The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has pledged to review the status of 374 rare animals and plants living in and around rivers in the Southeastern United States for possible protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The plan to review the species -- 135 of which may occur in Alabama -- is part of a settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that petitioned the Service asking that more than 400 Southeastern species, and 757 nationwide, be considered for listing as endangered species.
On that list of potentially endangered species from Alabama are 31 plants, five salamanders, 10 insects, 11 crawfish, 13 fish, 35 mussels, 25 snails, four turtles and one bird, the Eastern black rail.
Though the Fish and Wildlife Service's announcement recognizes that species are likely threatened or endangered, it probably will be years before they are formally added to the list.
Over the next six years, Fish and Wildlife has committed to clearing a backlog of more than 250 species it already had identified as candidates for the endangered species list. Those candidate species, including 22 from Alabama, will receive first priority for evaluation and the development of plans for protection.
Noah Greenwald, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the Service will have to devote considerable time and resources to working through those 250 species. However, he hopes the Service's acknowledgment that these additional species warrant protection will cause states, university researchers and industry groups to work for their preservation even if they aren't formally on the list as of yet.
"From our perspective it is a step forward," Greenwald said.
Alabama is already home to 108 species listed as threatened or endangered, such as the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, the Alabama beach mouse, the Red Hills salamander, the red-cockaded woodpecker and the gray bat. More than half of the listed endangered species in Alabama are mussels and snails found in the state's plentiful creeks and rivers.
Paul Johnson, the director for Alabama's Center for Aquatic Biodiversity, said Alabama's efforts to restore endangered species are making progress. Rare mussels and snails are cultivated at a state lab in Marion and then released into appropriate habitat.
Johnson said recent visits to last year's release sites are showing good survival and growth rates. Additional releases are planned this fall, including an Oct. 6 release of Alabama lamp mussels into Bear Creek in Colbert County.
Measures being taken to improve habitat and water quality for mussels end up benefiting humans, Johnson said. And once re-established, filter-feeding mussels and snails further clean the water that we eventually drink.
"We should be doing this anyway because of public water supply," Johnson said.
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