
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 11, 1993                   TAG: 9307120246
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: D-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KAREN TERWILLIGER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

VIRGINIA HAS ITS OWN ENDANGERED SPECIES

THE TERM "endangered species" conjures up images of rhinos, tigers, elephants, giant pandas and the like in isolated, far away places. It may therefore come as a surprise to many Virginians that scientists have identified 131 threatened or endangered plants and animals within the Old Dominion. Many other species are considered rare due to declines in their populations and/or deterioration or loss of habitat. There are countless others about which we know so little that their status is classified as undetermined.

The 131 endangered species include 12 birds, 18 mammals, 14 reptiles and amphibians, 20 fish, 36 freshwater mussels, 12 other invertebrates and 19 plants. The list includes the eagle, the national symbol, a cougar that once roamed Virginia's mountains and seven species of whales and marine mammals found in the state's coastal waters.

Extinction is, of course, a natural process, occurring at a certain rate from natural causes. But it is increasingly clear that man has accelerated the pace. Leading scientists estimate that 100 species a day will be lost by the turn of the century, 50 times that of pre-colonial days, when humans had little impact on their surroundings.

What would the world be without the bald eagle, the sea turtle or the eastern cougar? Clearly, such creatures have aesthetic and moral value. How will we explain their loss to our grandchildren? More importantly, what does the loss of these species mean in ecological terms?

It should be clear to us that whatever affects our ecosystem, or life system, affects us. The rarest members of our communities, our endangered and threatened species, are considered good barometers of the health of our environment. They are telling us that something has gone awry, that what befalls them might sooner or later befall us.

Every species has its place. Each one might represent that critical link in the chain or that rivet holding the framework together. The plummeting populations of the Pacific sea otter at the turn of the century upset the entire coastal ecosystem. Are the endangered freshwater mussels of Virginia's Clinch River Valley such a keystone species? And what does their disappearance tell us about the health of our state's environment? Sixty species of mussels once flourished there. That number has been reduced to about 50. Many of these are rare or endangered.

Mussels are filter-freeders with a very low tolerance for waterborne pollutants or sediment. Scientists, therefore, regard any dramatic decline in mussel populations or species as in early warning signs of degraded water quality. We cannot ignore this warning and the degradation of water quality that it implies.

There are also economical rasons to save endangered animal and plant life. Could this species be another rubber plant and provide a major structural material? Or could it hold the cure to cancer or other diseases and have inestimable value as a pharmaceutical or genetic engineering material? We may never know.

Some species, by the time they are listed as endangered, are beyond recovery. The most we can reasonably expect is to watch the few individuals or populations spend their remaining time in comfort. Some have to be "transplanted" to a nursing home or intensive care unit because there is no longer any suitable natural habitat to which they can be returned.

A more ecologically and cost-effective system is within reach. It requires compromise and a heightened sensitivity from everyone that we are the caretakers of this fragile, thin skin of air, land and water upon which all our lives depend.

Creative planning at the local, state and national levels can provide the framework of the "preventive medicine" approach to wildlife conservation. For example, in an ongoing project of Virginia's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program and the College of William and Mary's Center for Conservation Biology, local planners, developers and landowners are learning that bald eagles are utilizing a stretch of a Northern Virginia river.

Bringing all parties into the equation as early as possible can allow innovative, win/win solutions. The eagle, for example, must have enough habitat to sustain itself. This is the same habitat that is getting top dollar on the real estate market as prime waterfront. However, developers have found that people are willing to pay more for the pristine habitat which can support this endangered species.

Surveys conducted in Virginia, in other states and across the nation show the overwhelming majority of respondents highly value endangered species and a healthy environment.

Coming to grips with a reasonable cost of maintaining environmental health and quality of life seems inevitable. The public and policymakers alike in Virginia are coming to the same conclusion: It is wise to invest now in a more cost-effective, proactive conservation program with a much greater chance of success rather than waiting for our animals and plant species to reach the emergency room.

Karen Terwilliger is manager of the Endangered Wildlife program at the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

by CNB