(Press-News.org) Contact information: Jeremy Bruskotter
Bruskotter.9@osu.edu
614-247-2118
Ohio State University
Plan to delist gray wolf endangers other threatened species, researchers find
Scientists say proposal to end wolf protection across US disregards science, history, threats
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The federal government's proposal to discontinue protection for the gray wolf across the United States could have the unintended consequence of endangering other species, researchers say.
As written, scientists assert, the proposed rule would set a precedent allowing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to declare habitat unsuitable for an endangered animal because a threat exists on the land – the exact opposite of the service's mandate to impose regulations that reduce threats against imperiled species.
The FWS has "conflated threats with habitat suitability" by stating that U.S. land currently unoccupied by wolves – most of the country that historically served as wolf habitat – is now unsuitable because humans living in those regions won't tolerate the animals, the lead scientist said. This claim runs counter to existing research, which the service did not cite in its explanation of the rule.
"The Fish and Wildlife Service is supposed to detail what the threats are and if they're substantial enough, they're supposed to list a species and put in place policies to mitigate the threats," said Jeremy Bruskotter, associate professor in The Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural Resources and lead author of the paper.
"Here, they're saying that they recognize the threat of human intolerance and instead of mitigating the threat, they're just going to say the land is unsuitable."
Were this rule to stand, he said, "Anytime the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finds that something is in the way of a species' recovery, they can just say the habitat is unsuitable for the species and disregard the threat altogether."
FWS proposed removing the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of threatened and endangered species in June. The rule covers most of the continental United States where wolves historically existed, before being exterminated by people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Public comments closed Dec. 17, and will be analyzed and considered before the service issues a final rule.
The critique is published online in the journal Conservation Letters.
Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act expanded on previous legislation by providing for the protection of any species in danger of or threatened with extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
The act's language is critical to what follows: In determining whether a species has recovered, the law requires FWS to declare it is no longer endangered in all or a "significant portion of its range." The gray wolf has recovered in the northern Rockies and upper Great Lakes.
The proposed rule, however, discounts the other 85 percent of the wolf's historic range, which stretches across northern states from the west coast through New England and as far east as mid-Texas in the southern half of the country.
"So what the service is saying is that wolves are going to be called recovered in most of the United States despite the fact that very few wolves live outside these two recovered areas," Bruskotter said. "Wherever they are now, that's their range – which means taking the historic and geographic component out of the listing process."
He and colleagues suggest that this practice not only disregards the law, but "specifically creates incentive to destroy habitat in advance of a listing and do things that aren't good for endangered species."
The law also requires the service to consider the "best available science" in assessing whether threats have eased and a species is recovered. Instead of citing the dozens of studies that suggest human support for wolf restoration is high, the service simply ignored this research and claimed that these areas are unsuitable because of human intolerance. When federal protection is lifted, species management falls to the states.
"That process is not the best available science," Bruskotter said.
Bruskotter acknowledged that FWS is under enormous pressure from the opposing sides of a highly contentious fight about wolves: hunters and livestock producers on one side and wildlife advocates on the other. But that pressure doesn't relieve the service of its duty to act on behalf of endangered species as the law requires, he said.
"The law is supposed to help the protected species, not just describe the threats to that species. But to construct this delisting rule, they've had to interpret policy and science in every case in a way that either disregards threats to wolves, or treats them as insurmountable," he said. "They're doing the opposite of what the act requires."
###
Co-authors of the critique include John Vucetich of Michigan Technological University, Sherry Enzler of the University of Minnesota, Adrian Treves of the University of Wisconsin and Michael P. Nelson of Oregon State University.
Plan to delist gray wolf endangers other threatened species, researchers find
Scientists say proposal to end wolf protection across US disregards science, history, threats
2013-12-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Tell me your barcode, and I will tell you what palm you are
2013-12-30
Tell me your barcode, and I will tell you what palm you are
Reliable and cost-effective species recognition is the dream of many scientists, and has important applications. While the use of morphological features is often uncertain, and can lead to misidentification, species ...
The value of museum collections for development of DNA barcode libraries
2013-12-30
The value of museum collections for development of DNA barcode libraries
The ability to sequence the DNA of plants and animals has revolutionized many areas of biology, but the unstable character of DNA poses difficulties for sequencing specimens in museum collection ...
