Ozark Chinquapin Tree Deserves Protection After 35 Years

Following a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, last Friday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the rare Ozark chinquapin tree -- first suggested for Endangered Species Act protection in 1975 -- may finally warrant that protection. The chinquapin has been decimated by an introduced fungus called chestnut blight, which prevents the species from maturing and producing seeds, limiting it to sprouting from roots. But instead of placing it on the endangered species list, the feds put it on the "candidate list" to await protection indefinitely.

"Thirty-five years is far too long for the Ozark chinquapin to wait for the protection it needs to survive," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director for the Center. "And there are hundreds of wildlife species that, like the chinquapin, are facing extinction and are in need of protection."

The chinquapin decision is the sixth made since the Center sued to force protection for 93 species in February -- including positive decisions for the striped newt, Mohave ground squirrel, Tucson shovel-nosed snake, Berry Cave salamander, and Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly. In addition to the 93 species in our suit, there are currently 252 rare plants and animals designated by the Fish and Wildlife Service as "candidates" for protection.