Between the early 1980′s and 2000, most States conducted annual bald eagle surveys. Since then, many states recognized that annual surveys were no longer necessary. That is why you will not see annual data after 2000. On August 9, 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.

General Statistics for Endangered Species current as of October 15, 2009

How many species in the United States are listed as threatened or endangered?

614 U.S. animal species are listed.
747 U.S. plant species are listed.

How many species in the United States are proposed for listing as threatened or endangered?

18 U.S. animal species are currently proposed for listing.
46 U.S. plant species are currently proposed for listing.

How many listed species have designated critical habitat?

539 U.S. species have designated critical habitat.

How many candidate species are there?

138 animal species are candidates for listing.
110 plant species are candidates for listing.

How many habitat conservation plans (HCPs) have been approved?

1017 habitat conservation plans have been approved (849 current, 168 expired).

How many listed species have approved recovery plans?

1134 species have approved recovery plans.

Whaling data by scientific permit, aboriginal catches, and whales taken under objection by the International Whaling Commission from 1985-2007

For more information check out Thriving Oceans and “Whaling under the guise of science”

869 species are Extinct or Extinct the Wild and this figure rises to 1,159 if the 290 Critically Endangered species tagged as Possibly Extinct are included.

Only 2.7% of the 1.8 million described species have been analyzed.
Overall, a minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction.

Threatened with Extinction:

38% of all fishes in Europe and 28% in Eastern Africa.
At least 17% of the 1,045 shark and ray species are threatened
12.4% of groupers
 6 of the 7 marine turtle species are threatened with extinction.
27% of the 845 species of reef building corals are threatened
20% of reef building corals are Near Threatened
27.5% of marine birds are in danger of extinction
11.8% of terrestrial birds.
33% of amphibians
Nearly 25% of mammals are threatened with extinction.
28% of Conifers
52% of cycads

Data: Vié, J.-C., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Stuart, S.N. (eds.) (2009). Wildlife in a Changing World – An Analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 180 pp.

Photo Credit:
Asian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus). Threat category Endangered © Jean-Christophe Vié

The Endangered Species Act was signed into law on December 28, 1973

More than 1,300 species have been added to the national lists of threatened and endangered wildlife and plants.

A total of 21 U.S. species under the watch of the FWS, and an additional 14 foreign or NMFS-lead species, have been reclassified from endangered to the less critical category of threatened. Aquatic and plant species make up the bulk of these downlistings. Some recently reclassified species include the Florida population of the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), the Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gilae), and the Missouri bladderpod (Lesquerella filiformis).

13 U.S. species for which the FWS has lead, and an additional 7 foreign or NMFS species, have been delisted due to recovery. The most recently recovered species include the (West) Virginia northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus), certain populations of the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and the Yellowstone Distinct Population Segment of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis).

Currently, there are 545 final recovery plans and 48 draft plans that cover 1,129 U.S species. An additional 124 U.S. species have recovery plans under development.

Data: USFWS Endangered Species Bulletin , Spring 2009

The Living Planet Index is based on trends in nearly 5,000 populations of 1,686 species of mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and fish from around the globe.

The global index (Living Planet Index) shows that vertebrate species populations declined by nearly 30% during the period 1970 to 2005.

Humanity’s Ecological Footprint- Human demand on the biosphere more than doubled during the period 1961 to 2005.

 Global Living Planet Index shows an average trend of -28% from 1970 to 2005 in 4,642 populations of 1,686 species.

Temperate Living Planet Index shows a +6% average trend between 1970 and 2005 in 3,309 opulations of 1,235 species.

Tropical Living Planet Index shows a -51% overall trend from 1970 to 2005 in 1,333 populations of 585 species.

Terrestrial Living Planet Index shows an average -33% trend between 1970 and 2005 in 2,007 populations of 887 terrestrial species.

Marine Living Planet Index shows an average -14 % trend over 35 years in 1,175 populations of 341 marine species.

Freshwater Living Planet Index shows an average -35% trend from 1970 to 2005 in 1,463 populations of 458 species.

