The Magazine Mountain Shagreen, a tiny snail found only on Magazine Mountain, is speeding — relatively speaking — toward a historic achievement. It is about to become the first invertebrate ever removed from the federal list of endangered species.
The Shagreen was placed on the list in 1989. Now, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the shagreen population is stable, threats to its survival have been eliminated or reduced, and adequate regulatory protection is in place. In the matter of “regulatory protection,” the shagreen chose its home wisely. The highest point in Arkansas, at a height of 2,753 feet, Magazine Mountain is owned by the U.S. Forest Service, which has designated the mountain as a Special Interest Area to protect the shagreen and its habitat. The Arkansas Parks and Tourism Department has a long-term lease for the state park atop the mountain.
But other species found in Arkansas, or once found in Arkansas, remain on the endangered list. These include, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
Amphibian
Ozark Hellbender
Birds
Interior Least Tern
Ivory Billed Woodpecker
Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Whooping Crane
Crayfish
Benton County Cave Crayfish
Hell Creek Cave Crayfish
Fish
Arkansas darter
Yellowcheek darter
Insects
American Burying Beetle
Mammals
Gray Bat
Florida Panther (presumed extinct in Arkansas)
Indiana Bat
Ozark Big-Eared Bat
Mussels
Curtis Pearlymussel
Fanshell
Fat Pocketbook
Ouachita Rock Pocketbook
Pallid Sturgeon
Pink Mucket
Scaleshell Mussel
Snuffbox
Speckled Pocketbook
Spectaclecase
Winged Mapleleaf
Plants
Harperella
Pondberry
Running Buffalo Clover