Hundreds Of Washington State Plants, Animals At Risk Of Extinction

More than a third of species and ecosystems in the United States are threatened with extinction, including hundreds of plants and animals in Washington.

In a newly published report, conservation research group NatureSave analyzed data from a network of more than 1,000 scientists in the United States and Canada. He said the report is the most comprehensive to date and brings together more than 50 years of biodiversity data to highlight the urgency of conserving biodiversity.

In Washington, the study found 201 trees are at risk, or at least 7.9% of the 2,556 trees in the state. The study found that of the 1,729 animals in Washington, 228, or at least 13 percent, are endangered.

In the study, the researchers divided endangered species into two categories: vulnerable, and high risk of extinction. and endangered species without intervention.

The analysis identified four vulnerable Washington ecosystems.

Eastern Wet Great Falls Fir Flat - Douglas Fir Forest, a forest in Eastern Falls in Washington and Oregon;
the semi-arid intermontane grassland, a grassland that stretches across the straddling region between the western United States and the Columbia Basin;
rainforests of the North Central Pacific Ocean, along and near the Pacific coast and evergreen coniferous forests from central British Columbia to northern California;
South Vancouver Dry Douglas Fir - Madron forests, Puget Sound lowland, and dry deciduous and mixed forests from southern to northern California.

The semi-arid region is particularly vulnerable because much of it has been converted to irrigated agriculture, said Jerry Franklin, a professor at the College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry in Washington.

"It's pretty scorching," said Franklin, who lives in the semi-arid grassland ecosystem in Washington. This type of housing is running out of steam due to the many intact and large blocks.

Nationwide surveys show that everything from iconic American species like the red wolf and Venus flytrap to important pollinators and ancient forests are in decline; In the United States, 40% of animals and 34% of plants are threatened with extinction.

“People think biodiversity is the icing on the cake, beautiful birds and butterflies and beautiful plants with beautiful flowers,” Franklin said.

But it is the diversity of these organisms that "creates the physical properties of the environment—water, sunlight, nutrients—and the ecosystems in which we live and depend."

Researchers have found that 41 percent of ecosystems in the United States are at risk from sustaining life.

"Biodiversity gives us a home, and green plants in particular are the energy base for all life, so people need to stop thinking of diversity as something that doesn't matter," Franklin says. Diversity is necessary for ecosystems to function.

Threats to plants, animals and ecosystems including environmental degradation, land conversion, invasive species, river damming, pollution and climate change.

California, Texas and the southeastern United States have the highest percentages of flora, fauna and ecosystems at risk, but species across the country are diverse and threatened, according to the study.

Across the country, the study identified 10,914 endangered animal species, including amphibians, snails, mussels, crustaceans, and many aquatic insects.

Many amphibians and reptiles of the Pacific Northwest are particularly vulnerable, says Julian Alden, a professor at the University of Washington's School of Environmental Conservation, "but they are very important to the health and culture of the Northwest."

"The western oyster is a species that struggles to survive in polluted rivers, tropical climates, and invasive species."

The warmer climate has reduced winter snowfall and dried up the habitat of the cascade frog, which is found primarily in swampy ponds in remote areas of the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains.

"The potential for climate change and infectious disease is so dire that some experts are skeptical whether these species will appear in the next century," Alden said.

But freshwater animals aren't the only ones at risk.

According to the survey, around 900 species of fish including 770 species of birds are threatened with extinction across the country. Insects such as butterflies, bees, and dragonflies are also threatened, with 37% of bee species in the United States threatened with extinction. Also, about 440 mammals are threatened with extinction.

The northern spotted owl is particularly endangered, said Franklin, who is one of the leading authorities on old-growth forest ecosystems in Washington.

"Without active management to at least partially reduce owl populations in the northern spotted owl's range, this species will almost certainly become extinct. I don't think there is any question about that," said Franklin.

According to the survey, 16,671 plant species are threatened with extinction across the country.

About half of cactus species are threatened with extinction, making them one of the most vulnerable groups of plants. 30% of orchids and ferns and more than 1,000 species of trees are threatened. According to the study, about 20% of the grass species that make up the vast plains and wetlands of the country are in permanent danger of extinction.

As for ecosystems, the report found that 41 percent of the country is threatened with extinction, and America's great grasslands are among the most threatened.

Tropical forests, marine forests, and woodlands are facing the greatest pressure, with 40 percent of the 107 U.S. forest species under threat.

The report states that ecosystems in the tropics are at great risk. Tropical ecosystems are smaller in number and cover less than the United States ecosystem.

Freshwater lakes, streams, caves and coastal ecosystems were not analyzed in the report.

The study concluded that most threatened species and ecosystems are located outside protected areas and are not adequately protected to prevent further degradation.

Franklin said biodiversity conservation needs to be included not just in reserves but "into our vast landscapes".

"People think you can save biodiversity with just a few stocks, but that means we don't have to worry about our farmlands, our pastures, our forests, which is not the case at all," he said.

According to the 2018 USGS Database of Protected Areas, only 12 percent of the country is protected as wildlife refuges, wilderness, national parks, or other protected management areas. Forty-two percent of unprotected lands in the United States have already been converted to non-native landscapes by development and other land conversions.

But while the outlook for threatened biodiversity is grim, there are still bright prospects for preventing species extinction, and there has been much optimism about conservation in the past.

For example, the Washington Forest Service has adopted an ecosystem-based approach to protecting biodiversity, Franklin said.

“For example, we see the Washington Department of Natural Resources DNR protect ancient forests by planting trees differently than they did 25 years ago,” he said.

Federal agencies have shifted their focus to Douglas tree plantations and reforestation "is not only good for the environment, but it gives us forests that are more resilient to climate change and fires." .

The Forest Department of eastern Washington and eastern Oregon is "trying to restore the function and sustainability of dry forests that have historically experienced frequent wildfires," Franklin said.

These plants and animals, and the "complex relationships between them," he said, are essential to the functioning of life on this planet and our existence.

2023 Seattle Times

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Citation: Hundreds of Washington State's Endangered Plants and Animals (2023, February 27) Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://phys.org/news/2023-02-Hundreds-washington-state-animals-extinction.html.

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