Long Island's newest endangered species include northern long-eared bat, Atlantic sturgeon, rufa red knot

For the first time since 1999, New York's list of endangered and threatened species has been updated, bringing state protection to a migratory shore bird, a bat and a prehistoric fish, which can all be found in and around Long Island, albeit in diminishing numbers.

In the coming months, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said it will be adding birds, insects, mammals, reptiles and amphibians to the list.

Protection by the state could prove critical as the Trump administration proposes new rules to weaken the federal Endangered Species Act, and scientists warn the Earth is tipping toward a mass extinction. According to a 2023 study by the biodiversity research group NatureServe, 40% of animals are at risk.

Several species added by the DEC are already on the federal endangered species list, including the three found on Long Island: the northern long-eared bat, the Atlantic sturgeon and the rufa red knot. Red knots embark every spring on one of the longest migrations in the animal kingdom, from Tierra del Fuego to the Canadian Arctic, and back again in the fall. They stop over on South Shore beaches during this epic 9,300-mile migration. Their populations are declining because of habitat loss and because a critical food source — horseshoe crab eggs — are also declining.

Six fish species were added to New York's threatened list and 10 to the list of species of "special concern."

Species listed as endangered are in “imminent danger" of extinction in New York State. Threatened species are at risk of becoming endangered. And species of special concern do not have protected status but are "native species for which a welfare concern or risk of endangerment has been documented in New York State," according to the DEC.

LI species of 'special concern'

Three of the new special concern species are native to Long Island: the black bullhead, eastern pirate perch and American eel, a migratory fish challenged by restricted spawning habitat because of the many dams on the Island’s rivers and streams.

The newly listed Atlantic Coast leopard frog was identified as a distinct species through DNA testing in 2012, well after the last update. The frogs exist in isolated pockets in the lower Hudson estuary and Staten Island, though not in Nassau or Suffolk counties.

Numbers for two fish species have rebounded enough to warrant a shift from endangered to threatened. Three fish species of special concern were removed from the list entirely because they are considered recovered. Four threatened and endangered fish were removed from the list because they are now extinct in the state.

The Eastern tiger salamander, which live in and around freshwater wetlands in Long Island's pine barrens, has been on the list for more than 25 years. Conservationists feared the salamander would be downgraded to threatened, even though their existence in certain parts of their range — including Long Island — is precarious, as much of their wetland habitats have been destroyed.

“Protecting the most vulnerable fish and amphibian species is paramount to ensuring long-term biodiversity and preserving New York’s natural resources,” Amanda Lefton, acting DEC commissioner, said in a statement. “Using the latest science and data helped DEC develop these critical revisions that show progress in the recovery of some fish and reptile species and recognize challenges to others.”

Protected for endangered, threatened species

Endangered and threatened species in New York are protected from hunting or otherwise killing the animals; buying, selling or removing them from the wild; or any activity or damage to habitat that would interfere with feeding, sheltering, breeding or migration. That means the DEC can deny building permits or recreation in sensitive habitat. Permits can be issued for some activities that could harm endangered species but the agency often will require some form of remediation.

Kyle Strober, the executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, a developers’ group, said, “The Long Island development community has always respected the habitats of creatures large and small. The issue isn’t whether these protections prevent development. Long Island’s challenge is when responsible proposals on appropriate parcels are blocked for reasons that defy any sense of rational planning or economic common sense.”

The Trump administration in January proposed appointing a committee that could approve projects in endangered species' habitat; the administration also wants to restrict the legal definition of the word "harm" under the Endangered Species Act. The law has traditionally protected not just listed animals themselves but the wild places where they live, but on April 16 the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to eliminate those long-standing habitat protections. Experts said that would open critical habitat to industries such as logging and mining.

Conservationists note the leading cause of extinction around the world is habitat loss and said that without habitat protection, the Endangered Species Act is meaningless.

“There’s no question that Congress envisioned protecting habitat in the Endangered Species Act,” said Tara Zuardo, a senior advocate in the endangered species program at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There’s no way you can survive if you don’t have habitat.”