Nevada’s vanished species spark extinction concerns as new journal monitors losses

The disappearance of Oreocarya insolita and other "lost" species has prompted a group of researchers, led by University of Nevada, Reno entomologist Matthew Forister, to launch the Journal of Lost Species. This new scientific publication, co-edited by Forister, aims to systematically track plants and animals that have not been observed for more than a decade but have not yet been officially declared extinct. By establishing a record, the initiative hopes to spur renewed fieldwork, increase scientific visibility, and ultimately determine whether any individuals of these species still survive.

Forister said Nevada's biodiversity remains badly underexplored, and officials lack up-to-date information on whether many species are stable, declining, lost, or extinct. "We really don't know the status of Nevada's biodiversity," he noted, adding that the state faces some of the country’s most acute challenges to biodiversity preservation. According to the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage, Nevada ranks 11th nationally for total species diversity and third for the number of at-risk species, with more than 1,100 plants and animals facing a high risk of disappearing from the state.

Efforts to officially protect endangered species are also facing new pressure. A report from the Center for Biological Diversity, citing public records, reveals that the Nevada workforce of the US Fish and Wildlife Service was cut from 134 employees in 2024 to just 85 by 2026, mirroring a nationwide reduction from 9,957 to 6,333 staff during that period. The process for adding new species to the federal endangered list has slowed significantly as a result, leaving nearly 400 species nationally and more than two dozen in Nevada awaiting formal action. Delays in the listing process, according to Jamey McClinton, administrator of Nevada’s Division of Natural Heritage, create increased ambiguity and expose at-risk species to greater peril.

Meanwhile, habitat protections have also been weakened by recent policy changes allowing economic factors to be considered in critical habitat designations and making it easier to destroy occupied habitat. These shifts have become flashpoints in states like Nevada, where the habitats of species such as the Dixie Valley toad have been threatened by geothermal development and groundwater pumping.

Amid this uncertain landscape, the Journal of Lost Species seeks to fill a critical gap in how the scientific community approaches species in limbo. As Forister explained, the label "data deficient" is less compelling than "lost" when it comes to motivating further research and public engagement. "If it's lost, it's like, 'Holy cow, let's go look for it.' 'Data deficient' is important, but it's not that inspiring," he said.

Forister’s work has already brought attention to shrinking butterfly populations in Nevada, with his lab finding an average decline of 25% every 20 years. He and his colleagues hope their new journal will not only record ongoing disappearances but also prompt new searches and renewed conservation efforts before more unique species slip away unnoticed. According to Forister, "Everything deserves a memory," underscoring the importance of ensuring that even vanished species are not forgotten in the historical record.