Nature’s Alarm started as a question this spring: On the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, what do we know about threatened and endangered species in Iowa? Can we highlight some of these species and the researchers studying them?
Members of The Gazette’s newsroom have spent the last four months planning and reporting this series, and will publish weekly over the next two months. The Gazette team clambered through vegetation in search of bumblebees, worked by the light of headlamps to spot bats, and floated along rivers to catch a glimpse of fish, amphibians and mussels to report this series.
Reporter Brittney J. Miller started with background interviews in search of active research occurring for at-risk species in Iowa. Once she identified target species — each representing a different fauna group — she coordinated with researchers to accompany them into the field with photojournalist Jim Slosiarek and social video producer Bailey Cichon. Digital editor John McGlothlen built graphics that provide online readers with a searchable database of Iowa’s threatened and endangered animal and plant species.
This year, Iowa is seeing an increase in fireflies, but the species’ future remains uncertain. There are more than 200 firefly — or lightning bug — species across North America and over 2,000 worldwide, but scientists say the firefly population has been declining for decades due to factors such as habitat loss, pesticides and droughts.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced proposed rules that remove the category of “special concern” species from its rule on threatened and endangered species. The move is part of the DNR’s adherence to the governor’s executive order to simplify administrative rules across agencies.
Over the past 200 years, Iowa last lost 99 percent of its prairie land, 75 percent of its woodlands and forests and about 260 plant species are considered endangered and threatened. A new report says implementation of “connectivity corridors” would help protect Iowa wildlife from extinction.
Many researchers who’ve spent their careers studying the natural world experience environmental grief from witnessing the changes and disappearances of some species. They encourage people to reconnect with nature, and say climate change is a challenge that an be turned into an opportunity.
The rusty patched bumblebee’s population decline has gotten worse in recent years, experts say.
Falconers — who use falcons to hunt — and researchers have worked together to restore their populations throughout the Midwest.
Mudpuppies are threatened in Iowa, and salamander mussels are being considered for national listing. The two species’ one-of-a-kind relationship has presented opportunity for collaboration among the researchers who are working to preserve and grow their populations.
Iowa State University researchers journey statewide to learn about the rusty patched bumblebee, which has declined by about 90 percent.
Russ Benedict, a biology professor at Central College, is tracking some of the most dramatic bat population declines in the country. His surveys this summer show some Iowa bat numbers have fallen by 85 to 95 percent in the last 12 years.
Researchers are studying what’s left of Iowa’s original prairies — which used to cover 65 percent of the state — to help guide reconstruction efforts.
Lessons learned from researching the shovelnose sturgeon could lead to an Iowa DNR management plan for lake sturgeon, a giant prehistoric fish that’s listed as endangered in Iowa.
On the 50th anniversary of the federal Endangered Species Act, The Gazette will spend the next two months delving into some of Iowa’s own at-risk species. And we’ll highlight the armies of researchers and advocates working to bolster their populations.
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