When most people hear that I serve on the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, they ask a lot of questions about hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation activities. But last week, I had the opportunity to present legislation that delves into some of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s (DIFW) most important work – conservation.

It’s been a decade since Maine’s Endangered and Threatened Species List has been updated, though it is reviewed every five years. The list only applies to animals and insects for our inland species, because the Maine Department of Marine Resources also maintains a threatened and endangered list for coastal species.

This year’s proposed updates show that Maine has made some progress in our conservation efforts for both the species and the ecosystems upon which those animals and insects rely. There are only 14 new listings, but one species has been moved from endangered to threatened status, and another has been delisted altogether. Two types of birds, the Great Cormorant and the Short-eared Owl, have only been recommended for threatened status based on the health of their breeding populations.

All in all, the brevity of the list is good news. In the last decade, development has steadily increased in communities throughout the state, which is one of the primary challenges for species management. In light of this understanding, we are lucky that Maine’s current list of endangered and threatened species only includes little more than 30 of our state’s native animals and insects.

The process for making the proposed updates began in 2005, and included two public hearings by the Department to hear feedback from outside experts and community members. For any species to be added or subtracted from the list, it is first assessed by state biologists for population viability, size, trend, distribution and fragmentation. It must also be determined whether the species only lives in Maine.

Maine did not start maintaining a list of threatened and endangered species until 1975, though a federal list was first developed in 1966. When we created our list, we made it a part of the Maine Endangered Species Act, which not only encourages the maintenance of the list, but also encourages ways to manage population and state resources to keep our list brief. It laid the groundwork for safeguarding our natural assets and preserving our environment, a cornerstone of Maine’s values.

We see evidence of how Maine people believe strongly in conservation everyday, though we may not always realize it. Protecting our threatened and endangered species is funded partly by loon license plates, which are displayed proudly on almost 70,000 vehicles throughout the state. More than 3,000 Mainers also give to the Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund every year through the “chickadee” tax check off.

If you’re interested in learning more about Maine’s threatened and endangered species, please feel free to call me at home at 892-6591, or e-mail me at RepMarkBryant@yahoo.com. More information is also available on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Web site at www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife.

Rep. Mark Bryant

Part of Windham and Gray