According to the state motto, Virginia is for lovers. However, it’s also full of thousands of plant and animal species. A growing number of these species are threatened by climate change, habitat loss, and other human-led causes. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR), the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation work together to protect the state’s threatened and endangered species.
VDWR is specifically tasked with the preservation of vertebrate and invertebrate species or, simply put, animals. It also maintains the state’s official Threatened and Endangered Faunal Species List.
There are dozens of species on the list, many of which also fall under the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), first passed in 1973.
Keep reading to learn more about the history and potential futures of three endangered animals on the list: the Atlantic sturgeon, Shenandoah salamander, and Virginia big-eared bat.
Atlantic Sturgeon
Photo Courtesy NOAA Fisheries
Atlantic sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) are recognized as endangered in Virginia and under the federal ESA. The species can grow up to 400 pounds and 10 feet long. The fish also has an extremely long life span, with some living to be more than 60 years old. The long-snouted species are considered benthic feeders, meaning they find and eat most of their food — worms, crustaceans, and macroinvertebrates — near or at the bottom of bodies of water.
In Virginia, sturgeon can be found at or near the bottom of all the state’s major rivers, which drain into the Chesapeake Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean. The fish’s name is apt — most of their lives are spent in the Atlantic Ocean, and they typically only swim up Virginia’s rivers to spawn their eggs.
Three major reasons have led to the sturgeon’s endangered status: ship-strike-related deaths, historical overharvesting, and habitat loss.
The once-populous species was particularly devastated by overfishing due to the rise of the caviar industry.
However, there have been efforts to bring the species back to its former status. On the regulatory front, Virginia banned sturgeon farming in 1974; the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission introduced a sturgeon management plan in 1990; and the species was designated as federally endangered in 2012.
VDWR continues to monitor the species’ population and prevent future habitat loss, but it’s not the only one helping. NOAA Fisheries is running the Sturgeon Salvage Program to aid in research and recovery, and numerous other scientists and groups are doing their best, too.
Shenandoah Salamander
Photo Courtesy Ann and Rob Simpson/Shenandoah National Park
Like the Atlantic sturgeon, the Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah) gets its name from where it can be found — Shenandoah National Park. The terrestrial salamanders are slim in shape and tiny in size, ranging between 3.5 to 4.5 inches long. Spotting one of these creatures while hiking in the park would be near impossible, not because of its small size but rather its ultra-specific habitat requirements.
Only occurring in three isolated populations within the Shenandoah, Virginia’s official “Shenandoah Salamander Recovery Plan” best summarizes these exact specifications: “P. shenandoah occurs only on relatively dry, rocky, talus slopes, generally of northern aspect and above 800 meters, on three mountains within the boundaries of Shenandoah National Park: Hawksbill, The Pinnacles, and Stony Man.”
When the salamander was first designated as federally endangered in 1989, most scientists attributed the species’ decline to competition from a different species — the red-backed salamander.
However, new research over the years has argued that these salamanders have declined primarily due to climate change-related factors.
According to the most current U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) reports, the three known Shenandoah salamander populations have remained relatively stable in recent years. Repopulation plans will have to wait until research leads to more conclusive findings for its biggest threats.
Virginia Big-Eared Bat
Graphic Courtesy Stihler Craig, USFWS
The Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus) is a medium-sized bat with a body averaging 3.5 to 4.5 inches long and weighing less than half an ounce. It does indeed sport prominent, long ears — like, literally longer than an inch — that oddly connect at its forehead. The animals predominantly consume moths but will also eat small insects.
The species is one of three in Virginia listed as federally endangered, the others being the Indiana and gray bat.
It’s no coincidence that they all happen to be cave bats, meaning they prefer dwelling in the numerous caves spread across Virginia.
A hibernaculum (plural hibernacula) is a place where animals seek refuge during the winter type — like the cave a bear hibernates in. Just like the other two federally endangered bats in the state, the disturbance at hibernacula has been the biggest reason for the decline of the Virginia big-eared bat. They not only reside in caves but also in cave-like habitats such as abandoned mine portals and rock crevices.
Like many other mammals, bats attempt to store as much fat as they can before entering hibernation. The animals essentially turn off most of their functions and enter a sleep-like state that slowly burns their fat reserves until they outlast the cold of the winter.
When humans disturb a colony of Virginia big-eared bats in this hibernation state, their bodies wake up, raising their body temperatures and forcing the bats to exert tons of energy, which depletes their fat stores. Many of these disturbed bats are unable to last through the rest of the winter. Plus, this bat species is particularly vulnerable to such disturbances.
Big-eared bats tend to form huge winter hibernation colonies compared to other species, making any interference with those colonies extra-impactful.
VDWR and several other agencies and organizations have identified the bats’ major hibernacula and maternity sites, gating the entrances. These groups are also conducting new research on threats to the bats and working to protect the current population. The survival of the Virginia big-eared bat, Shenandoah salamander, and Atlantic sturgeon can’t be guaranteed. However, it is a guarantee that there are people, organizations, and agencies doing all they can to help.
