The Service has determined these species are extinct, and thus no longer require listing under the ESA.
October 6, 2021
USFWS Delisting 23 Species due to extinction
Photo: Ivory-billed Woodpecker and Pileated Woodpeckers at the Smithsonian, Laura McDonald
On September 29, 2021 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) purposed to remove 23 species from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to extinction. Based on rigorous reviews of the best available science for each of these species, the Service has determined these species are extinct, and thus no longer require listing under the ESA.
The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. For the species proposed for delisting today, the protections of the ESA came too late, with most either extinct, functionally extinct, or in steep decline at the timing of listing. To learn more about this read the news release from USFWS and this story from NPR.
