Three subspecies of island fox native to California's Channel Islands have recovered faster than any other Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed mammal in U.S. history, according to a recent announcement made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The delisting of the San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Island fox subspecies means a total of 19 animals and plants have been declared recovered during the Obama Administration. Throughout the Act's 43-year history there have been 37 recoveries, with more attributed to the Obama Administration than to any other presidency.
President Obama may have overseen big milestones in wildlife conservation, but history shows that two other presidents -- one Republican and one Democrat -- contributed to the recent wildlife achievements along with countless others, both within and outside of government.
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"The recent successes of the ESA in recovering species demonstrate that the act works when it is given the time and resources it needs," Dan Ashe, director of the USFWS, told Discovery News.
"The 19 species delisted under the Obama administration were, of course, not recovered overnight. These successes were achieved through hard work and collaborations, often over the course of decades, and would not have been possible without the commitment of federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations, private landowners and industry."
The effort to save the foxes was actually launched during Bill Clinton's presidency and continued through the administration of George W. Bush before Obama took office, Channel Islands National Park public information officer Yvonne Menard told Discovery News.
"At their (the foxes') lowest point, in 1999–2000, there were 15 foxes apiece on San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, down from a population of 450 and 1,500, respectively," Menard said. "There were less than 70 on Santa Cruz Island in 2000. In 1999, the National Park Service (NPS) decided to implement aggressive recovery actions immediately to save the island fox."
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The decline of the foxes in the first place was due to a domino effect. The use of the pesticide DDT (banned in 1972 during the Nixon Administration) contributed to bald eagles vacating the Channel Islands. Their niche was filled by golden eagles, which preyed on the foxes, as well as feral pigs and mule deer fawns. A canine distemper outbreak on Santa Catalina Island also killed many of the foxes.
To save the fox subspecies, NPS biologists implemented a vaccination program against canine distemper and captured and protected the remaining 15 foxes that were left in the wild on San Miguel Island in 1999 and on Santa Rosa Island in 2000.
Menard said that a captive rearing facility was established by NPS and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 2002 on Santa Cruz Island.
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"In short order, NPS biologists developed and implemented methods for a captive breeding program in consultation with experts from local and national zoos -- a challenging effort since island foxes had never been raised in captivity before," according to Menard.
"During the decade of captive breeding, 226 fox pups were born in captivity on the three northern islands and released to the wild," she said. "Overall, over 250 foxes were released to the wild."
The released foxes proved healthy and able to reproduce, so the wild fox population grew by 20% to 30% each year. Menard reports that today there are 700 foxes on San Miguel Island, 1,200 on Santa Rosa Island, and 2,100 on Santa Cruz Island.
Golden eagles are not considered federally threatened or endangered, but they are protected under other federal laws, Ashley Spratt, a USFWS public affairs officer, told Discovery News.
With tremendous care, 44 of them were live-captured and relocated from the northern Channel Islands, which Menard said "effectively put an end to predation on island foxes" and rapidly raised the foxes' survival rate on all three islands.
The NPS, USFWS, TNC, and more than 300 stakeholders, including scientific experts from academia, state and local governments, private and non-profit organizations (including the Friends of the Island Fox, the Institute for Wildlife Studies and the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy) all worked together to identify and address the threats to the island fox, Spratt said.
There is a remaining subspecies that could not be delisted: the Santa Catalina Island fox. Disease still poses risk, largely due to the influx of people and other animals between the mainland and the island, Spratt said.
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As for the Obama Administration's hand in saving the foxes and other threatened animals, each presidency strongly affects funding, leadership and conservation strategies.
"The increased emphasis of the current administration on recovery and partnerships has definitely benefited imperiled species," Ashe said.
A success of the Obama Administration has been in leading efforts to work with partners, such as states, private landowners and industry, to proactively conserve species so that they don't require federal protections in the first place.
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Despite such successes, the ESA has its share of critics. A study in the September issue of the journal Biological Conservation, for example, found that many species are encountering much longer wait times before receiving an endangered designation.
"While the law lays out a process time of two years for a species to be listed, what we found is that, in practice, it takes, on average, 12.1 years," said co-author Emily Puckett, who recently received her doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia. "Some species moved through the process in six months but some species, including many flowering plants, took 38 years to be listed -- almost the entire history of the ESA."
