Trapping and hunting have long been controversial issues within Adirondack Park. Some view mammals in the park as a natural resource to be commoditized, while others can’t bear the thought of harming precious moose, beaver, and mink populations. Animals fascinate humans in a way that fungi, plants, and bacteria never will; as a result, certain animals have become icons of conservation efforts in the Adirondacks and around the world. So much attention for one kingdom of life begs the question: are these iconic animals really as important as we think? Does putting certain species on pedestals do more harm than good? Does it draw attention away from threatened keystone species? The world may never know. What’s clear is that the animals we idolize in the Adirondacks are not the only ones in need of saving. Dozens of species are overlooked, including ones that contribute to our ecosystem and are in serious danger of extinction.
It is a common conception that these animals we love so much are constantly under threat of extinction. Each year, millions of people go to parks around the world to see said species and donate their money to protect them from overhunting and loss of habitat (and I can attest that my ten-year-old self was confident my $10 donation to the Tennessee Elephant Sanctuary was single-handedly saving the planet). But the cutest, largest, superlative animals aren’t always most in need of our help. In fact, in the Adirondacks, the idolized moose, beavers, minks, and black bears are all classified as species of “Least Concern”, meaning their populations aren’t under threat of extinction (IUCN). In fact, all of the aforementioned species’ populations are stable or even increasing worldwide. Yet below the charismatic elephants and moose of the world lie millions of less sympathetic beings: ones that tend to be overlooked by conservationists and donors.
Despite misconceptions about the impacts of hunting and trapping on mammal populations within the Park, the Adirondacks do face issues of extinction. Eastern Hemlocks are among the most common conifers in the park; as a keystone species, they play a crucial role ecologically and aesthetically. Yet, in the past several decades, woolly adelgid, an invasive insect, has made its way to southeastern forests. Woolly adelgids suck sap from hemlocks, killing the tree, and without a natural predator, woolly adelgid populations continue to grow. Consequently, the population of Eastern Hemlocks is decreasing rapidly, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has labelled it as “Near Threatened”. In July 2020, the first population of woolly adelgid was discovered in Adirondack Park, foreshadowing a dangerous fate for hemlocks (Gurney).
Woolly adelgid insects on a hemlock branch. (Image courtesy of Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Archive via Wikimedia Commons)
The Adirondack Explorer lists 23 other of the park’s species as endangered, threatened, or near threatened, most of which likely aren’t identifiable by the average Adirondack visitor. Questions over the effects idolizing certain species remain unanswered. But it’s clear that in the Adirondacks, when certain animals are put on the pedestal of conservation, other, more important species are neglected by the public eye.
Works Cited
Cassola, F. 2016. Castor canadensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T4003A22187946. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T4003A22187946.en. Downloaded on 01 October 2021.
Farjon, A. 2013. Tsuga canadensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T42431A2979676. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42431A2979676.en. Downloaded on 01 October 2021.
“File:Adelges tsugae 3225077.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 12 Sep 2020, 17:13 UTC. 1 Oct 2021, 15:52 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Adelges_tsugae_3225077.jpg&oldid=456734975>.
Gurney, Gabriella, and Name *. “Home.” Adirondack Research – Using Science to Inform Decisions, 26 Apr. 2021, adkres.org/field-report-hemlock-woolly-adelgid-spring-season/.
Hundertmark, K. 2016. Alces alces. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T56003281A22157381. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T56003281A22157381.en. Downloaded on 01 October 2021.
Pedler, Catherine. “Imagine the Adirondacks without Hemlocks: Adirondack Mountain Club.” Adirondack Mountain Club | Just Another WordPress Site, 26 Jan. 2021, www.adk.org/imagine-the-adirondacks-without-hemlocks/.
Reid, F., Schiaffini, M. & Schipper, J. 2016. Neovison vison. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41661A45214988. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41661A45214988.en. Downloaded on 01 October 2021.“What Species in the Adirondacks Are Endangered?” Adirondack Explorer, 11 Mar. 2021, www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/endangered-species-adirondacks.