Petition for
Rarest U.S. Frogs, Turtles, Toads, Snakes, Lizards and Salamanders
Press Release -Washington D.C. 9/6/12— More than 200 scientists sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
today expressing support for an Endangered Species Act petition filed this summer by the Center for
Biological Diversity and several renowned scientists and herpetologists,
including E.O. Wilson, Thomas Lovejoy and Michael Lannoo. The petition, the
largest ever filed targeting amphibians and reptiles, seeks federal protection
for 53 species of turtles, snakes, toads, frogs, lizards and salamanders found
across 45 states.
Wood turtle photo by Diane Baedeker Petit, USDA. Photos are available for media use.
“There’s broad scientific consensus that amphibians and reptiles face a
profound, human-driven extinction crisis,” said Collette Adkins Giese, a Center
biologist and lawyer focused on protecting herpetofauna. “The surest way to
ensure our country’s rarest turtles, frogs and salamanders have a future is to
give them Endangered Species Act protection.”
The signatories to the letter — which states that the petitioned animals
deserve a Fish and Wildlife Service status review because they face threats
like habitat loss, pollution, introduced predators and climate change — are
herpetologists, biologists, ecologists and other scientists with collective
expertise on amphibians and reptiles.
The 450-page listing petition, filed July 11, asked the Service to
provide Endangered Species Act protection for six turtles, seven snakes, two
toads, four frogs, 10 lizards and 24 salamanders. It detailed their status and
the threats to their survival.
“We will get serious — scientists and general public alike — about
preserving the diversity of life on Earth only when we have precise knowledge
of individual species like those in this petition,” said Edward O. Wilson, a
distinguished Harvard biologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. “Future
generations will think badly of us if, through ignorance and inaction, we let
die this part of their natural heritage.”
Although amphibians and reptiles have been around for hundreds of
millions of years and survived every major extinction period, now, due largely
to human impacts, they’re dying off at up to 10,000 times the historic
extinction rate. This loss is alarming because they play important roles as
predators and prey in their ecosystems and are valuable indicators of environmental
health.
Among the species in the petition are the alligator snapping turtle in
the Southeast, the wood turtle in the Northeast, Florida’s Key ringneck snake,
the Illinois chorus frog, the Pacific Northwest’s Cascade torrent salamander
and California’s western spadefoot toad. View an interactive
state-by-state map showing where the petitioned species live and download photos for media use.
The Fish and Wildlife Service must determine within 90 days whether the
petition has merit and make a decision about protection within a
year.
Contact: Collette Adkins Giese, (651) 955-3821
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