Saving the Puzzle Pieces
(left) Ozark spiderwort and Ozark corn salad, which are imperiled species,
grow in similar habitats in fewer than 10 Ozark counties in Missouri.
(right) The Niangua darter lives in southern Missouri and no where
else in the world. It is federally Threatened and state endangered.
"The only thing we know for sure about the future is that it will be radically different from the past. In face of this enormous uncertainty, the least we can do for future generations is to pass on to them as many of the planet's resources possible …" --Norman Myers, The Sinking Ark
Missouri's natural world is like a jigsaw puzzle: when we lose just one piece of it, the puzzle is not complete. If we lose several pieces, the puzzle starts to fall apart. Our puzzle is biodiversity -- all our plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms. Many of these living things depend on one another for survival-and all living things, including people -- need clean air, water and soil to survive.
Many of Missouri's plants and animals are rare or endangered and their survival is threatened.
More than 600 kinds of plants and 324 different animals in Missouri are of concern to conservationists because they are uncommon or because their numbers are low or declining. Our species of conservation concern represent 18 percent of our native vascular plants and 28 percent of our vertebrate animals.
Why are these plants and animals declining?
(left) Large beard-tongue, which is critically imperiled in the state,
grows in the loess hills of northwestern Missouri.
(right) The marsh-dwelling, non-venomous western fox snake, endangered
in the state, occurs in marshes and wet prairies in the northern third
of Missouri.
Plants and animals most often become endangered when their habitat –their home– is destroyed. People cause most habitat destruction. We destroy the homes of other species when we clear land for subdivisions, shopping centers and roads; channelize rivers for the ease of boat transportation; mine streams for sand and gravel; and plow prairies and drain wetlands for agriculture.
Since life began, many plant and animal species have disappeared. Some extinction occurs from natural changes on the Earth. But the current rate of extinction is much higher than the natural rate, about 1,000 times higher than before humans appeared on the Earth.*
Animal, human, chemical and nuclear waste pollute soil and water, often poisoning and killing many different species. Pesticides used in agriculture can be carried from insects up the food chain to small mammals, birds and larger animals. Some plants and animals become rare when people take them illegally from the wild for sale in the underground medicinal or pet trade.
Plants and animals from other parts of the world ("exotic species") that become established in Missouri can also threaten native species. Exotic species like zebra mussels and purple loosestrife compete for the same nutrients and space that native species need. Some exotics are so successful they crowd out native plants and animals.
(top-left) Surveying for freshwater mussels. Of Missouri's 65 species
of mussels, 28 are of conservation concern.
(top-right) Early morning watch for the black-tailed jackrabbit, which
is critically imperiled in Missouri.
(bottom) Prescribed prairie burn. Fire is used restore grassland communities.
The Missouri Department of Conservation is responsible for protecting and restoring Missouri's endangered species. Saving endangered species is important because:
Endangered species "are of esthetic, ecological, educational,
historical, recreational and scientific value to the Nation and its people."
--Preamble to the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973
Why save endangered species?
Plants and animals enrich our lives
When species disappear, we lose plants and animals that provide us with beauty and fascination.
Healthy environment, healthy people
We risk suffering from some of the same environmental degradation that cause other species to become endangered. Solving the problems of species decline can make Missouri healthier for people, too.
Medicine
Areas providing habitat for many plants and animals are being destroyed to provide habitat for one species--people--in many parts of Missouri.
Nearly 40 percent of all prescribed medicines are derived from plants and fungi or are designed from naturally occurring chemical compounds. Yet only a small percentage of the world's approximately 250,000 plant species have been analyzed for medicinal compounds that could cure diseases like cancer and AIDS. Some of these plants could be in Missouri. If we let plants go extinct, we could be throwing away cures for human diseases.
Food
Fewer than 20 species of plants provide 90 percent of the world's food supply. Two-thirds, or 2,849, of rare and endangered plants in the U.S. are related to cultivated species.** Close relatives often are used in breeding experiments to make crop plants more resistant to insect pests or diseases. Protecting these imperiled plants could provide additional food sources for Missourians and people around the world.
**Center for Plant Conservation Data
Animal, human, agricultural and industrial waste pollutes our streams, degrading the habitat of our aquatic species.
Industry
Plants provide us with oils, fibers and other products used in industry. Few plants have been tested for industrial uses, and yet untested plants are disappearing. When we allow plants to decline, we are throwing away future economic opportunities.
What you can do
The uncontrolled harvest of wildlife for meat, fur and feathers is now history in Missouri. Hunters and anglers work with the Missouri Department of Conservation to harvest numbers of animals that keep populations at healthy, manageable levels. Populations of animals such as deer, river otter, wild turkey and paddlefish were restored in Missouri through the efforts of hunters and anglers and other conservationists.
Today, the threats to Missouri's plants and animals-habitat destruction, pollution and excessive pesticide use-can be reduced or eliminated.
(left) The northern leopard frog, imperiled in Missouri, is known to inhabit only two northern counties. (right) The regal fritillary butterfly is rare in Missouri and throughout North America.
- You can help by choosing a lifestyle with minimal impacts to the environment. Recycle waste products and reduce your consumption of goods that can not be recycled.
