A total of 49 Native Hawaiian plants and animals will have a designated critical habitat a year after a lawsuit was filed against the federal government.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit on May 25, 2022 against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Even though the plants and animals had been declared endangered in 2016, a critical habitat had not been designated for them. When a species is added to the endangered species list, its critical habitat must be identified within a year.
The lawsuit stated that a designated critical habitat should have been provided for the 49 species by Sept. 30, 2017.
Now, the 39 endangered plants and 10 endangered animals are expected to have a place to recover where they can't be disturbed by development.
"I'm glad these fragile Hawaiian species will finally get the habitat protections they desperately need to survive,” said Maxx Phillips, the center’s Hawai‘i director, in a press release.
Among the species are the Nalo Meli Maoli, or yellow-faced bee, and the ʻAkēʻakē, a storm petrel.
The Center for Biological Diversity claimed that the federal government was six years overdue for the designation. In the 2022 lawsuit, they stated that the species continue to be threatened by "nonnative feral ungulates" such as pigs, goats, axis deer and more.
"Protecting the places these unique plants and animals require for survival is crucial in our fight to keep them from going extinct," Phillips said in the release.
For a full list of protected species, click here.
