MINNEAPOLIS -- Two types of mussels, a butterfly, a snake and a tiny fern are in trouble in Minnesota, but they're not likely to receive federal protection any time soon.
The five species are part of a backlog of 279 imperiled plants and animals nationwide that are considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The act aims to protect more than 1,300 species from extinction, ranging from high-profile wildlife such as the bald eagle, gray wolf and Canada lynx to little-known species of bats, mussels, fish and plants. In all cases, being listed under the act means federal protection of both the species and its habitat.
But being on the candidate list offers no such assistance.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a Tucson-based advocacy group, has reported that 24 candidate species have gone extinct while awaiting federal help.
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"It's like being on death row," said Francesca Grifo, director of the Scientific Integrity Program for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, who study endangered populations and enforce protection under the law, say they're constrained from moving more candidates onto the list because of limited resources and mushrooming legal costs. "In an ideal world we wouldn't be waiting as long as we currently do to act on these proposed listings," said Laura Ragan, wildlife biologist with the Twin Cities office of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "The primary reason is budgetary."
Placing a species on the federal list involves a formal scientific review, public meetings and often legal challenges from environmental groups, developers or others who have a stake in the outcome, she said.
The five species in Minnesota that have been listed as candidates for federal protection are:
Sheepnose, a 5-inch freshwater mussel found in the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers
Spectaclecase, a 9-inch freshwater mussel with a dark, elongated shell that can live as long as 70 years. The St. Croix River is one of only three or four places in the nation where the populations are large and reproducing.
Eastern massasauga, a 2-foot rattlesnake with a thick body and heart-shaped head. It has not been seen in southeastern Minnesota in recent years but has been found just across the Mississippi River in floodplains in Wisconsin.
Dakota skipper, a tawny-orange butterfly with a 1-inch wingspan that once thrived in native prairies and now occurs in scattered portions of western Minnesota, the Dakotas and southern Manitoba.
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Slender moonwort, a tiny, delicate fern found in very small numbers in three Western states, and more recently in central Minnesota.
