Group Says Many US Plants, Animals at Risk

Group Says Many US Plants, Animals at Risk

An environmental group says 40 percent of animals and 34 percent of plants in the United States are at risk of disappearing.

The group NatureServe recently released its report. The non-profit group is based near Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Virginia.

NatureServe said 41 percent of ecosystems² in the country are also facing collapse³. Ecosystems are everything that exists in an environment including lifeforms, land and water.

Plants and animals of many kinds, including crayfish, cacti⁴, and freshwater mussels, are in danger, the report said.

The organization examined data from over 1,000 scientists in the United States and Canada. It said the report was its most complete yet, using 50 years of information on the health of animals, plants and ecosystems.

The report provides pictures and maps of areas that the group says are unprotected and where animals and plants are most threatened.

Sean O'Brien is the president of NatureServe. He said the data in the report was "terrifying." He hoped it would help lawmakers support legislation like the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, which failed to gain support last year.

For example, among the species at risk of extinction⁵ is the Venus flytrap, a plant that "eats" insects. The report says it is only found in the wild in a few places in the states of North and South Carolina.

NatureServe said that about half of all species of cacti in the U.S. are at risk of extinction. It said 200 species of trees might die out. The report also said that America's large northern grasslands⁷ are among the ecosystems most threatened. Over half of 78 kinds of grassland⁶ are at risk of collapse.

The main threats to plants, animals and ecosystems include environmental destruction, land-use change, invasive species, damming and river pollution, and climate change.

California, Texas and the southeastern United States are where the highest percentages of plants, animals and ecosystems are at risk. Those areas have many different forms of life. Wesley Knapp is the head plant scientist at NatureServe. He said those parts of America also have had a lot of population growth in recent years.

Knapp said lawmakers usually do not provide as much money for plant conservation than they do for animals. The study said there are about 1,250 plants at serious risk of extinction.

John Kanter is a biologist with the National Wildlife Federation⁸, a non-profit group also based in Virginia. He was not involved in the report. But he said the data could guide state and area officials in creating effective State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs⁹). Officials create SWAPs every 10 years to receive federal money to protect endangered species.

Currently $50 million in federal money is divided up among all states to carry out their SWAPs. The Recovering America's Wildlife Act would have increased that amount to $1.4 billion, or 28 times the current amount. Kanter said the bill would have increased states' abilities to protect plants and animals. Lawmakers who support the bill have said they would reintroduce it.

Kanter added that the NatureServe report can guide officials on how to best spend the public's money. He said biodiversity, the presence of many different forms of life, is important.

"Our biodiversity and its conservation is like a 'nature savings¹⁰ account' and if we don't have this kind of accounting¹¹ of what's out there and how's it doing, and what are the threats, there's no way to prioritize action," Kanter said.

Words in This Story

extinction — n. when an animal or plant completely disappears from the Earth

ecosystem¹ — n. everything that exists in an environment including lifeforms, land and water

terrifying — adj. causing great fear or terror

species –n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and that can produce young animals or plants

conservation –n. the activity of preserving animals, plants and natural resources for future generations

prioritize — v. to organize things so they are dealt with in order of importance

1 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

2 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 cacti   

n.（复）仙人掌

参考例句：

• There we could see nothing but cacti.那里除了仙人掌我们什么也看不到。
• Cacti can survive the lack of rainfall in the desert.仙人掌在降水稀少的沙漠中也能生存下去。

5 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

6 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。

7 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

9 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。