Tropical Forest Living Planet shows an average -62% trend between 1970 and 2005 in 503 populations of 186 species.

Dryland Living Planet Index shows an average -44% trend between 1970 and 2005 in 476 populations of 149 species.

Grassland Living Planet Index shows an average -36% trend between 1970 and 2005 in 703 populations of 309 species.

Nearctic Living Planet Index shows no overall change in 1,117 populations of 588 Nearctic species.

Neotropical Living Planet Index shows an average -76% trend over 34 years in 202 populations of 144 Neotropical species.

Palearctic Living Planet Index shows an overall +30% trend over 35 years in 1,167 populations of 363 Palearctic species.

Afrotropical Living Planet Index shows an average -19% trend over 35 years in 552 populations of 201 Afrotropical species.

Indo-Pacific Living Planet Index includes the Indomalayan, Australasian and Oceanic realms, and shows an average -35% trend over 35 years in 441 populations of 155 species.

Bird Living Planet Index shows an average -20% trend between 1970 and 2005 in 2,185 populations of 895 species.

Mammal Living Planet Index shows an average -19% trend from 1970 to 2005 in 1,161 populations of 355 species.

Data: The Living Planet Report 2008, Published in October 2008 by WWF–World Wide Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund), Gland, Switzerland.

“Among the 566 extinct mollusk species, 400 are from oceanic islands, representing 71% of all listed mollusk extinctions. And among these 400 extinct mollusk species,327 are endemic to the most isolated islands of the world.”

Pacific islands – 225 species/subspecies
North America – 90
Asia – 59
Mascarene Islands – 49
Europe – 38
West Indies – 27
South/Central America – 21
Oceania – 13
Macaronesia – 11
Africa – 3
Others – 30

Reference: RÉGNIER, C., FONTAINE, B., & BOUCHET, P. (2009). Not Knowing, Not Recording, Not Listing: Numerous Unnoticed Mollusk Extinctions Conservation Biology

48 – The number of bird species that nest in U.S. grasslands, including ducks, grouse, hawks, and songbirds

48 and 55 – The percent of grassland birds that are of conservation concern and percent showing significant declines.

2 – Percent of the tallgrass prairie that still remains in North America

4 – Number of grassland bird populations that are federally endangered

8 - Number of sparrow species out of 12 that are listed as of conservation concern

38-77 – Percent of Eastern and Western meadowlarks, Bobolinks, Shorteared Owls, and Northern Bobwhites that have declined since 1968

6 – Number of species that breed in the Great Plains of the United States and Canada and that winter in Mexico’s Chihuahuan grasslands that are showing steep declines of 68–91%

Data: State of the Birds 2009

Photo by South Dakota Tourism

Quotes taken from the Nature Conservancy’s 2009 report ‘Shellfish Reefs at Risk: A Global Analysis of Problems and Solutions’

“In most individual bays and ecoregions there has been a >90% loss in oyster reef habitat. In some bays, losses are >99%”

“Globally, 85% of oyster reefs have been lost, making oyster reefs one of the most severely impacted marine ecosystem on the planet”

“In 1864 alone, 700 million European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) were consumed in London, employing up to 120,000 men in Britain to dredge oysters”

“Shell piles in the southwest of France contain over 1 trillion shells apiece”

“Chesapeake Bay reefs are closer to 1% remaining than 10% remaining”

“They [oyster reefs] are functionally extinct with less than 1% of prior abundances remaining in many bays (37% of bays) and ecoregions (28% of ecoregions), particularly in North America, Australia and Europe”

“Nearly half of the assessed shellfish populations were either moderately or highly threatened by overfishing and environmental degradation”

“Oyster reefs are at less than 10% of prior abundance in most bays (70%) and ecoregions (63%)”

“Most wild Ostrea edulis populations in Europe were removed between 100 and nearly 1000 years ago, but in just the past decade (1990s), a wild population in the Gulf of Thessaloniki (Greece) collapsed from more than 1000 tonnes of harvest annually to a point where it is now difficult to find just 60 individual oysters with a dredge”