DNR Wants to Add 145 Species to Protected List
By John Myers, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.
Jan. 3–The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources proposed Tuesday adding 145 new species to the state’s list of plants, birds, mammals and other creatures that are facing tough times.
The troubled species include mostly plants and lichens, but also popular animals such as lynx and birds such as the boreal owl.
All 145 species are candidates for formal state protection as either endangered or threatened or are proposed as a “species of concern,” which offers DNR monitoring but no formal protection.
Other species on the list include reptiles, amphibians and even dragonflies, which are declining. Five of 12 species of mussels that the DNR formally monitors are being moved to endangered because they are declining so much.
While it’s not likely that Snails Unlimited or Save the Liverwort chapters will open soon, DNR officials and others say the elimination of any species should be cause for concern.
“It’s hard to get people excited about lichens, but all of these species are part of the machinery that is Minnesota’s ecosystem,” said Rich Baker, a biologist with the DNR’s Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. “They are all important.”
The DNR is proposing removing 25 recovering species, including wolves, from protection under the state law, although those species could be protected under other state regulations and under federal law.
Other mammals with no current status that would be given species-of-concern status include the northern grasshopper mouse, western harvest mouse, Richardson’s ground squirrel and badgers.
The northern pocket gopher is facing even tougher times and has been moved from species of concern to threatened. Like many other species, this resident of extreme northwestern Minnesota is running out of places to live.
“It may already be gone. We don’t know,” Baker said of the gopher. “It’s a habitat issue. It likes dry prairie, which often get used up as gravel pits and for other uses.”
Boreal owls, northern goshawks and lynx are among the better-known species joining the list.
The small owls have been on a steady decline across their home range of northern Minnesota forests. It is apparently because of the decline in stands of old trees for nesting, adjacent to black spruce, where they hunt. The DNR bases much of the decision on research by Northland boreal owl expert Bill Lane.
“There’s been a lot of modeling, done for the paper mill expansions, that shows there is less big, old aspen out there in the woods. Bill’s research shows that boreal owls use those big old trees almost exclusively for nesting,” Baker said. “If the boreal owl ultimately ends up as threatened as we’ve proposed, it means we’ll likely take a look at what we can do to stop that decline.”
Matt Norton, forestry and wildlife advocate for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, said inclusion on the list should mean more consideration for the owl as the state manages timber harvests.
“It’s absolutely essential Minnesota is updating its list, and the boreal definitely warrants being listed. It’s part of Minnesota’s heritage. It helps define the north woods,” Norton said. “It has some very specific habitat needs and it’s time that the state stepped up to make sure we have forest like that that can support boreal owls.”
Lynx have been in trouble in Minnesota for more than 20 years, but only now are coming under official DNR scrutiny. Their status as a species of concern, however, would offer no legal protections, nor require a plan to restore their numbers. Environmental groups are suing the DNR for failing to prevent lynx from being accidentally trapped. Lynx are listed as threatened by the federal government.
Habitat trends also emerge as experts read down the proposed list, including along Lake Superior’s North Shore, where development pressure has put several rare plants on the ropes, Baker said. Wild chives, black hawthorne and alpine bluegrass all are North Shore natives faced with extinction.
“With wild chives, the only place they’ve been found is in Jay Cooke (State Park) and the North Shore,” Baker said. “The concern here is an issue of increased development in a unique area.”
Species that have shown improvement include trumpeter swans, which would be upgraded from threatened to a species of concern under the DNR plan, along with bald eagles, which come off the state list entirely — just as they are leaving the federal list. Peregrine falcons would drop from threatened to no protection, while prairie chickens and snapping turtles also would fall off the state list.
Wolves have been on their way off Minnesota and federal endangered lists for a decade. Their recovery, from a few hundred in the 1970s to more than 3,200 today, has been well-documented. Federal law will continue to supersede any state regulation changes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to unveil a final plan this year to remove federal protections of wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, but that change could be challenged in court.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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