USFWS

Throughout the Gulf of Mexico region, plants, animals, birds, fish and mammals are at risk. Over four hundred plant and animal species found in Gulf states are considered either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (134 in Alabama, 112 in Florida, 31 in Louisiana, 42 in Mississippi, and 94 in Texas). These include the Kemps Ridley and green sea turtles, the brown pelican, the Louisiana black bear, sperm whales and the Florida panther. Sadly, the loss of coastal marshes and swamps, over-fishing, and coastal and industrial development threaten the continued health, and even survival, of these species.

The GRN works to ensure that at-risk species are protected by supporting a balance between the needs of at-risk species and the drive for coastal and marine development by:

• Protecting important coastal marshes, swamps, and other wetland habitat;
• Preserving Louisiana’s coastal wetland forests;
• Reducing threats to marine mammals, such as dolphins, manatees, and sperm whales, that call the Gulf home;
• Promoting fisheries management practices that: protects at risk fish species; uses sound science; and limits the unintended take of species.