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The wolverines in North America may be impacted due to Climate Change, but the federal officials think that is not enough for warranting protection under Endangered Species Act.
On Tuesday, the director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dan Ashe, announced that the proposal of listing wolverine as a threatened species was being withdrawn by the agency. However, he added that the real threat of Climate change to North American Wildlife is not being ignored by the agency.
He said that Climate change is considered to be a most significant conservation challenge and also added that owing to it, disruptions to the living support systems of both wildlife and people would be increased.
The decision of withdrawing the proposal for wolverines is very challenging and complex he says. However, it is believed to be the right decision as per the information available. In this case, the ecology of wolverine and the effect of a changing climate on it is not known.
The decision of listing the polar bear in the year 2008 was based on issues of climate change and this has been considered in discussions about other species too like Pika, says Ashe.
Initially, the FWS biologists came up with the proposal of wolverine listing under the theory that wolverine denning and reproduction would be hindered owing to loss of spring snow due to climate change. Alpine environments are sought by far ranging animals wherein the temperature is cold throughout the year and there is persistence of snow through May.
While these wolverines are spotted in Utah, it is not clear whether they have settled in the state. Some oppose this decision of wolverines not being listed and say that even though there are no threats from climate change, federal protection is warranted.
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