Delmarva fox squirrel no longer federally endangered

The FWS stated the return of squirrel wouldn’t be potential with out the “cooperation of federal and state businesses and conservation teams, in addition to the personal property house owners of Maryland and Delaware” who assist the endangered species by agreeing to offer habitat on their very own land. Unofficial reports in the mid-1990s that a small population may have been established could not be verified.

Prime Hook – The Delmarva fox squirrel, a larger, slower and more silver version of the common gray squirrel, and one of the first species protected by the Endangered Species Act, is no longer at risk of extinction, officials say. “This success story is the result of a partnership with several state wildlife agencies, conservation groups, landowners and countless other stakeholders working hand in hand with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists to protect the Delmarva fox squirrel”. Delmarva fox squirrels are generally not found in urban areas and prefer woodland areas or suburbs of the Delmarva Peninsula, which occupies most of DE, Maryland, and Virginia.

Since listing, there population has expanded up to 20,000 squirrels and the combined conservations efforts of state and landowners which includes protecting large forest areas, translocation of animals for new populations and monitoring targeted hunting has paid off.

“Although the Delmarva fox squirrel does not symbolize the nation like the bald eagle, this species is unique to the Delmarva Peninsula and serves as a symbol of the geographic region it calls home”, said DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Director David Saveikis.

Other species like the whooping crane and the California condor have been brought back from the brink of extinction. From the late 1970s, the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s efforts of reintroducing the Delmarva fox squirrel were relentless. The species inhabited forested areas of the Delmarva Peninsula, including DE, before experiencing a sharp decline in the mid-1900s primarily due to land-clearing activities including farming and short-rotation timber harvest that reduced its habitat.

In DE, numbers are still struggling, though, said Kara Coats, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control deputy secretary. Instead, they live on rural, forested lands and in agricultural fields.

Since the time the squirrel was included in the list, conservation work has helped increase the range of the fox squirrels to 135,000 acres of forest in 10 nations.