Museum bird DNA 'ready for use' in Naturalis Biodiversity Center
2013-12-30
Museum bird DNA 'ready for use' in Naturalis Biodiversity Center
DNA barcoding is used as an effective tool for both the identification of known species and the discovery of new ones. The core idea of DNA barcoding is based on the fact that just a small ...
DNA barcoding to monitor marine mammal genetic diversity
2013-12-30
DNA barcoding to monitor marine mammal genetic diversity
Marine mammals are flagship and charismatic species, very attractive for the general public.
Nowadays, they are also considered as highly relevant sentinel of the marine realm. Their
presence and their welfare in an area ...
Toward a molecular explanation for schizophrenia
2013-12-30
Toward a molecular explanation for schizophrenia
Tel Aviv University researchers find inhibition of a basic cellular process may contribute to the mysterious disease
Surprisingly little is known about schizophrenia. It was only recognized as a medical ...
Imaging technology could unlock mysteries of a childhood disease
2013-12-30
Imaging technology could unlock mysteries of a childhood disease
By the time they're two, most children have had respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and suffered symptoms no worse than a bad cold. But for some children, especially premature babies and those with ...
Fetal alcohol syndrome heart defects may be caused by altered function, not structure
2013-12-30
Fetal alcohol syndrome heart defects may be caused by altered function, not structure
Study utilizing animal model is published in the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology
Bethesda, Md. (Dec. 30, 2013)—Recent data shows that more than 500,000 ...
I'll have what they're having: Study finds social norms influence food choices
2013-12-30
I'll have what they're having: Study finds social norms influence food choices
According to report published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Philadelphia, PA, December 30, 2013 – Is obesity a socially transmitted disease? In order ...
Slower-paced meal reduces hunger but affects calorie consumption differently
2013-12-30
Slower-paced meal reduces hunger but affects calorie consumption differently
According to new study of normal-weight and overweight or obese individuals published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Philadelphia, PA, December 30, 2013 ...
The secret to fewer doctor office visits after 70 -- play high school sports
2013-12-30
The secret to fewer doctor office visits after 70 -- play high school sports
Fit in 50 years: participation in high school sports best predicts one's physical activity after age 70
Seventy year olds who don't frequently visit the doctor have something unexpected ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
JAMA Network launches JAMA+ Women's Health
Surface plasmon driven atomic migration mediated by molecular monolayer
ERC Starting Grant for five University of Groningen scientists
AI turns printer into a partner in tissue engineering
What climate change means for the Mediterranean Sea
3D printing “glue gun” can generate bone grafts directly onto fractures in animals
150-million-year post-mortem reveals baby pterosaurs perished in a violent storm
New and recurring food insecurity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Food insecurity and rural child and family functioning
Pre-dialysis nephrology care disparities and incident vascular access among Hispanic individuals
Rutgers and RWJBarnabas Health study finds pocket ultrasound reduces hospital stays for patients with shortness of breath
Weill Cornell doctoral student selected for HHMI Fellows program
Addition of progesterone leads to increased breast growth for those taking gender-affirming hormones
Developing a stable and high-performance W-CoMnP electrocatalyst by mitigating the Jahn-Teller effect through W doping strategy
Manipulating the dispersion of terahertz plasmon polaritons in topological insulator meta-elements
New Barkhausen noise measurement system unlocks key to efficient power electronics
Novel accurate approach improves understanding of brain structure in children with ADHD
New clinical trial to test sensory prostheses for people with upper-limb loss
New study shows proactive forest management reduces high severity wildfire by 88% and stabilizes carbon during extreme droughts
Teen loneliness triggers ‘reward seeking’ behaviour
How fast mRNA degrades linked to autoimmune disease risk
What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis
Kessler Foundation’s Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, honored with James J. Peters Distinguished Service Award from ASCIP
Tiny fish open new horizons for autism research.
How eye-less corals see the light
Storing breast milk for specific times of day could support babies’ circadian rhythm
Growing a new, pencil-shaped structure of gold named “quantum needles”
Transparent mesoporous WO₃ film enhances solar water splitting efficiency and stability
Protostellar jet detection in Milky Way’s outer region reveals universal star formation
New research uncovers a ‘ghost’ of the Australian bush
[Press-News.org] Plan to delist gray wolf endangers other threatened species, researchers findScientists say proposal to end wolf protection across US disregards science, history, threats