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Home > Wildlife > Species Information > Maine Endangered Species Program > Endangered and Threatened Species > FAQ's

Maine Endangered Species Program/Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary of Terms Definitions of some terms used in these pages.

Why list species?

Some species of fish and wildlife are disappearing from Maine, and others are in danger of disappearing. The Maine Legislature recognized this and declared their resolve to halt this loss by passing the Maine Endangered Species Act in 1975.

The first step towards averting species loss was to develop a legal, comprehensive, and biologically based list of species most in danger of disappearing from Maine. This list, known as the Endangered and Threatened Species List, provides benefits to the listed species and to the people of Maine.

Benefits to the listed species include:

  • protection from intentional killing or taking from the wild;
  • protection from commercial harvest;
  • protection from the export or import trade; and
  • recognition of having met rigorous listing criteria and formal public review.

Benefits to the people of Maine include:

  • clear and predictable public policy pertaining to endangered and threatened species listing for businesses, landowners, developers, government agencies, and others;
  • protection from unexpected and unwarranted petitions to list species;
  • a basis for reasoned planning and decision making regarding conservation priorities and allocations of scarce management resources; and
  • strong public policy based on biological criteria, partnered with reasonable, effective management that promotes cooperative management when possible, which helps prevent the public/private clashes that have surfaced in many other parts of the country.

What makes a species endangered or threatened?

Determination of a species' status as endangered or threatened is based on the species' probability of extinction from Maine. To insure an objective, biological basis for listing, regulations were adopted in 1994 (after public hearings and discussions) that specify six biological measures to be used in evaluating a species' risk of extinction. They are:

  1. population viability;
  2. population size;
  3. population trend;
  4. population distribution;
  5. population fragmentation; and
  6. endemism (species occurs only in Maine).

Determining whether a species is endangered or threatened is a technical question analogous to determining whether a bridge is structurally sound. Both decisions should be based solely on scientific measurements, analyses, and standards.

Does listing automatically lead to management actions or land use restrictions?

Decision to list a species as endangered or threatened does not automatically result in management programs. Management priorities and programs are developed through a distinct and separate planning process.

Developing management programs subsequent to listing allows for thoughtful decisions based upon an expanding public input. The desirability and practicality of each management option can be carefully weighed against economic, social, and legal considerations before a decision is made.

If a species if listed as endangered or threatended in Maine, does the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service get involved?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has jurisdiction over migratory birds and federally listed endangered and threatened species. They do not have jurisdiction over mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and non-migratory birds that are not federally listed.

If a species is federally listed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has jurisdiction over that species even if the Maine Legislature does not list it as state endangered or threatened. Conversely, if the Legislature lists a species that is not a migratory bird, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has no jurisdiction over the species.

State and federal jurisdictional disputes of endangered species programs, which surfaced in several instances in the West, have not been a problem in Maine. In fact, there are outstanding examples of cooperation (bald eagle recovery, peregrine falcon restoration, etc.) because of Maine's partnerships with federal programs.

Why aren't all federally listed species listed on the Maine endangered species list as well?

From 1986 to 1997, all species that were listed as threatened or endangered by the federal government were automatically given the same status on the Maine Endangered Species List. In 1996, the Maine Legislature eliminated this automatic listing provision of the State's Endangered Species Act, leaving each species to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Species may be listed federally, but not in Maine, for several reasons:

  1. a species may be rare throughout other parts of its range, but reasonably common in Maine;
  2. a species that is federally listed as endangered or threatened may already be extirpated from Maine, such as the Karner blue butterfly; and
  3. some species are beyond the jurisdiction of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, such as marine animals.