For Immediate Release:  December 21, 2016

New Report Highlights 10 Wildlife Conservation Priorities for the Trump Administration

Bald-cypress among List of Imperiled Species Threatened by Logging

Washington, D.C. – As the Obama Administration prepares to hand over the reins of the executive branch to President-elect Donald Trump, the DC-based Endangered Species Coalition released on Wednesday a “Top Ten” list of imperiled species in need of strong conservation measures. The report, “Removing the Walls to Recovery: Top 10 Species Priorities for a New Administration,” highlights some of the most significant threats to vanishing wildlife such as jaguars and elephants, and identifies important actions the next administration could take to slow their rates of extinction.

The report includes the rare bald-cypress which is threatened by logging, development, and conversion. Bald-cypress trees can live over a thousand years, yet many of the bald-cypress stands in the Southern US are less than fifty years old. Originally cleared for timber, cypress is now clearcut for mulch and wood pellets, the latter of which is driven by European demand.

Dogwood Alliance nominated bald-cypress for the report because preserving wetland forests in the South is essential for preserving communities in the region. Wetland forests containing bald-cypress provide nearly twice the value in flood control, species habitat, water quality, and pollution prevention than upland forests. Bald-cypress also creates essential habitat for migratory birds, songbirds, waterfowl, otters, alligators, fish, and invertebrates like crayfish and dragonflies.

“Bald-cypress is an iconic tree species whose future is threatened due to increased logging by the cypress mulch industry, and wood pellet companies that ship them overseas to be burned for electricity,” said Sam Davis, Research Director at Dogwood Alliance. “This species is incredibly valuable for the protection of our communities from the damaging impacts of climate change and as a last refuge for a large number of plants and animals. We hope the Trump administration will take action to protect them.”

Some of the species in the report, such as the Joshua tree and Elkhorn coral are foundational species, which play a critical role as building blocks for their ecosystems, but are threatened by global climate change. 

Other critically important species in the report are keystone species, such as Hawaii’s yellow-faced bee, the jaguar, and the Snake River salmon. All keystone species have a disproportionately large impact on other species and ecosystems, relative to their abundance. For instance, Hawaii’s yellow-faced bee is a pollinator impacted by habitat loss.

The jaguar of the southwest United States is a keystone predator. It is particularly threatened by habitat fragmentation caused, in part, due to impenetrable immigration barriers along the U.S. – Mexican border. The report urges Mr. Trump to abandon plans to further fortify the southern border, and to make existing barriers more wildlife-friendly.

Snake River Chinook salmon, meanwhile, are among the longest and highest-migrating salmon on the planet – often swimming 1,000 miles upstream and climbing more than 6,000 feet in elevation to reach their spawning grounds. More than 130 other species depend upon salmon, including orcas, bears and eagles.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list the greater sage grouse—an umbrella species—as endangered in 2014, citing an unprecedented region-wide habitat conservation effort, tied to state and federal conservation plans. However, several appropriations riders offered in Congress in 2016 would block implementation of these conservation plans, as well as any future Endangered Species Act protections for the imperiled bird. Meanwhile, grouse numbers have declined by 90 percent from historic levels. Protecting umbrella species like sage grouse conserves habitats on which many other species rely.

“Our native fish, plants and wildlife are critically valuable and part of the legacy we leave for future generations of Americans,” said Leda Huta, executive director of the Endangered Species Coalition. “We hope the next administration takes seriously its responsibility to protect endangered species and habitat. The fate of species is in their hands. Their actions could dictate whether species such as the vaquita, the red wolf, and others, become extinct in the wild.”

The remaining species featured in the Endangered Species Coalition’s report include the African elephant, the wolf, and the vaquita – a small endangered Mexican porpoise.

Endangered Species Coalition member groups nominated wildlife species for the report. A committee of distinguished scientists reviewed the nominations, and decided which species should be included in the final report. The full report, along with links to photos and additional species information can be viewed and downloaded from the website, http://removingthewallstorecovery.org.

The Endangered Species Coalition produces a “Top 10” report annually, focusing on a different theme each year. Previous years’ reports are also available on the Coalition’s website.

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Contact: Scot Quaranda, Dogwood Alliance, 828.242.3596, scot@dogwoodalliance.org