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Wildlife Interactive Map
Since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, Earthjustice has been at the forefront of endangered species protection. The interactive map below highlights some of the species we've worked to protect over the years, along with other species that are even now facing serious threats.
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How to Use this Map Simply move your mouse over any region of the U.S. to see a few of the hundreds of species we've helped to protect. To learn more about our work protecting individual species, move your mouse over one of the red flags that appear when you hover over a geographic region. |
Legend Endangered: Species that are in danger of extinction |
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Gray Wolves
Federal Status = Delisted spring 2008
Wolves, all but eliminated from the Lower 48 in the last century, have staged a comeback, with a boost from the reintroduction of the creatures in Yellowstone and central Idaho in the 1990s. At the behest of ranchers and others, the government stripped federal protection from the wolves in early 2008. Earthjustice has challenged the delisting in federal court, arguing that recovery is far from assured and delisting is premature at best.
Yellowstone Grizzlies
Federal Status = Delisted spring 2007
Grizzlies once ranged from the Mississippi to the Pacific, Canada to Mexico. Now, they number in the hundreds. Even so, the government, bowing to the wishes of commercial interests, stripped protection from the group of bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Earthjustice has challenged the delisting in federal court, arguing among other things that global warming puts the grizzly’s future in serious jeopardy.
Delta Smelt
Federal Status = Threatened
Delta smelt are tiny fish that live only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Delta smelt are considered a good measure of the estuary's overall ecological health. Smelt numbers have declined dramatically in recent years. Earthjustice is working to reduce water exports from the delta that undermine the survival and recovery of this native fish.
Photo credit: NOAA
Northern Spotted Owl
Federal Status = Threatened
Northern spotted owls live in mature and old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Their numbers declined dramatically as these forests fell to the industrial chainsaw. For two decades, through dozens of lawsuits, Earthjustice has fought to protect the owl and defend its remaining ancient forest habitat.
Puget Sound Orcas
Federal Status = Endangered
The "southern resident" population of orcas in Puget Sound has declined sharply in recent years due to a combination of threats including a steep decline in Puget Sound salmon stocks, their chief food, and toxic contamination of their food, leading to accumulation of toxins in their own blubber. The government resisted protecting the whales, arguing that there are plenty of killer whales elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Earthjustice sued and gained federal protection for the Puget Sound whales.
Pacific Salmon
Federal Status = Some endangered, some threatened, others not listed
Logging, dams, massive water diversion projects, urban sprawl and other factors have led to a precipitous decline in some salmon stocks in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Earthjustice, which has fought for protection of Pacific salmon for decades and has secured threatened and endangered status for a number of the Pacific populations, is working to realize long-term recovery of salmon stocks throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Steller's and Spectacled Eiders
Federal Status = Both threatened
These eiders are found throughout the western Arctic, but the Alaska populations have declined by up to 90 percent. Earthjustice is working to protect vital breeding and coastal habitat for the eiders and other species on the North Slope around Teshekpuk Lake and other areas from oil and gas activities.
Photo by Steve Zack, Wildlife Conservation Society
Polar Bears
Federal Status = Threatened
After months of delay, the Interior Department moved to list the polar bear, but imposed loopholes that intended to allow oil companies to continue to ravage the bears' habitat; global warming is taking a huge toll as well. Earthjustice is in court to challenge oil development-related activities in the Polar Bears Seas off Alaska's north coast to protect the bears' habitat.
Bowhead Whales
Federal Status = Endangered
Bowheads, native to the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea, were nearly hunted to extinction a century ago by commercial whalers, prized for their oil and baleen. They have been protected for decades, and are an important part of the traditional subsistence way of life of some Alaska Natives. Earthjustice has been active in efforts to protect the northern oceans and their inhabitants, including bowheads, from impacts caused by oil and gas exploration.
Photo credit: Galen Rowell/Mountain Light
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Federal Status = Endangered
The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world, numbering only about 1,300-1,400 individuals, most of which are found in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The species is in grave jeopardy of extinction. In 2000, Earthjustice won an injunction against lobster fishing fleets operating in the monk seal's habitat.
Photo credit: NOAA
Hawaiian Humpback Whales
Federal Status = Endangered
The humpback whale lives in oceans around the world. They were once targeted by whale hunters, and 90% were wiped out before a hunting moratorium was enacted in 1966. Today fishing gear, ships, and noise pollution still threaten the humpback. In 2008, Earthjustice won an injunction against the Navy, forcing it to implement protections for humpbacks and other marine mammals during mid-frequency sonar exercises.
Photo credit: NOAA
Native Hawaiian Plants
Federal Status = Endangered and Threatened
Hawai'i has the most endemic (found only in Hawai'i) plant species in the world. Many of these species are threatened by the harmful effects of development and invasive species. Earthjustice compelled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add more than 200 native Hawaiian plants to the endangered species list and protected more than 400,000 acres of critical plant habitat.
Photo credit: Galen Rowell/Mountain Light
Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
Federal Status = Candidate
The Bonneville is one of a dozen species of cutthroat trout that inhabit rivers throughout the West. All are in trouble. The Bonneville suffers from sedimentation caused by grazing and logging and from water diversions. Earthjustice sued to gain federal protection for the species, lost in district court, appealed, and the Fish and Wildlife Service decided to reconsider. Decision due in October 2008.
