Endangered and Recovering Species
A number of factors have critically affected the species balance
of New England plants and animals since European settlement. Habitat
modification has been the largest single factor in the reduction
or loss of species. Hunting, pathogens (such as Dutch Elm disease
and chestnut blight), pesticides, and pollutants have all contributed
as well. On the positive side, modern hunting and fishing regulations,
legislation, and conservation efforts on behalf of threatened
and endangered species have allowed many populations of organisms
to survive.
Legislation to Protect Species
The federal Endangered Species Act (1973) provides special protection
to the rarest species; it prohibits trade in endangered species
and subspecies or their products, and requires that federal agencies
assess the impact on wildlife of proposed projects. According
to the act, an endangered species or subspecies is one in danger
of extinction throughout all or a significant part of its range.
A threatened species is one likely to become endangered within
the foreseeable future. The National Audubon Society keeps a Watch
List of species that are in danger of reaching threatened or endangered
status.
Threatened and Endangered Plants
Hundreds of New England plant species are threatened, among them
the alpine-zone Robbins' Cinquefoil, an inconspicuous, yellow-flowered
New England endemic (meaning it is found only here), the striking
Plymouth Gentian, which grows on coastal plains, and the Spreading
Globeflower, limited to four Connecticut sites. Changes in land
use and natural plant succession contribute most to the disappearance
of uncommon species, though a few showy or specialized plants
have been subjected to unscrupulous collecting. Organizations
such as the New England Wildflower Society lead the way in protecting
the region's native flora through education and propagation programs.
Recovering Species
The hurricane of 1938 devastated New England and wiped out most
natural Wood Duck nest sites (hollows in old trees). An ambitious
nesting box program since then has resulted in thousands of successful
Wood Duck nestings yearly. Two other birds, the Bald Eagle and
Peregrine Falcon, by the 1960s driven to near extinction in North
America because of DDT poisoning, now have much healthier New
England populations because of long-term programs in which introduced
young birds are raised with human assistance at a site where it
is hoped they will return to nest. Even the widespread and common
White-tailed Deer is a study in recovery. Earlier New Englanders
had hunted Whitetails off the map, but hunting restrictions have
made them abundant once again.
Extinct and Extirpated Species
New England has had its share of extinctions. The Passenger Pigeon,
arguably the most abundant bird species ever, was hunted (for
food) into oblivion, as were the Great Auk, Labrador Duck, and
Sea Mink. Locally extirpated are the Gray Wolf, Walrus, Eastern
Woodland Caribou, Wolverine, and Elk. The Mountain Lion, known
in New England as the Catamount, was last recorded in the region
in 1881, at Barnard, Vermont.
Reforestation
Although between 1875 and 1925 the region saw its second great
forest harvest, this time of second-growth timber, New Englanders
were largely abandoning farm life by the early 1900s, and the
landscape was again taking on a wooded appearance. States that
had been three-quarters denuded by 1850 (Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Massachusetts, and Vermont) were on their way to being three-quarters
treed by the middle of the 20th century. Today New England is
once again known for its glorious trees.
PHOTO: John Lynch
