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Waiting List For Endangered Species At Historic Low

The waiting list of plants and animals to get endangered species protection is at an all time low. Conservation groups are celebrating that development.

Only 60 plant and animal species are on the 2015 waiting list of candidates to be considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act, according to a notice filed to the Federal Register by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That’s way down from five years ago, when there were 251 candidates on the 2010 waiting list.

The conservation organization, the Center for Biological Diversity, applauded the government for reducing the backlog and maintaining a shorter waiting list. The Center says more than 40 species have gone extinct while waiting for protection.

In a press release, Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the center, said, “The Endangered Species Act has prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the plants and animals under its care, but the law only works after species make it onto the list. It’s heartening to see so many more species now getting the protection that will save them."

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Jude Joffe-Block was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2010 to 2017.