NYSDEC’s updates to threatened species must go further to protect biodiversity
October 15, 2024
Casey Hellman
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) recently released proposed regulations to update its list of endangered, threatened, and special concern species. Riverkeeper supports the NYS DEC’s efforts to update these lists, which help protect species critical to the Hudson River ecosystem and beyond. In particular, we support the agency’s decision to designate the lake chub, blackchin shiner, and eastern pirate perch as species of special concern, the longnose sucker, comely shiner, and ironcolor shiner as threatened species, and the Atlantic coast leopard frog as endangered, as all of these species face threats that put their survival at risk. However, several species that meet the definition of threatened or special concern are misclassified or absent from the proposed regulations, and we urge the NYS DEC to update these regulations to more accurately reflect the conditions of these species.
We support the inclusion of the American eel, which was not previously listed in the regulations, as a species of special concern. However, threats from habitat loss, overfishing, pollution, and parasites mean these eels should be considered a threatened species. If no action is taken to protect them, American eel are likely to become an endangered species in the foreseeable future.
We believe that many species in need of protection were omitted from the proposed regulations altogether. The alewife, blueback herring, and American shad have all seen their populations dwindle due to fishing mortality, habitat loss from dams and human infrastructure, and habitat degradation. Young blueback herring populations, for example, measure consistently below the 25th percentile relative to historic levels. These species are at risk of becoming threatened or are likely to become endangered, and should be included by the NYS DEC as either a species of special concern or a threatened species.
Sea lamprey, which have lost their spawning and rearing habitat due to dams, are also at risk of becoming threatened and should be included, at a minimum, as a species of special concern. White catfish face threats from invasive channel catfish, who out-compete them for preferred habitat and put them at risk of becoming threatened. Data show that the Atlantic tomcod and white perch populations are in significant decline — these should be species of special concern as well.
We applaud the NYS DEC’s efforts to update the list of endangered, threatened, and special concern species, but without including all species that are likely to become endangered or are at risk of becoming threatened, these updates will fail to preserve the incredible biodiversity that calls New York’s waters home.
