WASHINGTON, June 25 — The figure that matters: 2,300. That’s the number of threatened and endangered plant and animal species the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a private biotech firm now plan to genetically preserve, in what amounts to a DNA Noah’s Ark for America’s most vulnerable plants and animals. By the numbers, the math behind this project is stark.
America currently protects 1,662 domestic and 638 foreign species under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. But the list has ballooned 300% since 1985, while federal funding has not kept pace.
The bottom line: resources per protected species have been diluted roughly by half. Enter Colossal Biosciences, a startup described as a “de-extinction” company, and its newly created Colossal Foundation. The nonprofit has pledged to work with federal researchers on a sprawling effort to collect, sequence, and store genetic material from over 2,300 threatened and endangered species.
The project will be housed across Colossal’s distributed BioVault network, preserving both cryopreserved DNA, tissues, and reproductive cells alongside digitized “reference genomes” for each species. “This collaboration will help advance our understanding of how biobanking and genomics can complement existing conservation tools,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Brian Nesvik said in a statement.
Colossal’s chief animal officer Matt James was more direct. “This initiative will redefine conservation in the United States,” James said in the announcement. “For the first time, we’re creating a permanent genetic record of America’s most vulnerable species before they’re lost.” The Colossal Foundation is bankrolled by $1 — that figure is not a typo.
The foundation itself is newly erected, and the financial backing comes from Colossal’s broader private capital base. Investors will note this is a public-private partnership, not a federal grant program. The FWS brings regulatory authority and species expertise; Colossal brings genomic technology and biobanking infrastructure.
The arrangement sidesteps the funding crunch that has hampered traditional conservation work. The project covers both domestic and foreign species protected under U.S. law.
That includes familiar success stories like the bald eagle, the grizzly bear, and the American alligator — species the Endangered Species Act famously rescued. But it also includes hundreds of lesser-known plants and animals that lack the same public profile. What to watch next: whether this genetic vault becomes a tool for actual species recovery, or merely a digital morgue.
The FWS framed it as a complement to existing conservation tools. Colossal’s James sees it as a redefinition of the field.
Either way, the clock is ticking — the list of imperiled species keeps growing, and the funding gap keeps widening.
