The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reclassified 21 endangered species as extinct, saying the best scientific evidence shows that these species no longer exist.

Seven of those species lived in Alabama, including the Bachman’s warbler songbird and six freshwater mussels and snails.

Ramona McGee, wildlife program leader for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the move should come as a wake-up call to the dangers of extinction.

“This should be a wake-up call to the reality of our extinction crisis, and human activity’s role threatening species,” McGee said in a news release. “As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, we must recognize there is still much work to do saving creatures and ecosystems that we cherish and depend on.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule Monday removing those animals from the U.S. Endangered Species List, citing their probable extinction. Many had not been seen in the wild in decades.

The Alabama species declared extinct are:

• Bachman’s warbler
• Southern acornshell
• Stirrupshell
• Tubercled-blossom pearly mussel
• Turgid-blossom pearly mussel
• Upland combshell
• Yellow-blossom pearly mussel

In the early 1900s, the Bachman’s warbler — a yellow, grey and black songbird — was commonly seen across the Southeastern United States in spring and summer months before flying to Cuba for winter. Its populations had declined sharply by the 1950s, with the last confirmed sighting occurring in Louisiana in 1988.

Alabama’s six freshwater mussels are believed to have been driven to extinction due to habitat loss from dam construction as well as siltation and water pollution.

Once species are listed for protection as endangered or threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, federal entities or anyone requiring a federal permit must conduct species assessments before developing or disturbing land designated as critical habitat for a listed species. The actions of private landowners that do not require a federal or state permit are not restricted under the Act.

McGee said the Endangered Species Act is an effective tool for protecting biodiversity, but many of the species in question were added to the list too late.

“Unfortunately, many of these species, including Southern varieties of mussels and Bachman’s warbler, received ESA protections when they were already perilously close, or suspected to be extinct,” McGee said.

“The stakes are higher for wildlife here in the South,” McGee said. “We host a globally significant variety of plants and animals that are under mounting pressure because of humanmade threats, including climate change and habitat loss.”

Alabama is celebrated as one of the most biodiverse states in the country, with freshwater aquatic life leading the way. Alabama is second in the nation in the number of freshwater fish species found in the state. It also has the highest number of crayfish species, the second highest number of frog species, and the highest number of freshwater mussel species.

Alabama also has the third highest number of threatened or endangered species in the country trailing only Hawaii and California.

Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity said the 21 species would be added to a list of 650 U.S. species that are now considered extinct.

Greenwald said many of the currently endangered species face new human-driven threats from climate change and the introduction of invasive species into their native habitats, in addition to the traditional pressures of habitat loss from development, pollution or unchecked hunting and fishing.

“Few people realize the extent to which the crises of extinction and climate change are deeply intertwined,” Greenwald said. “Both threaten to undo our very way of life, leaving our children with a considerably poorer planet.

“One silver lining to this sad situation is that protecting and restoring forests, grasslands and other natural habitats will help address both.”