Partnership Stories
The Endangered Species Program works formally and informally with a large variety of groups and individuals to further species conservation. Partnerships for protecting and recovering endangered and threatened species have been established between the Endangered Species Program and other U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service programs, other federal agencies, state governments, private landowners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and American Indian tribes.
FAIR USE NOTICE - This website may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of the Endangered Species Act and its implementation. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material contained in this document is distributed without profit for educational and research purposes. For more information go to this site. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
- Posted
- 10/15/12
Lower Colorado River Authority Helps Endangered Cactus (2:16)
Partners: Lower Colorado River Authority and Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center
Status: Endangered/ Listed on December 8, 1979
Scientific Name: Ancistrocactus tobuschii
Description: The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center are working to help save the Tobusch fishook cactus—an endangered species found only in Texas.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/26/12
Small-whorled Pogonia: Endangered Orchid on the Edge (7:23)
Partner: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Status: Threatened/ Listed on September 9, 1982
Scientific Name: Isotria medeoloides
Description: Small-whorled pogonia was federally listed as an endangered species in 1982. It was reclassified as a threatened species on October 6, 1994. Although widely distributed, the small-whorled pogonia is rare. It is found in 17 eastern states and Ontario, Canada. Populations are typically small with less than 20 plants. It has been extirpated from Missouri, New York, Vermont, and Maryland, earning it the title "rarest orchid east of the Mississippi."
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/20/12
Andatu and Ratu (01:32)
Partner: International Rhino Foundation
Status: Endangered/ June 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
Description In June 2012, 40 years after the species was listed as endangered, the fourth ever captive birth of a Sumatran rhino occurred in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Lampung, Sumatra. That same month, Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, declared an International Year of the Rhino at the request of IUCN. The hope is that this action will stimulate efforts for the long-term conservation of the Javan and Sumatran rhinos.
Species Profile
Learn More
Learn about the 3rd annual World Rhino Day (September 22, 2012)
- Posted
- 09/18/12
A Century of Conservation (09:27)
Partner: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Status: Threatened/ March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus gilae
Description Though not the main focus of this video, the Gila trout was one of the original species identified under the first list of endangered species.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/13/12
Endangered Whales Seen Off California Coast (02:28)
Partner: National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard
Status: Endangered/ Listed June 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Ballaenoptera musculus
Description Worldwide, Blue Whales are rare and there is no reliable estimate of population numbers. The largest surviving population is off the west coast of the United States of America and consists of approximately 2,000 whales.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/10/12
Black-capped Vireo Nests at Balcones Canyonlands (01:52)
Partner: Texas Parks and Wildlife
Status: Endangered/ Listed October 6, 1987
Scientific Name: Vireo atricapilla
Description The black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla) breeds in a relatively narrow area of the south-central United States and north-central Mexico. It was likely extirpated from Kansas by the 1930's and is now endangered in Oklahoma and much of the northern, eastern, and central portions of its range in Texas.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/10/12
Iowa Endangered Animals (01:16)
Partner: Harrison County Parks, Iowa
Description: Today there are 47 species of animals listed as endangered in Iowa and another 35 that are threatened. The biggest threat to endangered species is habitat loss. (NOTE: Some of the species shown are not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, but are species of conservation concern within the state of Iowa.)
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/29/12
Corps, Partners Place Endangered Mussels in Mississippi River (02:21)
Partners: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, Minnisota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed June 14, 1976
Scientific Name: Higgins eye mussel (Lampsilis higginsii)
Status: Endangered/ Listed June 20, 1991
Scientific Name: winged mapleleaf mussel (Quadrula fragosa)
Description: The district and its partners worked hand-in-hand to place federally endangered mussels along the Mississippi River in Pool 2 Aug. 17.
