US President Donald Trump denies protection to the so-called Pacific fisherman, an endangered small mammal
Another step backwards in the protection of endangered species. US President Donald Trump denies protection to the so-called Pacific fisherman (Pekania pennanti), a small carnivorous mammal very similar to martens and increasingly at risk.
After announcing a new law that will allow any company, including oil and gas companies, to kill protected bird species indiscriminately, without any consequences, Trump is now denying protection to Pacific fishermen, who are part of the mustelid family. and are closely related to the American marten. These carnivores live in the boreal forest and are threatened by climate change and logging. In 2019, they were listed as an endangered species, but now Trump's decision will change everything.
"Denying Pacific fishermen protection is an unwarranted gift to the logging industry that ignores the fact that they are endangered animals," said Noah Greenwald, director of endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These fantastic forest creatures face enormous threats, including logging, rodenticide (pesticide) poisoning and climate change. They should be protected ”.
Also related to minks and otters, Pacific fishermen once roamed forests from British Columbia to Southern California. But due to intense logging and their capture, only two populations remain in the wild: a group of 100 to 500 fishermen in the southern Sierra Nevada and a population of about a few thousand in southern Oregon and northern California. These animals were recently reintroduced to Washington state.
"The Trump administration is turning a blind eye to the poisoning of these animals as a result of illegal marijuana cultivation and the recent increase in logging on public lands," said George Sexton, director of conservation of the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center.
For this reason the population of these animals would need greater protection and not the denial of protection. In a 2015 study, scientists found that 75 percent of the species had been exposed to rodent venom.
Since 2000, the Center for Biological Diversity, together with Sierra Forest Legacy, the Environmental Information Information Center (EPIC), the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and other associations have been fighting for these animals. First a petition and then, through various disputes, the Pacific fishermen were granted protection which today has been denied (except in Sierra Nevada).
"Their safety depends on the protection of the habitat," said Tom Wheeler, executive director of EPIC. “We need to protect the trees and make sure our forests are free from rodenticides. The fishermen are our indicator that something is deeply wrong with California's forests ”.
Fonti: Center for Biological Diversity
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