Over a third of U.S. plants and animals are at risk of extinction according to a report by the conservation group NatureServe. According to the research, "40 percent of animals and 34 percent of plants in the United States are at risk of extinction, while 41 percent of ecosystems are facing collapse," writes Reuters.
The data, based on 50 years of data from research of over 1,000 scientists, found that the most at-risk regions are California, Texas, and Southeast U.S. Almost half of all cacti species are at risk along with the Venus flytrap, and crayfish. The reasons cited by the report include "habitat degradation and land conversion, invasive species, damming and polluting of rivers, and climate change." Currently, 1,250 plants in NatureServe's database have been deemed "critically imperiled" meaning they are on the brink of extinction.
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