Update to Ohio’s Endangered Species List

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WDTN) - Five species have been taken off Ohio’s Endangered Species List while others have been added, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.     

Every five years a status assessment of Ohio’s fish and wildlife species is conducted. Five species were downlisted from endangered to threatened and include the bobcat, Lake Erie watersnake, trumpeter swan, blue sucker and the mountain madtom. The yellow-bellied sapsucker was downlisted from endangered to species of concern.

Those species going from threatened to special interest were dark-eyed junco, yellow-crowned night-heron, hermit thrush and least flycatcher. Osprey, bald eagle, bluebreast darter and rosyside dace were taken off the threatened list and will no longer receive a designation. All of these species have experienced tremendous range expansion due to improved habitat or water quality.

Those species added to Ohio’s endangered species list were upland sandpiper, Iowa darter and gilt darter. The Eastern harvest mouse was added to the threatened list.

The Division of Wildlife has legal authority over Ohio's fish and wildlife, which includes about 56 species of mammals, 200 species of breeding birds, 84 species and subspecies of amphibians and reptiles, 170 species of fish, 100 species of mollusks and 20 species of crustaceans. In addition, there are thousands of species of insects and other invertebrates which fall under the Division of Wildlife's jurisdiction.

The first list of Ohio’s endangered wildlife was adopted in 1974 and included 71 species. An extensive examination of the list is conducted every five years.