Species at Risk

It’s a species of concern! No, it is threatened! Now it is endangered! What, it is extinct? Welcome to Field Notes. I’m Brendan Courtot, a Wildlife Biological Technician with the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.

As a recent arrival to Alaska, I am overwhelmed to be in a state where the wilderness is still wild. This unique and harsh environment is relentless to both the men and animals who coexist upon this formidable landscape. Alaska is truly the last frontier.

Today, I would like to tell you about George Wilhelm Steller, a German naturalist and doctor. He was the first naturalist to ever step foot on Alaska soil. Like myself, Doctor Steller was amazed at the natural beauty and wildness he found in Alaska in 1741. He is remembered in biology for his scientific writing and descriptions of the species and landscapes he viewed upon his expedition. Some of the species no longer exist. They are extinct. They now swim, fly, run and grow only in the pages of scientific literature.

One of these “lost species” is the Spectacled Cormorant, a large practically flightless bird. The cormorant inhabited islands in the Aleutian Archipelago. Spectacled Cormorants were slow, clumsy birds on land. This made their capture relatively easy for whalers, fur traders, and Aleut Natives brought to the islands. By 1850, not even 100 years after Steller described these species they became unfortunate victims to man’s consuming nature and are now extinct.

In our modern world both federal and state governments employ means of action to conserve and protect all species from accelerated decline influenced by the action of humans. The “species of concern” label is designated to a species considered vulnerable and potentially at risk due to habitat loss or population loss. Threatened species are species with rapidly declining numbers likely to become endangered. Endangered species are species likely to become extinct.

Exploitation of our environment, habitat degradation, environmental pollution, the introduction of nonnative organisms, and above all, human apathy are the leading causes threatening Alaska’s invaluable wilderness.

None of us want to replicate the unfortunate ending that befell the Spectacled Cormorant. By learning more about the threatened and endangered species in your area you can take the first step in helping these species. Contact the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge for more information involving these “at risk” species.

For Field Notes, I’m Brendan Courtot.