Maine is adding two new species to the endangered list and six to the threatened list, for a total of eight new species being protected in the state, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The Maine Legislature added five bird, one bat, one bee and one beetle species to the Endangered and Threatened Species list effective Oct. 25.
The saltmarsh sparrow and Ashton’s cuckoo bumble bee are considered endangered. The Margined Tiger Beetle, Bicknell’s Thrush, Blackpoll Warbler, Cliff Swallow and Bank Swallow all are considered threatened due to loss of habitat.
The Tri-Colored Bat is considered threatened due to the white nose syndrome that has decimated several bat populations.
The Saltmarsh Sparrow breeds in coastal saltmarshes of south-central Maine where nests are vulnerable to flooding during high tides associated with sea level rise. The Margined Tiger Beetle relies on a small number of saltmarsh-sand dune areas that are threatened by rising seas and associated storm surge.
The Bicknell’s Thrush and Blackpoll Warbler occupy high-elevation spruce-fir forests of central and western Maine, habitats that could disappear.
The Ashton’s Cuckoo Bumble Bee was thought to be gone from Maine, but a single population was recently found during the Maine Bumble Bee Atlas in northern Aroostook County.
The Cliff Swallow and Bank Swallow have declined by more than 95 percent due to loss of habitat and insect populations.
The state has 57 species listed as threatened or endangered now.