Target: Martha Williams, Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency
Goal: Team with local wildlife experts for assisted migration to relocate endangered species.
The U.S. Endangered Species Act celebrated its 50th anniversary. Endangered Species Day also brought attention to the plight of the 16,000 species of animals and plants currently populating the international endangered species list (over 1,500 of which reside in America). With the warming and habitat loss wrought by the climate crisis, these numbers are only rising.
A proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could help save the species most impacted by climate change. Under the proposal, endangered species would benefit from assisted migration. In other words, species whose current habitats are too inhospitable would be relocated to new habitation zones, with the supervision of wildlife managers. The Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees endangered species, would invest resources and manpower into the initiative. Such efforts have already successfully introduced endangered weasels in Washington State.
Sign the petition below to urge this agency to move forward and to enlist the help of state and local wildlife agencies as well as native tribes.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Director Williams,
Assisted migration could be a boon for endangered animals and plants at risk of losing their homes to climate change and other factors. States have been cautiously supportive of the proposal, but these regional wildlife agencies do worry about ecological impacts if the plans are not implemented thoughtfully. Local tribes have expressed the same worries.
Please work with these parties that have a deep knowledge of their unique local environments to create and deploy plans of assisted migration that benefit both ecosystems and the most critically endangered species.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service
I signed this petition but I’m wondering how feasible this is. When a species is moved to a new location, what affect does this have on the species already there? It seems like a good idea, as in the bison that are being moved to some Native American lands, but what about other animals? A complete environmental evaluation would have to be done before incorporating a new species into a given habitat.