2 / OutdoorIllinois January 2007 January 2007 OutdoorIllinois / 3
Making the List
Story By Joe McFarland
ence or absence of the species. They
review historical records of the species
in Illinois, organizing research and moni-toring
efforts. There is a lengthy check-list
of verifications which demand the
documentation of recorded sightings or
even a physical specimen of the species
being considered.
Since the Endangered Species Pro-tection
Board is composed of scientists,
all working to establish proven facts
about the status of threatened or endan-gered
species, the whims of subjective
opinion do not influence the final recom-mendations
of the board. Cute or ugly, all
species of flora or fauna in Illinois receive
equal consideration under the law.
How do threatened and endangered species get legal
status as Illinois rarities?
extirpated from Illinois since the 1800s,
but still thrive elsewhere.) When a
species is “threatened,” the population
of that species isn’t exactly endangered,
but might be in serious decline, or
chronically low in numbers and at risk of
soon qualifying for the “Endangered” list.
The Illinois Endangered Species Pro-tection
Board, a nine-member group of
scientists (including botanists, zoolo-gists,
ecologists and one citizen advo-cate)
meets four times annually to
review the status of Illinois threatened
and endangered species. Automatically,
any species already listed as a federally
threatened or endangered species is
granted the same legal protection in Illi-nois.
But some species, while not criti-cally
rare nationwide, might be very rare
in Illinois, and therefore require protec-tion
not offered at the federal level. The
review and changes to the Illinois list
occurs every five years.
The greater prairie-chicken (Tympa-nuchus
cupido), for example, remains
common enough to be a game species
in certain Great Plains states. But Illi-nois’
population is severely limited by
chronic habitat loss. The eastern wood
rat (Neotoma floridana) is a common
resident from southern states to Nebras-ka,
but is listed as endangered in Illinois.
A natural question: Why bother pro-tecting
relatively tiny populations of a
species when they’re merely a fragment
of a larger population living at the edge
of its range? Scientists realize healthy
populations of any species are adapted
to live among slight to moderate shifts in
habitat and environment. Individual pop-ulations
living on the edge of their over-all
range are better adapted to survive
those slight differences. Evolutionary
changes often occur at these margins.
Illinois is located at the continental
cross-roads where many species are on
the edge of their range.
If one mission of natural resource
management is to ensure genetic diver-sity
among populations, protecting those
“marginal” populations becomes critical-ly
important.
With legal habitat and harvest protec-tion,
and sometimes through reintroduc-tion
efforts, some species recover suffi-ciently
to be “de-listed,” or removed from
what’s commonly known as the “T and
E” list. The recovery of the bald eagle—
once a federally endangered species—
is a national example of what can hap-pen
when rare species receive special
protections. Once a rare sight in Illinois,
bald eagles now nest in dozens of Illi-nois
counties and even have been spot-ted
soaring over Chicago.
According to law, the decision to add
or remove a species from the state or
federal list doesn’t rest with one individ-ual.
Scientists must go afield to examine
known habitats to document the pres-
Ever walk into a forest and
been stumped by an unusual
plant, or maybe a snake or
bird you can’t identify? Don’t
be embarrassed. Nobody—
not even the best biologists—can instant-ly
recognize every species of floral and
faunal life known to exist in Illinois.
Sometimes, even the pros scratch their
head when encountering an obscure
species beyond their field of study.
While everybody encounters plants
or wildlife they don’t recognize, deciding
what’s truly a rare species—therefore
worthy of special, legal protection—or
what’s merely unfamiliar is a decision-making
process requiring the collective
input of many experts.
Let’s start with the big picture: Most
of us are at least vaguely familiar with
the federal Endangered Species Act of
1973, and how it affords nationwide pro-tection
to native species which are criti-cally
endangered, therefore at risk of
becoming totally extinct or extirpated
from the United States. (Extinct means
the species no longer exists anywhere
on Earth; extirpated means that species
no longer exists in a certain region:
black bears, for example, have been
Yellow-headed blackbird
(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)
Yellow-lipped ladies’ tresses
(Spiranthes lucida)
Grrayy wollff ((Caniiss llupuss))
LLeeasstt biitttteerrn ((IIxobrryycchuss eexiilliiss))
Riivveerr ccootteerr ((Psseeudeemyyss cconcciinna)) Weesstteerrn hoggnossee ssnakee ((Heetteerrodon nassiiccuss))
IIndiiana ccrrayyffiissh ((Orrcconeecctteess iindiianeenssiiss))
(Photo courtesy David Olson.)
(Photo courtesy Michael Jeffords.)
(Photo courtesy Mike Redmer.)
(Photo courtesy Mike Redmer.)
(Photo courtesy David Olson.)
(Photo courtesy David Olson.)
(Photo courtesy Carol Freeman.)
