U.S. Exempts Species Classified as Endangered in the Rest of the World [Slide Show]
A comparison of the U.S. list of endangered species with the world standard finds many species are left unprotected
![U.S. Exempts Species Classified as Endangered in the Rest of the World [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/BFAB24AB-48BC-4311-83F8AA8B79266180.jpg?w=590&h=393)
U.S. Exempts Species Classified as Endangered in the Rest of the World [Slide Show]
- Gunnison Sage Grouse The Gunnison Sage Grouse's populations have been declining for over ten years now due to habitat loss from road construction, livestock and real estate development. Because the populations are so fragmented, the grouse has become even more susceptible to the West Nile virus, and their genetic diversity is dropping. In 2010 the USFWS decided not to list the bird. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
- Ahsy Storm Petrel In 2007 the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with the ESA to list the ashy storm-petrel as endangered after drastic population declines and increasing threats from pollution, squid fishing and nest predation by species that were expanding into its habitat. After the USFWS missed several deadlines, the center sued, but the agency still decided in 2009 not to add the petrel to the list. Duncan Wright
- New England Cottontail These cottontails aren't breeding like rabbits. Their habitat has declined over eighty percent since the 1960's and the population has been cut in half since 1994. The cottontail roams around states like New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The rabbit has joined the growing queue at the ESA's door, that seeks protection. Flickr
- Relict Leopard Frog Less than 2,500 mature Relict leopard frogs remain in the U.S., and no subpopulation has more than 250 adults. The frogs live in a small range bordering Arizona, Nevada and Utah, where habitat loss to agriculture and the introduction of bullfrogs has greatly reduced their numbers. A petition to add the frogs to the ESA list was filed in 2002, and the USFWS estimates the frog will probably be listed by 2016—if it survives that long. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Tricolored Blackbird A California native, the tricolored blackbird went from a species of least concern to endangered status in just two years due to loss of breeding areas in grassland and marshes. In 2004 the Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition to list the bird as endangered, but the USFWS decided it should not even be considered a candidate for ESA protection. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Mojave Ground Squirrel These little rodents live in the scrub habitats of the desert they're named after. Like many scrub dwellers, the biggest threat these squirrels face is habitat loss, as urban and suburban development presses out into the desert and the military expands its presence in the Southwestern United States. The IUCN estimates that less than 10% of the habitat that's left for these little squirrels is protected. In October the USFWS decided that the squirrel did not warrant protection. Flickr
- Kittlitz's Murrelet The Kittlitz's murrelet is the most endangered species that appears on the IUCN list and not the ESA list. Murrelets live in Alaska and Russia, where they eat fish and large plankton from the water that melts off glaciers. There are less than 50,000 left in the world, and their population has declined as much as 90 percent in the last fifteen years. In 2004 the United States Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) service decided not to list the murrelet as endangered. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
