I received a recent email from the ESC (Endangered Species Coalition) as notification that the US Senate has declared May 11 to be Endangered Species day. It is great to have a day especially dedicated toward this, but I then thought to myself, so what do we do for ESD? Throughout the past few years, I have grown very concerned about what seems to be a continuing battle (and even a terrible irony) between demonstrating success of the ESA and what typically happens next. A species gets delisted, only to then become the subject of ‘wildlife management’ in the case of larger mammals. So in a way, delisting has the potential to become a death sentence. Not that it is always like this, but in cases like the gray wolf, or the grizzly, it definitely seems like it would be that way. But then how do you show recovery and success of the ESA while still trying to keep some form of protection? It seems like a terrible catch 22. I suppose this is why so many groups argue against delisting, even if a population is showing a healthy recovery.

So after seeing this email, I thought I would do some more reading about types of species that are currently listed as endangered. The US Fish & Wildlife site has a ton of information there. I checked the species that are in Michigan, we have 25 total (16 animals, and 9 plants) that are either threatened or endangered. For some reason I thought Painted Trillium was supposed to be on that list, but perhaps it is only local. Will have to dig into that one some more. The other interesting section I went through was the list of species that have been delisted, and all the ones that were delisted because they are now extinct. Pretty sad when you think about it, and the endangered and threatened lists seem to be growing exponentially.

So what to do for Endangered Species day? I suppose at a minimum we should all take a few moments to just educate ourselves about the latest happenings with the ESA, and what may be happening in our own neck of the woods – just to be more aware. Perhaps we want to donate on that day to a cause we are interested in, or visit one of the many events that seem to be scheduled. I know I feel fortunate to have photographed and simply shared time with a few of them, I can only hope that I will never have to say good bye.
I do wonder though what would be the reaction if you wanted to take that day off work to participate in such activities. Would workplaces ever declare it a pseudo-holiday like the UAW has arranged for the start of hunting season? Will we ever place it with as much importance as celebrating civil rights leaders or presidents? Hmmmm…