider to help other plants and animals recover in the same ways the gray wolf and Bradshaw’s desert parsley did in Oregon.

Some other delisted animals as of 2019 include:

Th ese fi sh are from southeast Oregon; they are about 1-2 inches as adults and thrive in colder water temperatures. Borax Lake chub were classifi ed as endangered in 1980 because of proposals to drill wells near Borax Lake. Th ey were proposed to be removed from the Endangered and Th reatened Species list on Feb. 26, 2019.

Foskett speckled dace were initially listed as endangered in 1985 and were delisted on Oct. 15, 2019. Groundwater pumping was a cause of the Foskett speckled dace’s classifi cation. Th ese fi sh are dusty gray to dark olive with brown fi ns and have a dark stripe and dark speckles.

Water howellia bloom above the water, showing dainty, white petals and a light pink center. Th ey were classifi ed as threatened due to the urbanization of their habitat. Th is aquatic plant was listed as threatened in 1994, proposed to be delisted on Oct. 7, 2019, and offi cially delisted as of July 16, 2021.