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Thursday, Mar. 14, 2024

Is human development the only reason a species becomes endangered?


no

A combination of man-made and natural causes can lead to a plant or animal being listed on the Endangered Species List.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines a species is at risk of being endangered if there is present or threatened destruction or modification of habitat; disease or predation; overutilization of the species for commercial, recreational, scientific or education purposes; inadequate regulatory mechanisms; or other natural or man-made factors affect the species.

During a February interview on Nevada Newsmakers, James Settelmeyer, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, stated that “if you look at threatened endangered species, part of it comes down to, if nobody’s doing anything with the land, there’s no threat. So as soon as someone announces that they’re going to do something with it, well, now it’s threatened.” 

See a full discussion of this at The Nevada Independent

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

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The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

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