Tennessee is the most biologically diverse inland state in the country, but a new report released by the National Wildlife Federation finds that as many as one-third of America's wildlife species are at increased risk of extinction.

According to "Reversing America's Wildlife Crisis: Securing the Future of Our Fish and Wildlife," 150 U.S. species are listed as extinct, and nearly 500 species have not been seen in recent decades and could possibly be extinct. The report comes as Congress is considering a bill that would allocate funds already being collected from oil and gas extraction to protect vulnerable or declining species.

Mike Butler, CEO of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, said much is at stake in the state.

"There are 1,400 species that we need to be paying attention to, that really need good monitoring, good management, to ensure that they never reach a point where we have to think about putting them on the list for the Endangered Species Act," Butler said.

Species at risk in the Volunteer State include the northern bobwhite quail, the Chickamauga crayfish, the Virginia big-eared bat and the red squirrel.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act is currently in the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee. If passed, it would redirect $1.3 billion of existing revenue annually to state-led wildlife conservation efforts.

Bruce Stein, chief scientist and associate vice president at the National Wildlife Federation, said as development has spread to even the most rural areas, natural wildlife is running out of room to sustain and survive.

"Plants and animals, wildlife need habitat in order to survive," Stein said. "And as we have converted much of the natural habitat across America to other uses, that sort of put a squeeze on many of the species - particularly those that require very specialized habitats."

Butler said funding preventive measures would be less costly for the country and the wildlife in the long run.

"When you put things on that list, you get into a lot of expense. You do preventative management," Butler said. "If you are proactive, it's a lot less expensive and you end up being able to take care of the habitats that provide this diversity for both non-game and game species."

Currently, sportsmen fees fund 80 percent of the state's wildlife agencies. If the bill passes, it would provide additional funding to broaden the capabilities of agencies to restore and protect wildlife and their habitats.

An Example would be the Alligator Snapping Turtle in Tennessee:

The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is an apex predator species found in the Mississippi and Tennessee River drainages of Middle and West Tennessee. However, this species may be succumbing to another apex predator: man. These freshwater turtles are declining dramatically throughout their range due to overexploitation for human consumption and habitat loss. In Tennessee, Alligator Snapping Turtles are considered very rare and imperiled and a species of greatest conservation need (GCN).

Sometimes confused with its more common cousin, the Common Snapping Turtle, this species is the only turtle in the world with its own built-in fishing equipment. A fleshy lure located at the bottom of its mouth fools fish into believing the lure is a worm when the turtle opens its jaws and waits.

The Alligator Snapping Turtle (AST) is currently listed as "in need of management" by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). Unfortunately, there is little information available to assess population status and distribution of ASTs in west Tennessee, which presents several problems for developing an effective conservation and management plan within the region.

From 2000 through 2006, the TWRA conducted an Alligator Snapping Turtle restoration project involving the release of adult and juvenile turtles into various watersheds. Since then, there has been limited work done with this species regarding their distribution and population status in Tennessee, leaving the results of reintroduction work unclear.

Beginning in 2016 the TWRA, along with personnel from Southeast Missouri State, the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, the Nashville Zoo, Cumberland River Aquatic Center and Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery, began a multi-year project to survey the status of the ASTs in west Tennessee and to rear hatchlings for future release. In particular, the partners aim to provide a comprehensive picture of the snappers' distribution, population assessments of selected drainages, and an assessment of the success of the original reintroduction program.

During 2016, Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery provided 30 hatchling Alligator Snapping Turtles, which are currently being reared at the Nashville Zoo and the Cumberland River Aquatic Center. In 2017, the hatchery provided an additional 300 one-year-old ASTs to be reared at Humboldt Hatchery and the Nashville Zoo for future release.

Initial surveys conducted in 2016 and 2017 have been unsuccessful in locating new populations of Alligator Snapping Turtles; however, there is cause for optimism! New individual occurrences have been verified from Kentucky Lake, Center Hill Lake, Duck River, Cumberland River and Radnor Lake.

Information on the state's wildlife action plan is available at TNSWAP.com.