As recently discussed, the United States government is most likely going to list the loggerhead turtle as endangered rather than its current standing as threatened. While this is good news, overall the Obama administration has not been quick to hand out endangered listings. The Obama administration has had the lowest listing rate of any of the most recent U.S. presidents.

However, after an announcement made this past week, the Obama administration has vastly increased their endangered species listings. Before this past week, the number of species listed as endangered stood at only two. But a recent addition of 48 different species to be designated as endangered has now increased that number to 50.

All of the recent additions hail from the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The majority of the species listed are plants, including 45 ferns, trees, shrubs and the popular loulu palm. The other three species include a fly and two honeycreeper birds. Critical habitat is to be set aside for the species, including 40 square miles. The majority of the land needed to be designated as critical habitat, 98 percent in fact, is already designated as critical habitat for other species.

Feral pigs and weeds are being pinpointed as the greatest enemies to the listed species on the island. The pigs are creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which are hampering bird populations. Weeds are said to be invading and taking over native plants and dropping their numbers.

The birds include the Kauai creeper and the Kauai akepa. Both species have seen drastic drops in their populations. The creeper has seen a reduction in population of 80 percent since the 1960s. The akepa has seen a decline from 8,000 to 3,500 since just the year 2000.

Many of the species recently listed have been up for consideration for listing for twenty years or more. Many lawsuits have been fought over the years regarding dozens of these species by various conservation groups.

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