A rare wildflower once found in the scrublands of Las Vegas has not been reliably recorded in the area for nearly a century, highlighting growing concerns about species that may be disappearing before scientists can determine whether they are extinct. The plant, Oreocarya insolita, is believed to exist nowhere else in the world. Now, researchers are documenting such missing plants and animals through a new scientific publication, the Journal of Lost Species, co-edited by University of Nevada, Reno entomologist Matthew Forister. The initiative aims to track species not observed for a decade or more and encourage efforts to find them before they vanish unnoticed.
Scientists seek to document species in limbo
Forister and an international team of scientists are focusing on species described as “lost” – those that have not been seen for years but cannot yet be declared extinct. The journal aims to give these plants and animals greater scientific attention and encourage researchers to investigate whether they still survive.“Nevada is a state where so much exploration still needs to be done for biodiversity,” Forister said. “We really don’t know the status of Nevada’s biodiversity in terms of which species are stable or extinct or lost.”The initiative comes amid wider concerns about biodiversity loss. According to conservation organisation Re, more than 4,300 species worldwide have not been documented for at least a decade.“Everything deserves a memory,” Forister said, explaining why the team wants to create a record of species whose status remains uncertain.The journal is intended to address a gap between established categories such as endangered and extinct. Species that have not been observed for years are often classified as “data deficient”, a designation that can make it harder to generate public attention or motivate searches.“It’s really different in terms of motivation and communication in calling something ‘data deficient’ than to call it ‘lost,’” Forister said. “If it’s lost it’s like, ‘Holy cow, let’s go look for it.’ ‘Data deficient’ is important, but it is not that inspiring.”He added that documenting a species matters even if it is eventually confirmed extinct, because it ensures its disappearance is not overlooked.
Nevada faces growing biodiversity concerns
Nevada is home to a wide range of plants and animals, but many face shrinking populations, habitat loss and other environmental pressures. According to the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage, the state ranks 11th nationally for total species diversity and has the third-highest number of species considered at risk, with more than 1,100 plants and animals facing a high risk of disappearing from the state.The state’s biodiversity challenges extend beyond species already listed as endangered. Nearly 50 additional plants and animals are federally listed as endangered or recognised as threatened, while hundreds more have six or fewer population groupings in Nevada.Matthew Forister has warned that much remains unknown about the status of the state’s wildlife. Scientists may not know whether some species are declining, surviving in small numbers or have disappeared entirely.“Scientists from around the world are warning we’re in an extinction crisis,” Noah Greenwald, endangered species co-director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said.The Journal of Lost Species seeks to make these uncertain cases more visible and provide a clearer record for future conservation work.
Endangered species protections under pressure
The launch of the journal comes as the US Fish and Wildlife Service faces scrutiny over the number of species receiving federal protection and a significant reduction in staffing. The agency is responsible for determining which plants and animals are added to the federal endangered species list.According to data obtained through a public records request by the Center for Biological Diversity and shared with The Nevada Independent, the agency’s Nevada workforce fell from 134 employees in 2024 to 85 in 2026, a decline of about 38%. Nationwide, its staffing dropped from 9,957 to 6,333 over the same period, according to the centre’s records.Greenwald said the slowdown in adding species to the endangered list could leave vulnerable plants and animals without the protections they need.Since the Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 under President Richard Nixon, the Fish and Wildlife Service has listed an average of 34 species annually. According to the report, the Trump administration had added only three species to the list during the period covered by the investigation, all in the southeastern United States. During Donald Trump’s first term, his administration protected 22 species.“Only listing three species in almost two years is just drastically lower than any other administration,” Greenwald said.For comparison, the report noted that the Clinton administration listed well over 500 species over eight years, while the George W. Bush administration listed 62 during its two terms.Jamey McClinton, administrator of the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage, said delays in the listing process can leave species in an uncertain position.“The process of having listings be so significantly slowed down, I think it is leaving room for a lot more ambiguity, and that’s something that’s not good for industry or for conservation,” McClinton said. “That increases the imperilment for a lot of species that are being petitioned because they’re living in limbo.”Nationally, about 400 species are awaiting listing, including more than two dozen in Nevada, according to the report.
Habitat changes add to the threat
Policy changes affecting endangered species protections have also raised concerns among conservationists. Earlier this year, the federal administration issued a rule making it easier to destroy habitat occupied by endangered species. Another rule allows economic factors to be considered when designating critical habitat.One example is the Dixie Valley toad, an endangered species whose habitat has been at the centre of disputes over geothermal development and groundwater pumping near the hot springs and wetlands it depends on in Churchill County, Nevada.Earlier in October, 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over changes they said weakened the Endangered Species Act.Conservationists argue that habitat protection and timely federal listings are important for preventing further declines, particularly for species with small or isolated populations.
How Nevada’s wildlife disappeared
Several species that once lived in Nevada have already disappeared from the state, even though some continue to exist elsewhere. Others were endemic to the region and are now extinct.The passenger pigeon, for example, was once recorded in Nevada, with the last known state sighting reported in Humboldt County in 1867. The species later became extinct worldwide in the early 20th century.Other losses were linked to groundwater pumping, habitat destruction and the introduction of non-native species. Several fish species, including the Raycraft, Ash Meadows and Pahrump poolfish, disappeared from their former habitats around the 1940s and 1950s.The construction of dams also altered river systems and contributed to the disappearance of fish species from Nevada. McClinton identified the Owyhee Dam in eastern Oregon as a major factor in ending Chinook salmon migrations into the state. The Hoover Dam similarly contributed to the loss of the Colorado pikeminnow and humpback chub from Nevada.Some disappearances are more recent. The Great Basin ramshorn, a small springsnail, was extirpated from Nevada in the early 2000s, according to McClinton. In early 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect remaining populations found in a handful of locations in other states. The agency had not listed those populations at the time of the report.Determining that a species is extinct can take years because the classification carries regulatory consequences. Declaring a species extinct can result in its removal from state and federal protection lists.“Both the state and the feds will remove species from their protected lists if they are declared to be extinct,” McClinton said. “This is exactly where [the Journal of Lost Species] comes into play.”
Scientists hope the journal will inspire new searches
Forister, who co-manages the largest and longest-running butterfly monitoring study in North America, has spent years examining changes in insect populations.Some Nevada butterflies, including the bleached sandhill skipper, are awaiting federal protection, while others, such as the Mount Charleston blue butterfly, are already listed. Research from Forister’s laboratory has found that butterfly populations across Nevada are declining by approximately 25% every 20 years.That work prompted him to reconsider how scientists track species that become increasingly difficult to find.“Then I had this revelation,” Forister said. “We weren’t doing enough to keep track of these things.”The new journal, developed with conservation organisation Re, will focus on species that have not been documented for at least a decade but have not been confirmed extinct. Researchers hope that giving these species a dedicated scientific record will encourage further fieldwork and help establish whether populations survive.“The number of species where we don’t know where they are in the last 10 years is colossal,” Forister said.For scientists, the goal is not simply to record disappearances but also to identify opportunities to find and protect species before it is too late.McClinton said Nevada’s distinctive habitats are home to species found nowhere else, making their preservation important to the state’s natural identity.“Biological diversity is inherently precious and valuable. These species evolved to survive in these unique habitats with no interference from humans. They’re part of what gives these places their unique character,” she said.“Part of what makes it so fun to recreate in Nevada is never knowing if what you’re looking at is globally unique.”