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A new study finds that threatened and endangered species are losing habitat more than twice as fast on non-protected private land as compared to national public lands. The study, authored by a Tufts University researcher and scientists at the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife, used satellite imagery to track habitat loss of 24 species over 31 years. The researchers found that imperiled species lost 3.6 percent of their habitat on federally-protected land, and 8.6 percent of their habitat on private lands with no protections. State lands and lands protected by non-governmental organizations were in the middle, losing between 4 and 5 percent of habitat for the species being tracked.
"This research illustrates the critical importance of America's federal lands system for conserving wildlife habitat and the urgent need for better protections on other land ownerships," co-author Jacob Malcolm told Treehugger. "Biodiversity and the services it provides to society can be conserved through concerted effort and transformative change; protecting habitats must be an essential part of that effort."
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