advocating for endangered species
drafting environmental legislation
preserving wildlife habitat
Extinction Update
It is not certain whether ivory-billed woodpeckers, (shown above and on the homepage of this website), still exist in the swamps and woodlands of Georgia, Alabama or surrounding states. The last official siting of this bird was in 1987, although unofficial sitings have been claimed in the 1990’s.
Other US species that have certainly gone extinct in recent decades include: the Eastern Cougar (2011); Bachmann’s warbler (1988); Blue Walleye (1983); Heath Hen (1982); Eskimo Curlew (1981); Socorro Elf Owl (1970); Mexican Grizzly Bear (1964); Imperial Woodpecker (1956); New Mexico Sharp-tailed Grouse (1954); Monk Seal (1952); Xerxes blue Butterfly (1943); Indigo-capped Hummingbird (1943); Cascade Mountain Wolf (1940); the Southern Rocky Mountains Wolf (1935); Silver Trout (1930); California Golden Bear (1922); Carolina Parakeet (1918); Passenger Pigeon (1914); Newfoundland Wolf (1911); Merriam’s Elk (1906); Eastern Elk (1887); Labrador Duck (1878); and the Sea Mink (1860).
Green Ballot is focused on preserving populations and habitat of endangered, threatened, and declining species such as the wolverine; black-footed ferret; Canada lynx; Jaguar; Florida Panther; red wolf; gray wolf; caribou; pronghorn; moose; Columbia white-tailed deer; Bighorn Sheep; turtles such as the leatherback, loggerhead, and Alabama red-belly; endangered bats such as the Indiana bat, Virginia big-eared bat, and Ozark big-eared bat; the red-cockaded Woodpecker; California Condor; Mexican spotted owl; Northern spotted Owl; Hawaiian hawk; Peregrine falcon; the Hawaiian Goose; Albatross; whooping crane; wood stork; Puerto Rican Parrot; numerous cuckoo and warbler species; masked Bobwhite; Praying Mantis, and a range of salmon, sturgeon, trout, and catfish species. We also work to preserve endangered flora such as the Santa Cruz cypress; wild orchids; the Acuna cactus; plus numerous mussel species that are disappearing from the rivers of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
Green Ballot will share updates on positive developments in the preservation of any of these species. Green Ballot is working with environmental organizations and government agencies to develop new protections for these species. We will not limit ourselves to the US Government’s Endangered Species Act List, but Green Ballot will also reference declining and rare species from the Red List, which is a much more comprehensive list than the Endangered Species Act List. The Red List is developed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and it is more scientific than the Endangered Species Act List, and it is much less subject to interference by corporate lobbyists and easily intimidated US legislators.
Green Ballot supports:
The right of wildlife to live in a natural habitat which is ecologically sufficient to allow a normal existence and to allow a population size that is easily self-sustaining
The right of animals to have their interests brought to court by any individual or government agency at any level of government, and for these animals and species to be capably represented in court and to be safeguarded by the laws of the land
Working with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, PETA, and Congress to develop an Animal Bill of Rights that preserves wildlife and that adds additional species to the Endangered Species Act; and that protects species from threats of the global economy, habitat destruction, suburbanization, infrastructure development, global warming, sea-level rise, and other dangers.
Species Longevity
Many animal species live for quite a long time. We suggest that a good rule of thumb might be: If a member of another species is older than you are now, or has the potential to live longer than the age you are today, then do not harm it, cut it, harvest it, or kill it. In addition, if it is older than you, you should name it and begin taking care of it. Species with long life spans include:
Quahog (deep sea clam) – 220 years
Bowhead whale – 200 years
Galapagos Land Tortoise – 193 years
Lake Sturgeon – 152 years
American Box Turtle – 123 years
Fin Whale – 116 years
Blue Whale – 110 years
Carp – 100 years
Humpback Whale – 95 years
Elephant and Amazon Parrot – 80 years
Eastern Box Turtle and African Gray Parrot – 75 years
Orangutan and Chimpanzee – 59 years
Snapping Turtle, Baikal Seal, and Eastern Imperial Eagle – 57 years
Hippopotamus and Gorilla – 54 years
Macaw, Camel, and Indian Rhino – 50 years
Grizzly Bear and Brown Bear – 47 years
Lion, Donkey, Goldfish, and California Condor – 45 years
Spotted Hyena, Horse, Boa Constrictor, and Sulfur Crested Cockatoo – 40 years
Polar Bear and Vulture – 39 years
Dolphin, Swan, Giraffe, Deer, and Superb Parrot – 38 years…
The US should extend its full protections to non-human species. In doing so, we will broaden our sense of family and community. The expansion of protections to different human groups as well as to other species, is in part, a humanitarian (or zoomanitarian) action, but ultimately it may be mankind’s only true survival strategy, if we are to reach the 22nd century. To quote President Theodore Roosevelt, this country will not be a good place for any of us to live in, unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.
Preserving Endangered Species
The US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is an agency within the US Department of Interior, lists endangered and threatened species in the United States. The agency’s mission is “to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and other habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.”
Fish and Wildlife Service responsibilities include:
Enforcing federal wildlife laws
Protecting endangered species
Managing migratory birds
Restoring nationally significant fisheries
Conserving and restoring wildlife habitat such as wetlands
Helping foreign governments with their international wildlife conservation efforts
Distributing funds to state fish and wildlife agencies through the Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration Program, and
Managing over 560 National Wildlife Refuges.
Although the US list of Endangered and Threatened Species is politically compromised (as opposed to the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of animal, fungi, and plant species), it is still a place to begin to look at the perilous condition of species in decline in the USA.
The Fish and Wildlife Service List shows the black-footed ferret and Canada Lynx to be endangered or threatened in most of the northern and northwestern states, and completely absent from the rest of the United States now.
Whales such as finback, humpback, beluga, and blue whales are endangered on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of the USA. The historic range of the West Indian Manatee includes all of the Atlantic states from North Carolina southward to Florida, and all of the states bordering on the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida. The manatee is extinct in all of these states except for Florida, where it is barely hanging on.
Likewise, the red-cockaded woodpecker is endangered from Florida to Texas to Washington, DC. Its natural range until recently extended as far north as New York City, however, it is now considered extinct in New Jersey and in New York State.
Green Ballot is working with environmentalists in all regions of the country, as well as with legislators to enhance protections for many of these endangered species. We work with ecologists on species-specific protections and policies that can help to ensure the survival and well being of these species.
We will update you as soon as we move forward with legislation on behalf of these irreplaceable flora and fauna, and we will keep you posted on threats to these species and upon their survival prospects.