- Find out which species are imperiled in Missouri. Free copies of the Checklist of Missouri Species of Conservation Concern are available at conservation nature centers.
- If you are a landowner, practice wise conservation and learn what imperiled species look like and where they live.
- If you hunt or fish, understand the protection given to endangered species by law as outlined in the Wildlife Code of Missouri.
- If you witness violations of the Wildlife Code, report them to Conservation Agents.
- Purchase only cultivated plants or captive-reared animals; plants or animals collected from the wild reduce natural populations.
- Write to your elected officials to express your support for plant and animal habitat protection.
More information is available from the following references:
Endangered Species Coordinator, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102, (573) 751-4115, www.mdc.mo.gov
Protecting Endangered Species in Missouri
Restoring our landscapes
(left) Surveyors search for the federally Threatened and state Endangered
Mead's milkweed in Pettis County.
(right) The state Endangered greater prairie-chicken needs high quality
open prairie to successfully reproduce.
Missouri's landscape has changed radically since humans settled here. For example, before European settlement, 15 million acres of our state were covered in prairie. Today, we have less than one percent of this acreage, and many prairie plants and animals are declining. One way to help these species is to restore areas that formerly were prairie. Periodic burning stimulates native plant growth. Removing brush provides grassland birds and other animals with open space they need.
Protecting special habitats
Over thousands of years, water seeping through the limestone bedrock underlying two-thirds of Missouri has carved out a vast system of under- ground springs and caves. Some animals live at cave entrances, while others have adapted to total darkness in cave interiors. Some cave animals live in a single cave and nowhere else.
To protect these special creatures, the Conservation Department installs cave gates that keep trespassers out but allow cave animals to come and go. Department biologists survey cave species such as this rare bristly cave crayfish to determine the health of cave-dependent animals.
Landowner pride
(left) A department biologist monitors the temperature of a cave used
by state and federally Endangered bats.
(right) The federally Threatened and state Endangered western prairie
fringed orchid occur in only six counties in Missouri.
"The fish aren't hurting anyone, and they are a good indication that we have clean water," says Larry Kellhaufer, at left with tan jacket, who has cavefish living in a cave on his property. Since only seven percent of Missouri is public land, most rare and endangered species live on private property. Private landowners are crucial to the survival of species of conservation concern. Many Missourians live successfully with endangered species on their land. Hundreds of private landowners have worked with the Conservation Department to improve stream habitat for the Niangua darter, a colorful fish that lives in Missouri and no where else in the world.
Species Reintroduction
In addition to restoring and protecting land, Conservation Department biologists sometimes reintroduce endangered species to the wild, hoping they will reestablish themselves. Biologists regularly monitor these species to determine if they are growing or reproducing successfully.
Enforcing the law
(left) A Conservation biologist, looks for peregrine falcons reintroduced
in Kansas City. The tall building simulate the falcon's natural habitat,
but without predators,. The banning of the pesticide DDT in 1972, coupled
with reintroduction efforts, has helped this federally and state endangered
bird rebound from the brink of extinction.
(right) The federally Threatened and state Endangered Ozark cavefish
needs clean water to survive, just as people do.
Conservation agents enforce the Missouri State Endangered Species law (in the Wildlife Code) by educating the public, monitoring hunting and fishing activity, working with landowners and prosecuting people who take protected species. The Missouri State Endangered Species law protects more than 60 plants and animals. More than 20 of these species are federally listed. When necessary, agents enforce the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, which makes taking* a federally listed plant or animal a crime.
*in the ESA, "take" is defined as hurting, harming, hunting, harassing, shooting, pursuing or killing.
Surveying plants and animals
To find out how many individuals of an endangered species are living, Conservation biologists often count them. They survey streams, prairies, forests and other natural communities for imperiled species. Biologists also monitor areas under restoration or special protection to learn if conservation efforts help increase populations of endangered species.
Research
Conservation agents protect endangered species, such as many freshwater mussels, through law enforcement efforts. They also present educational programs for children on a variety of conservation issues.
The Conservation Department conducts long-term research to learn more about the life cycles, behavior and health of certain endangered plants and animals. Department staff also work with researchers from universities and other institutions throughout the state. For example, Dr. David Ashley, at right, from Missouri Western State College, works with the Conservation Department to learn about the interaction between the endangered western prairie fringed orchid and the orchid's insect pollinators. Using a light trap, he gathers data on insect numbers.
Education
By learning more about our natural "puzzle," we can make Missouri a healthier place for all its inhabitants, including people. Conservation Department naturalists and educators offer many programs for people of all ages to learn about our natural world and how we can protect it. We often take our living world for granted. But we depend on the plants and animals around us for our own survival.
A Conservation Department biologist, (left) looks for peregrine falcons reintroduced in Kansas City. The tall buildings simulate the falcon's natural habitat, but without predators. The banning of the pesticide DDT in 1972, coupled with reintroduction efforts, has helped this federally and state Endangered bird rebound from the brink of extinction.
Written by: Carol Davit
Designed by: Julie Tallent
Photos by: Jim Rathert, Tom R. Johnson, Don Kurz, Cliff White, Rick
Thom, Dave Barton and Paul Childress.
Copyright and © 1999 by the Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri 5/99
*Dr. Stuart Pinn, University of Tennessee press release, July 1995
