Forty-one years have gone by since the Endangered Species Act was passed by Congress. It was designed to protect imperiled species and their ecosystems and reverse the trend

toward extinction. North Carolina has 74 threatened and endangered species. Learn about them and what you can do to help protect them.

0nce common in the southeastern United States, the red wolf is now one of the world’s most endangered wild canids. A successful restoration program at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina has helped the population expand. More than 100 red wolves roam their native habitats in the eastern part of the state, and nearly 200 red wolves are maintained in captive breeding facilities.

The minnow’s habitatis threatened by chang-es in water flow from dams and other stream alterations. Pollution — including chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides, wastewater from stormwater and sediment runoff — also causes habitat destruction.

This perennial herb’s habitat is threatened by destruction from highway, residen tial and commercial development. Also roadside mainte-nance and utility rights of way. Collec-tion for horticultural and medicinal uses also threaten it.

The small shorebird’s primary threat is destruction of their habitat and human disturbance to nesting adults and flightless chicks. Commercial development and dune and inlet resto-ration has contributed to the their habitat loss. Foot traffic and motor vehicle traffic on beaches also contribute to loss of habitat.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACROSS THE STATE

CAPE FEAR SHINER

RED WOLF PIPING PLOVER

SMOOTH CONEFLOWER

WHY THE WILDLIFE DECLINE?The National Wildlife Federation and other wildlife agencies agree that the loss and degradation of habitat as the No. 1 cause of species decline. This can happen from: AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS URBAN EXPANSION INVASIVE SPECIES TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITY

LINE DEVELOPMENT

PROTECTING HABITATS FOR WILDLIFENorth Carolina has 11 national wildlife refuges. They exist to protect wildlife populations through habitat preservation. They also give people opportunities to view wildlife in their natural habitats.

The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program has 146 conservationareas managed as dedicated nature preserves. These lands are owned by state agencies and private conservation organizations such as the Nature Conservancy, Triangle Land Conservancy and Botanical Garden Foundation.

The Guilford County Open Space Program was established in 2000 to enhance the county’s water quality, preserve wildlife habitats and protect natural areas for the enjoyment of current and future residents. It has pro-tected more than 1,700 acres as nature preserves in the county. For a chart of open space acquisitions, visit www.news-record.com. For more about the program, visit http://countyweb.co.guilford.nc.us/open-space-program.

ENDANGERED SPECIES IN THE PIEDMONTCaswell: James spinymussel

(mussel)Davidson: Schweinitz’s sunflower

(plant)Davie: Michaux’s sumac (plant)Forsyth: Red-cockaded wood-

pecker (bird), small-anthered bittercress (plant)

Guilford: Small whorled pogonia (plant)

Randolph: Cape Fear shiner (fish), Schweinitz’s sunflower (plant)

Rockingham: Roanoke logperch (fish), James spinymussel, (mussel), smooth coneflower (plant)

Stokes: James spinymussel (mussel), Schweinitz’s sunflower (plant), small-anthered bitter-cress (plant)

For a complete list of endangered species in North Carolina, see B2

THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES TOTALS, NORTH CAROLINASPECIES THREATENED ENDANGERED TOTAL

Mammals 0 13 13Birds 1 8 9Reptiles/ 4 3 7

amphibiansFish 2 4 6Insects/ 0 3 3

spidersMussels/ 1 8 9

snailsPlants 9 18 27Totals 17 57 74

Endangered: Any species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its habitat.

Threatened: Any species that is likely to become an endangered species within the foresee-able future throughout all or a significant portion of its habitat.

Source: North Carolina Wildlife Federation; North Carolina Natural Heritage Program; Guilford County, Open Space Program — Compiled by Margaret Baxter, staff artist

For more Life features, go to News-Record.com

B

CALL USDo you have

a suggestion

or a question

for Life?

Reach us at

373-7145.

NEWS & RECORD

LifeTuesday, April 22, 2014

Have a favorite teacher?Today is the deadline to pay tribute to a favorite teacher. Write a poem about him or her in 200 words or less and we’ll print them in May during Teacher Appreciation Month. Email poems and teacher photos (optional) to morgan.josey@news-record.com. Include your name and town and the teacher’s name and school. Deadline is noon today .

CAN YOU HELP IN THE RECOVERY OF ENDANGERED SPECIES?The National Wildlife Federation recommends that people become good land stewards starting at home. Build your land-scape using only native plants, which benefit wildlife, save money and require less care and maintenance. Avoid using fertilizers and pesticides in places where they can run off into

waterways or ditches. Support community efforts to conserve wetlands, bays, rivers, forests and coastal habitats. These areas provide habitats for wildlife species, as well as enjoyable rec-reational opportunities, drinking water supplies and economic benefits, including tourism and some industry.

ActivitiesLinda P. Erickson of

Erickson Advisors and J. Aaron Bennett of Car-ruthers and Roth, both members of the Greens-boro Chapter of the Soci-ety of Financial Service Professionals, were recent presenters at the Leader-ship Development Confer-ence in Baltimore.

The two-day confer-ence is presented annually by the National Society of Financial Service Profes-sionals. It trains incoming local leaders in chapter or-ganization and planning, member recruitment and retention, professional de-velopment and marketing.

l l l

Michael Hardy, an au-thor and expert on North Carolina history, spoke at a recent meeting of Sons of

Confederate Veterans Lt. F.C. Fra-zier Camp 668. The Laura Wes-son Chapter 5 also at-tended.

The two groups will observe Con-federate Memorial Day at 3 p.m. May 10 at Oakwood Memorial Park, 312 Mont-lieu Ave. in High Point.

Lt. Commander Larry Brandon will speak.

AnnouncementsThe Triad Chapter of

the North Carolina Native Plant Society will meet at 7 p.m. May 7 at the Kath-leen Clay Edwards Family Library, 1420 Price Park Drive in Greensboro.

Members will exchange native plants.

For information about this free meeting, call (336) 855-8022.

l l l

The Piedmont Bird Club will participate in a Spring Bird Count on May 3.

Teams will count birds in assigned areas within a designated 15-mile cir-cle. Some teams need new counters for all or part of the day. New birders are welcome. For information, contact Elizabeth Link at (336) 273-4672 or elzlink@yahoo.com.

Also, the club has planned a fi eld trip to visit the Summit at Haw River State Park on May 10.

For the meeting time and directions contact Emily Tyler at (336) 375-5770 or ettyler@triad.rr.com.

l l l

The W.D. Hammer VFW Post 2972 in Gibsonville has placed brochures and order forms for the VFW-Gibsonville Memorial Wall in many businesses in Gib-sonville and Elon.

Memorial bricks may be donated in honor of any-one, including people who are not veterans.

Only the names of those

CLUB NEWS

Sanford Tucker is 96.Job: Retired from Gen-

eral Motors.Miscel-

laneous: He loves visitors, spending time with his family, singing and telling sto-ries. His

favorite goodies are pound cake and kolache .

To submit a listing, send an email at least a week in advance to birthdays@news-record.com with the person’s name, birthday, town, age, school or job, parents’ names for kids, most memorable birthday and favorite birthday dessert. Attach a JPG photo.

Tucker

IT’S YOUR DAY

Hardy

See Clubs, Page B2