Unknown Heroes

Tennessee’s Endangered and Threatened Species

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

3 snails

10 birds 41 freshwater mussels 1 reptile

21 plants

7 mammals

2 insects and arachnids

16 fishes

The rock gnome lichen (E)

is extremely sensitive to air

pollution. Where the lichen

thrives, the air is good for

people to breathe.

Few of us realize the valuable roles that wild plants and animals play in our lives every

day and the benefits we gain from them. Yet many wild species are in trouble. Read on

to learn how endangered and threatened species help us and how you can help them!

The Carolina northern flying

squirrel (E) is adapted to the

cold, harsh conditions of

forests in the high mountains of

east Tennessee. Its decline was

one of the first warnings that

the health of high-elevation

forests is in jeopardy.

The tiny royal snail (E) lives in

the dark cool “ooze” found on

leaves and twigs in cool

springs. The decline of the royal

snail is a warning that water

sources need our protection.

The disappearance of the peregrine

falcon (delisted) was an early warning

of the damage caused to food chains

by persistent pesticides like DDT.

Banning DDT in 1972 led to the

recovery and the removal of the

peregrine falcon from the endangered

and threatened species list in 1999.

The oyster mussel (E) and

other freshwater mussels

help remove silt and

pollutants from water and

serve as food source for

otters and muskrats.

Where mussels thrive,

the water quality is good.

The bog turtle (T) is threatened by

the loss of its mountain bog habitat.

These mountain wetlands are

important for filtering pollutants

from our water and helping absorb

flood waters.

There are 101 endangered(E), threatened (T),

and extirpated* species in Tennessee.

* Species that no longer exist in Tennessee

but are still surviving elsewhere.

All photos credit: USFWS

The secretive smoky madtom (E)

lives in only one stream in the

Cherokee National Forest. The

presence of such a fragile fish is

an indicator of good water quality.

The Tennessee purple

coneflower (E) is a member

of the group of flowers widely

known as “Echinacea.”

Today, Echinacea is relied

upon worldwide to help

ward off illnesses like the

common cold.

Each Indiana bat (E) can

eat up to 1,200 insects

each hour! Bats are the

only major predators of

night-flying insects, such

as cucumber beetles and

corn ear worm moths that

feed on our food crops and

mosquitos that feed on us!

The spruce-fir moss spider (E) is

the smallest tarantula in the world.

Venom from tarantulas is being

researched as a possible treatment

for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

diseases.
Myth:

Extinction is a “natural” process and

we should not worry about it.

Reality:

Extinction is a normal process, but the

current extinction rate is not. We are

altering the air, water, and land faster

than species can adapt. Since the Pilgrims

landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, more

than 500 North American species have

become extinct. That’s more than one

species lost per year. Scientists estimate

that the natural extinction rate is one

species lost every 100 years. Each time

we lose a species we lose part of the

intricate web of life that sustains us.

When a species is lost, the benefits it

might have provided are gone forever.

Myth:

The Endangered Species Act is causing

the loss of jobs and economic devastation

in many areas of the country.

Reality:

Economists from the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology analyzed the

economic impact of endangered species.

They found that states with many listed

species have economies that are at least

as healthy as those with very few

endangered species. Even in the Pacific

Northwest, where logging restrictions

were imposed, in part, because of the

northern spotted owl, the regional

economy is booming. Three years after

the curtailment of logging in Federal

forests, Oregon posted its lowest

unemployment rate in a generation.

Myth:

Thousands of private citizens have

been prosecuted for harming or killing

endangered species, even when it

occurred accidentally.

Reality:

Most of the people prosecuted under

the Endangered Species Act are illegal

wildlife traffickers who illegally and

knowingly collect rare wildlife and plants

to sell for personal profit.

Myths and Realities of the

Endangered Species Act

You Can Help Protect Endangered

and Threatened Species!

■ Reduce what you use: reuse what

you can; and recycle everything

else.

■ Support local, state, and national

laws for clean air and clean water.

■ Reduce the amount of chemicals

that you use on your lawn,

garden, and crops.

■ Report illegal dumping.

■ Plant native plants to benefit

native wildlife and pollinators.

■ Maintain plants along streams to

prevent erosion and filter

pollutants.

■ Protect and conserve the

environment for your kids and

grandkids.

Remember, we drink the same water

and breathe the same air as these

species. We are connected!

The mission of the U.S. Fish &

Wildlife Service is working with

others to conserve, protect, and

enhance fish, wildlife and plants

and their habitats for the

continuing benefit of the

American people.

Myth:

Many irresolvable conflicts with

endangered species occur every year,

stopping many valuable projects and

hindering progress.

Reality:

Of the 225,403 development projects

that were reviewed from 1979 to 1996,

only 37 were halted. That is one project

stopped for 6,092 projects reviewed.

In most cases, projects that were halted

did proceed once the project design was

modified to avoid endangering a species.

Myth:

Billions of tax dollars are being spent

on endangered species.

Reality:

In FY 1996 the annual nationwide budget

for the endangered species program was

approximately $0.06 billion. This amounts

to an average of 23 cents per person in

the United States. By comparison,

Americans spent more than $8.2 billion in

1992 on pets, pet food, and pet supplies,

and the amount has grown since then

(U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical

Abstract of the U.S., 1997).

Myth:

Most endangered species are lower forms

of life that have no value to humanity.

Reality:

Size and emotional appeal have no

bearing on a species’ importance.

Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife

management, said it well in his book,

The Sand County Almanac:

“The last word in ignorance is the man

who says of an animal or plant: ‘What

good is it?’ If the land mechanism as a

whole is good, then every part is good,

whether we understand it or not. If the

biota, in the course of aeons, has built

something we like but do not understand,

then who but a fool would discard

seemingly useless parts? To keep every

cog and wheel is the first precaution of

intelligent tinkering.”

Remember, penicillin was discovered from a mold!