Jan 6, 2007 4:18 pm US/Central
DNR Begins Updating Minn. Endangered Species List
St. Paul (AP) ―
Minnesota's list of endangered species will soon get its first update in more than 10 years.
The state list created in 1984 and updated in 1996 ranks struggling plants and animals as endangered, threatened, or special concern. The first two categories get legal protections, while "special concern" is more of a warning.
The Department of Natural Resources is proposing to remove state protection of 16 species and increase protection for 93 others. It is proposing to remove 25 species from the list altogether. About two-thirds of the species on the list are plants, while the rest are animals.
Two of the most attention-grabbing species on the state list are the gray wolf and the bald eagle, are both currently listed as special concern. Their recoveries have prompted the DNR is propose delisting them. The U.S. government is also expected to remove bald eagles and gray wolves from the federal endangered species list.
The public comment period on the changes began during the past week.
Habitat loss is "by far and away the most prominent reason" for listing a species as endangered, said DNR biologist Rich Baker. "There's more people in the state. There's more activity and more demand on the resources," Baker said. "We can't just expect everything to be fine as we use our resources for more houses, more production of timber products, more production of mineral products, more agricultural production."
When bald eagles were first listed as endangered, the goal was to increase their numbers to 300 pairs in Minnesota. The DNR estimated there were 1,312 active nests in Minnesota in 2005.
The gray wolf population in Minnesota is estimated at more than 3,000.
Other species on the list include lichens, mosses, liverworts, snails, spiders and insects.
Ginseng, a plant that has become popular as an herbal supplement, would be considered threatened on the new list. That would halt a commercial harvest that Baker said has been taking its toll.
While the federal list measures whether a species is at risk for extinction globally, the state list only considers how well the plant or animal is doing within Minnesota's borders, Baker said.
Some species on the Minnesota list are thriving in other states, but not faring as well here, he said.
That's the case with the butternut tree, located mostly in southeastern Minnesota but also seen in the St. Cloud area. It has fallen victim to a disease caused by a fungus. With few butternuts remaining, the DNR is proposing to list it as endangered, Baker said.
The Canada lynx may make the list for the first time, now that its presence in northeastern Minnesota has been confirmed in recent years by researchers. The DNR is proposing to list it as a special concern.
The federal endangered species law protects both the animal and its habitat. Derek Larson, an environmental studies professor at the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University, said the Minnesota approach of protecting only the animal or plant and not the habitat is probably outdated. He said conservation law should protect habitat such as large forests, prairies and oak savannas.
"The way the law works, we're working at the wrong end of the pyramid," he said.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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