NEWS NOTES ON SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES Threatened and Endangered Species Since all life forms require water, the connection to threatened and endangered species is clear. There is a good deal of information available on this topic, which is summarized in this message. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endangered_species“An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct in the near future. Endangered (EN), as categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is the second most severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's schema after Critically Endangered (CR). In 2012, the IUCN Red List featured 3,079 animal and 2,655 plant species as endangered (EN) worldwide. The figures for 1998 were 1,102 and 1,197 respectively. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating protected areas. Population numbers, trends and species' conservation status can be found at the lists of organisms by population.”“Over 50% of the world's species are estimated to be at risk of extinction. Internationally, 199 countries have signed an accord to create Biodiversity Action Plans that will protect endangered and other threatened species. In the United States, such plans are usually called Species Recovery Plans.” The USGS carries out scientific studies that are related to this problem. Seehttps://www.usgs.gov/news/collaborative-species-conservation“ Science in support of management and conservation of threatened and endangered speciesWhat do gray wolves, manatees and bears have in common? They are just a few of the species that are part of an important USGS research priority that informs U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decisions for endangered and threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA provides federal protections for at-risk species and addresses the threats they face. Cooperative conservation efforts supported by USGS science can help stabilize a species to a point where federal listing can be avoided, inform the decision to downlist a species from endangered to threatened, or can lead to the delisting of a recovered species.Downlisting is the reclassification of a species from endangered to threatened. Delisting is the removal of species from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, also known as the endangered species list. Species showing signs of improvement and successful recovery efforts can result in downlisting or delisting actions.USGS scientists collaborate with federal, state, tribal, and non-governmental partners to provide the science needed for conservation management decisions on many species and their habitat before listing is necessary. Get to know a bit about a few of the species where USGS science has aided in collaborative species conservation across the Nation.”More details about this work can be found here:https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pwrc/science/threatened-endangered-species?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects ;