Texas Endangered

Species
Preservation

ThisisanonprofitorganizationfortheawarenessofendangeredspeciesinTexas.This
organizationpridesitselfontheselflessnesstodorightinasocietywhereitiseasytodowrong
totheanimalsnativetoTexas.

By:GabeStayton,ClaireEmbry,AidanMulligan,BaileyPowell

Position
WeneedtosaveendangeredspeciesamongtheTexas
residencyandgivethemtheopportunityandresourcesto
thriveintheirnaturalhabitatthatwehavetakenfromthem.
Wehavefailedtoacknowledgetheflawsinoursocietyin
whichwehavestrucken
endangermenttomanydifferent
speciesnativetoTexas.Thiscan
befixedandwewanttobethemainorganizationthatis
capableofmakingasignificantdifferenceinthepopulationof
theseendangeredspecies.

CausesofProblems
Hunting,trapping,and
poisoningtoprotectlivestockhave
takenagreattollamongmammalsand
birds.Overharvestingiscurrently
threateningspeciesworldwide,
especiallyfoodfishspecies.(Harper,
2013,p.12)Alargenumberofspeciesarethreatenedbyintroducedspecies,Plantsoranimals

thatareintroducedintoahabitatand
bringwiththemdiseasesortheabilityto
competemoreeffectivelythannative
species.ThenowubiquitousEuropean
starling,forexample,purposely
introducedintotheUnitedStatesinthe
1890s,isdisplacingthenativeAmerican
bluebirdandotherspecies,andthebrowntreesnake,nativetoAustraliaandintroducedtoGuam
duringWorldWarII,haspreyedonnativespeciesofthatislandtotheextentthatninebird
speciesarenowextinct.(Johnson,2011,p.88)Anotherdangerishybridizationwithother
speciesandsubspecies.

ConsequencesofProblem
Thepresentconsequenceofspeciesbeing
endangeredisthatthesespeciesaresteadily
decliningtowardsextinctionwhichmeansthatthe
speciesabundancefortheareawillalsodecline.
Withthedeclineofspeciesabundanceitleadstothe
areabeingmoresusceptibletothetakeoverofan
invasivespecies.Thefutureconsequencesofspecies
endangermentistheeventualextinctionofthesespecieswhichwouldcausetheoverallspecies

richnessoftheareatodecline.Thiswouldhavemanyrepercussionsthatwoulddevastateand
demolishthepossibilitiesofanimaldiversitycenturiesfromnow.(Harper,2013,p.4)Theloss
ofaspecieswhichisgettingmoreandmorecommonisthelossofareplicationofhistory.Each
animalhasaparamountroleintheanimalkingdomandwithouteachanimalthefunctionsand
normalityoftheanimalrealmwillbelessdiverseandanimalswillhavetoadapt.Thisadaption
willcauseaninfluxinanotherspecies(Bowdin,
2014,p.1)andthestartofthelossofanother
species.Itisunfortunate,butbecauseevery
animalischainedtoanotheranimalasafood
sourcewhenananimalbecomesendangeredand
thenextinctitleavesanotherspeciesatriskof
endangermentbecausethereisalackofresource.

ProposedSolutiontoProblem
Ourproposedsolutiontothisproblemwouldbetofirst,createawarenessofthis
problemsothatwaypeoplecanbemore
environmentallyconsciousofwhattheyareputting
intotheecosystem.Thenextstepwouldbetorestore
allofthelistedendangeredspeciestoalevelofself
sustainability.Manyeffortsovertheyearstoprotect
theseendangeredspeciessuchasthetheendangeredspeciesactof1973havehelpedrestorepart

ofthenaturalbalanceoftheseanimalsintheir
naturalhabitat.Manyregulationsputinplaceby
theTexasparksandwildlifedepartmenthas
insuredthatthegrowingpopulationofTexaswill
notdestroythecomplexecosystem.Regulations
suchashuntingandcontaminationofwater
supplyarebigcontributorstokeepingtheecosystemclean.TheFishandwildlifeservicehave
mandatedthatanyindividualthatknowinglytakesalistedspeciescanbefinedforupto
$25,000bythefederal
governmentforeach
violation.Thepictures
aboveshowthebeforeand
afterproblemsthatare
arisinginTexas.The
deforestationandtheincreasetolessbiodiversityisastrongreasonfortheendangermentof
manyspecies.

Thepositionofthosewhoareopposedtoourorganization
Peoplethatareopposedtotheideasof
savingwildlifehaveintentionsthatwillonlylast
theirlifetime.Thisorganization,
TexasEndangered

SpeciesPreservation,
hasintentionsforeternity.Whilethererebuttaltoourideologymaybethat
ofdisbeliefandastonishment
theyfailtounderstandor
processtheeffectsthatwill
occurifwelosethevaluable
species,somebeingkeystone
species,intheenvironmentsof
Texas.Ourorganizationis
unawareofanycurrentstandsthatareproextinctiontotheseanimals,butmoresopeoplethat
ouropposedtotakingactioninhelpingtheseanimals.Itiseasiersaidthandone,becausein
orderforprogresstobemadesacrifice
mustoccur.Thisunfortunate
circumstanceiswhereweareatwith
theanimalkingdomofTexas,anditis
duetoprimarilyhumanactivity.
(Bowdin,2014,p.2)Fromtheinformationthegrouphasgatheredmanyorganizationsthatour
opposedtosavingtheseanimalshavefinancialinvestmentsinsomethingthatisendangering
thesespecies,whetherthatbetherecreationalenjoymentofhunting,ortheoverharvestingofthe
landinwhichtheyroam,butallthataretrulyopposedtotheawarenessoftheendangered
speciesofTexasisduetothetollorpenaltytheywillfaceiftheyweretohavetofollow
guidelinesinwhichtheanimalswouldbethebenefactorsof.

WorkCited:
Johnson,LandryL."TexasEndangeredSpecies."
Information101
.NationalGeographic,
12Apr.2011.Web.17May2016.
Bowdin,Amy."HowtheCurrentMassExtinctionofAnimalsThreatensHumans."
NationalGeographic
.NationalGeographicSociety,3Jan.2014.Web.18May2016.
Harper,Claire."TexasExtinction."
Nature.com.
NaturePublishingGroup,20July2012.
Web.19May2016.
Amick,HannahL."ExtinctionthatisOccurring."
Knowledgehunters.
National
Geographic,18June.2013.Web.19May2016.
Murano,Riley."KeystoneSpeciesExtinction."
Endangerment.com.
AnimalKingdom
PublishingGroup,19August2012.Web.19May2016.