Such timing can have major consequences. For example, the island night lizard was listed in 1.19 years, whereas the prairie fringed orchid took 14.7 years to be listed. The lizard has since recovered and has been removed from endangered status; the orchid is still considered threatened.
Some conservationists also believe that the ESA has dangerous loopholes. Under what is known as the "McKittrick Policy," for example, the U.S. Department of Justice does not prosecute individuals who have killed endangered animals protected by the ESA unless it can prove that the person specifically intended to kill an endangered species.
Claims -- valid or not -- of "mistaken identity" are common, according to organizations such as Mexicanwolves.org and Wild Earth Guardians.
In addition to these kinds of ESA problems, the next administration will certainly have its hands full. According to Brian Hires of the USFWS, some 327 species have been added to the ESA over the past eight years.
SEE PHOTOS OF RECENTLY RECOVERED ANIMALS AND PLANTS BELOW:
Brown Pelican: The brown pelican was delisted in 12/2009 from the following locations within its range: Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, California, Oregon, Washington, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Mexico, Caribbean, Central and South America. The information for this and the other mentioned species was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Photo: Brown pelican. Credit: Dick Daniels, carolinabirds.org, Wikimedia Commons
Concho Water Snake: The Concho water snake of Texas was delisted in 11/2011.
Photo: Concho water snake. Credit: Michael Forstner, Texas State University at San Marcos; FWS
Lake Erie Water Snake: The Lake Erie water snake, delisted in 9/2011, lives on islands within its namesake lake in Ohio.
Photo: Lake Erie water snake. Credit: Chad Waffen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Tennessee Purple Coneflower: The Tennessee purple coneflower was delisted in 9/2011.
Photo: Tennessee purple coneflower. Credit: Mason Brock, Wikimedia Commons
Gray Wolf: The gray wolf was delisted in 5/2011 from the following locations within its range: Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and north central Utah.
Photo: Gray wolf. Credit: ThinkStock
Morelet's Crocodile: The Morelet's crocodile from Belize, Guatemala and Mexico was delisted in 5/2012. The United States partnered with these countries to save the crocodile.
Photo: Morelet's crocodile. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Maguire Daisy: Delisted in 2/2011, the Maguire daisy is native to Utah.
Photo: Maguire Daisy. Credit: Michelle Dela-cruz, National Park Service, Flickr
Steller's Sea Lion: The Steller's sea lion was delisted in 12/2013 for the following locations within its range: California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Canada.
Photo: Steller's sea lion. Credit: Kevin Bell, USFWS, Wikimedia Commons
Shagreen Snail: The Shagreen snail of Arkansas was delisted in 6/2013.
Photo: Shagreen snail. Credit: Trey Reid, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, USFWS
Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel: Hailing from both Virginia and West Virginia, the VA Northern flying squirrel was delisted in 3/2013.
Photo: Virginia Northern flying squirrel. Credit: USFWS, Wikimedia Commons
Island Night Lizard: The island night lizard of California was delisted in 4/2014.
Photo: Island night lizard. Credit: U.S. Navy, Wikimedia Commons
Oregon Chub: The Oregon chub, listed as endangered in 1993, was the first fish in the United States to achieve recovered status under the Endangered Species Act. It was delisted in 3/2015.
Photo: Oregon chub. Credit: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wikimedia Commons
Modoc Sucker: The Modoc sucker of California and Oregon was delisted in 12/2015.
Image: Modoc sucker. Credit: Illustration by Joe Tomelleri, Pacific Southwest Region USFWS, Wikimedia Commons
Johnston's Frankenia: The flowering plant Johnston's frankenia, native to Texas and Mexico, was delisted in 2/2016.
Photo: Johnston's frankenia. Credit: James Henderson, Gulf South Research Corporation, Bugwood.org, USDA Forest Service, Wikimedia Commons
Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel: The Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia was delisted in 11/2015.
Photo: Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel. Credit: USFWS, Wikimedia Commons
Louisiana Black Bear: Delisted in 3/2016, the Louisiana black bear has a range that includes not only its namesake state, but also Mississippi and Texas.
Photo: Louisiana black bear. Credit: H. Barrison, Wikimedia Commons
Island Fox: Three subspecies of island fox in California -- the San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz -- were all delisted in 8/2016.
Photo: Island fox. Credit: National Park Service, US Department of Interior