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher
Federal Status = Endangered
This small endangered bird is aptly named the "mosquito king," but its diet is disappearing with its habitat in the few places where it still is found, especially along the lower San Pedro River in Arizona. Earthjustice is working to stave off urban growth pressures that may doom the flycatcher.
Huachuca Water Umbel
Federal Status = Endangered
The water umbel thrived in the Southwest in the 19th century when surface water and flooding occurred without interference. Today, with disappearance of most surface flowing streams due to urban growth, the water umbel is found only in a few riparian pockets, especially in the San Pedro River and in Mexico. Earthjustice is working to protect the umbel from development around the San Pedro River.
Photo credit: USFWS
Humpback Chub
Federal Status = Endangered
The endangered humpback chub, once abundant throughout the undammed Colorado River basin, is today found only above Lake Powell and below Glen Canyon Dam. Earthjustice is working with how water is released over the dam so that it doesn't destroy chub habitat.
Photo credit: DOI
California Spotted Owl
Federal Status = Unprotected
Native to California's Sierra Nevada and the Southern Coast ranges, the California spotted owl -- like its more famous cousin the northern spotted owl -- lives only in old growth forests. In 2004 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied ESA listing. Earthjustice won a lawsuit in 2008 that will protect Sierra national forests and owl habitat.
Photo credit: USFWS
Pacific Fisher
Federal Status = Candidate
Only two native populations of Pacific fisher remain today -- one along the California/Oregon border, and one in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. These small populations are at serious risk of extinction due to habitat destruction. Earthjustice won a lawsuit in 2006 that protects the Sequoia National Monument and fisher habitat.
Photo credit: Pacific Biodiversity Institute
Marbled Murrelet
Federal Status = Threatened
The marbled murrelet, a shy robin-sized sea bird, nests on the branches of old-growth trees in the Pacific Northwest and northern California. Logging of this old-growth habitat is a primary cause of its decline. Long in the cross-hairs of the timber industry, Earthjustice sued to win its original protection, to protect its habitat, and, recently, to defeat arguments advanced by the timber industry that these murrelets can go extinct, for there are plenty of them in Canada and Alaska.
Photo credit: USFWS
Red-Legged Frog
Federal Status = Threatened
Due to development, the red-legged frog disappeared from most of its historic range and is now only found in a few streams and wetlands in California. Since listing Earthjustice has worked to ensure the frog has enough protected habitat to recover as a species.
Photo credit: William Flaxington
Gulf Sturgeon
Federal Status = Threatened
The sturgeon once lived in streams that run into the Gulf of Mexico in from Louisiana to Florida. Habitat destruction and overfishing have left it threatened with extinction. Earthjustice stopped the dredging of sturgeon habitat in the Pearl River, litigated to protect the sturgeon from toxic releases from pulp mills, and forced the protection of critical habitat for the sturgeon, which has helped fend off dredging and other projects harming the species.
Bluefin Tuna
Federal Status = Not listed
The bluefin tuna can grow to 1,500 pounds and fetch up to $100,000 in Tokyo fish markets. Populations in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are in steep decline. Earthjustice has filed suit to force a suspension of long-line fishing in the Gulf of Mexico in spawning areas during spawning season.
Photo credit: NOAA
Sea Turtles (Loggerhead, Leatherback, Green, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Kemp's Ridley, Flatback)
Federal Status = Endangered, except for the Loggerhead, which is threatened
The seven species of sea turtles nest on tropical beaches and return to sea for months at a time. Populations have been reduced by the harvest of eggs and of adult turtles for meat and shells, habitat damage, and incidental taking. Earthjustice in Florida has litigated to stop the destruction of nesting beaches and to reduce unintending killing by shrimping operations.
Florida Manatee
Federal Status = Endangered
The Florida manatee or sea cow lives in bayous on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Florida and southeast Georgia. It is listed largely to give it protection from speed boats that often collide with the slow-moving mammals and maim or kill them. Earthjustice has gone to court many times to defend and enforce regulations aimed at rescuing manatee populations.
Alabama Beach Mouse
Federal Status = Endangered
The Alabama beach mouse is found only in coastal dunes on the gulf coast of Alabama. It was listed because of habitat lost to development (condominiums, golf courses, etc.) and tropical storms. Earthjustice has litigated to get critical habitat established for the mouse and to block further degradation of its habitat.
Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Federal Status = Endangered
The red-cockaded woodpecker lives in the Southeast of the United States, and carves nesting cavities in old-growth pine trees. Logging and fire suppression triggered a precipitous drop in the woodpecker population. Earthjustice filed several suits that eventually forced the Forest Service to stop clearcutting in the birds' habitat.
Photo credit: USFWS
Wolverines
Federal Status = Not listed
Wolverines are one of the rarest wilderness species in the continental United States. Currently found only in the Cascades of Washington state and areas of the northern Rockies, their numbers have plunged as a result of trapping and habitat disruption. Conservation groups first petitioned to protect the wolverine in 2000 but in March of 2008 the Fish and Wildlife Service refused to list them.
Photo credit: USFWSSea Turtles (Loggerhead, Leatherback, Green, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Kemp's Ridley, Flatback)
Federal Status = Endangered, except for the Loggerhead, which is threatened
The seven species of sea turtles nest on tropical beaches and return to sea for months at a time. Populations have been reduced by the harvest of eggs and of adult turtles for meat and shells, habitat damage, and incidental taking. Earthjustice in Hawai'i has litigated to reduce or eliminate unintending killing by long-line fishing operations.