New Defenders Report Shows Locations in the United States Most Impacted by Biodiversity Crisis

Defenders of Wildlife today released a first-of-its-kind report  that maps out where the five drivers of the global biodiversity crisis — habitat loss, pollution, climate change, invasive species and overexploitation — may have the greatest impact in the contiguous United States. This work is the first to analyze all five threats together at the national scale and the first to find that climate change, rather than habitat loss, endangers the greatest number of the nation’s most imperiled species. 

Scientists in Defenders’ Center for Conservation Innovation quantified the threats to the country’s  most important biodiversity-sustaining areas and identified which listed species and species groups may be at greater risk. 

“The threats driving one million species toward extinction are here in our backyard,” said Lindsay Rosa, vice president of Conservation Research and Innovation at Defenders of Wildlife. “No place in the U.S. is left untouched by the underlying drivers of the global biodiversity crisis and nearly half of the nation’s most important areas for biodiversity are facing the most severe threats. This is a clarion call to make combatting the biodiversity crisis a national priority.” 

Top 5 States at Risk from Each Driver of the Biodiversity Crisis 

Invasive Species 

1)    Florida
2)    Delaware
3)    New Jersey 
4)    Ohio 
5)    Connecticut

Climate Change:

1)    Missouri
2)    Iowa
3)    Indiana
4)    Minnesota
5)    Illinois

Habitat Loss:

1)    Arizona
2)    Nevada
3)    California
4)    Kansas
5)    Florida

Over Exploitation:

1)    Connecticut 
2)    Massachusetts
3)    New Jersey 
4)    Rhode Island 
5)    Florida

Pollution:

1)    Louisiana 
2)    West Virginia
3)    Tennessee 
4)    Pennsylvania 
5)    Florida

Most At Risk From the Biodiversity Crisis (all five threats):

1)    Mississippi 
2)    Florida 
3)    Louisiana 
4)    Alabama 
5)    Georgia 

Full rankings for each state and each driver of the biodiversity crisis along with species examples may be found at Defenders.org. 

As part of the analysis, Defenders of Wildlife also identified reptiles and amphibians as among the most at-risk of all listed species. These species groups generally face a larger number of threats and have a greater proportion of their range threatened by the drivers of the biodiversity crisis.   

Of particular concern additionally, are the 38 ESA-listed species for whom >90% of their range face the greatest threats. 

These species include (% of range affected): 

•    California Tiger Salamander (100%) 
•    Olympia Pocket Gopher (100%) 
•    Penland Beardtongue (100%)
•    Hutton Tui Chub (100%)
•    Tenino Pocket Gopher (100%)
•    Sacramento Mountains Checkerspot Butterfly (100%)
•    Warm Springs Pupfish (99%)
•    Riparian Bush Rabbit (98%)
•    Benton County Cave Crayfish (96%)
•    Stephen’s Kangaroo Rat (96%)
•    Arroyo Toad (92%)
•    Pygmy Sculpin (90%)

Among those, these species were directly impacted by all five drivers:

•    Four-Petal Pawpaw (100%)
•    June Sucker (98%)
•    Florida Semaphore cactus (98%)
•    Stephen’s Kangaroo Rat (96%)
•    San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike (95%)

“We cannot overstate how important biodiversity is to our everyday lives, yet we are losing it more rapidly than we have ever seen,” said Rosa. “A greater understanding of these threats to species and where they are having the greatest impact on our communities will help us stem the crisis at hand with strategic investments and conservation action. This must include investing in the Endangered Species Act and developing a national biodiversity strategy.”

Biodiversity loss is a direct threat to human health and well-being, livelihoods, food access, clean air, clean water and economies. 

A recent Defenders of Wildlife poll  found that 73% of Americans think that biodiversity is important to their everyday lives and 67% of Americans believe that protecting biodiversity should be a national priority.