The team is trying to propel the growth of endangered species in other areas within Minnesota beyond the St. Croix River. The endangered species include the Higgins eye and winged maple leaf mussels. Species Profile (Higgins eye mussel)Learn More Species Profile (Winged mapleleaf mussel)
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/23/12
Tiny Snails Make a Comeback (03:18)
Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Northeast Region, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, State University of New York Environmental Science and Forestry, Seneca Park Zoo, and others
Status: Threatened/ Listed August 2, 1978
Scientific Name: Succinea chittenangoensis
Description: The Chittenango ovate amber snail, an endangered species, is found only at the Chittenango Falls in Cazenovia, New York. Scientists have been working together for the past decade to protect and monitor the little invertebrate's population.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/16/12
Recovering Robust Redhorse (04:19)
Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Southeast Region, Georgia Power, the State of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey and others
Status: Not Listed/ Voluntary Conservation Efforts Precluded Need for Listing
Scientific Name: Moxostoma robustum
Description: The robust redhorse was believed to be extinct for 122 years. This species was first described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1869 and yet the fish remained unknown to scientists until 1991. Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologists discovered several robust redhorse in the Oconee River near Toomsboro, Georgia in August 1991. The efforts of many conservation partners have improved the status of this fish and precluded the need to list the species as endangered or threatened.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 08/10/12
Endangered Burying Beetles Get Wired Up (01:45)
Partner: Saint Louis Zoo and University of Toronto
Status: Endangered/ Listed July 13, 1989
Scientific Name: Nicrophorus americanus
Description Populations of American burying beetles have been extirpated from 90 percent of their original range. Known populations occur in South Dakota, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island. Ohio is trying to reintroduce a population of American burying beetles. A few collections records have been made in Kansas in recent years.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/01/12
Threatened Gopher Tortoise Spotted Laying Eggs in Alabama
Partner: USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service
Status: Threatened/ Listed on July 7, 1987
Scientific Name: Gopherus polyphemus
Description: Gopher tortoises are fairly elusive animals. Marshall Colburn, a Soil Conservation Technician with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), recently had the great fortune of seeing a tortoise laying her eggs in a freshly cultivated field near Mobile, Alabama.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 07/19/12
Trumpeter Swans Soar in Wisconsin (03:16)
Partner: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Status: Not Listed/ Under Review in the Candidate or Petition Process
Scientific Name: Cygnus buccinator
Description The trumpeter swan is a majestic bird, with snowy white feathers; jet-black bill, feet, and legs; and 8-foot wingspan.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 07/11/12
Midway Journey II — Bottle Caps (04:19)
Partner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Refuge System
Description: Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, is one of the world's most spectacular wildlife experiences. Nearly three million birds call it home for much of each year, including the world's largest population of Laysan albatrosses, or "gooney birds." Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, both protected under the Endangered Species Act, frequent Midway's crystal blue lagoon.
However, wildlife on this refuge, and throughout the world's oceans face a substantial threat in the form of plastic debris.
Learn More
Midaway Atoll NWR
- Posted
- 06/21/12
Organizations Join Forces to Protect Tiny turtle (03:36)
Partner: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Status: Threatened/ Listed on November 04, 1997
Scientific Name: Clemmys (Glyptemys) muhlenbergii
Description: At only about 4 inches long, the bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is North America's smallest turtle.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 06/18/12
Red Cockaded Woodpecker: Shared Vision, Shared Success (5:40)
Partner: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Status: Listed on October 13, 1970
Scientific Name: Picoides borealis
Description: The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners to conserve habitat for Red-cockaded woodpeckers. Other priority species identified in the Wildlife Action Plan benefit from these conservation efforts as well. A new video explains how conservation efforts by private landowners in partnership with NCWRC and USFWS are benefiting priority species in North Carolina.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 05/03/12
Research To Help Bats (2:06)
Partner: West Virginia Department of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered (Virginia big-eared bat)/ Listed on December 31, 1979
Scientific Name: Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus
Status: Endangered (Indiana bat)/ Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Myotis sodalis
Description: Several West Virginia caves are important to bats, including two federally endangered species, the Indiana bat and the Virginia big-eared bat. West Virginia has more Virginia big-eared bats than any other state (about half the global population) including the largest known maternity colony and the largest hibernating concentration in the world.
Species Profile (Virginia big-eared bat)
Species Profile (Indiana bat)
- Posted
- 05/02/12
Puerto Rican Parrot (1:28)
Partner: Parrot International
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Amazona vittata
Description: The Puerto Rican parrot is the only native parrot species in Puerto Rico and the only one remaining in the US. As of March 2006 there are 200 parrots counting both captive and wild birds.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 05/01/12
Gray Wolf Recovery in Minnesota (2:34)
Partners: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Status: Delisted Due to Recovery (Western Great Lakes Population)
Scientific Name: Canis lupus
Description: The wolf's range expansion into north central and central Minnesota was due to protection from unregulated killing afforded by the ESA, high deer numbers, and dispersal of individuals from existing packs. Telemetry studies documented wolves dispersing from the major wolf range in northeastern Minnesota to recolonize new areas as well as wolves dispersing from the few packs in north central Minnesota that had survived the "bounty era." Today, wolves live in areas with higher road and human densities than previously believed suitable for wolf survival.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/30/12
Aeolus Bat Cave: White Nose Syndrome Sampling Trip (5:52)
Partners: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Myotis Sodalis
Description: Vermont Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists visit Aeolus Bat Cave, a remote White Nose affected site, to obtain much needed data on the ongoing mortality event.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/27/12
Polar Bear Research on the Chukchi Sea (6:47)
Partner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Alaska Region
Status: Threatened/ Listed on May 15, 2008
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
Description: Polar bears are the largest carnivores and a unique symbol of the Arctic. World wide, polar bear populations remain relatively stable; however, climate change, contamination of the Arctic environment, potential over-harvest, and increasing human development in polar bear habitat pose conservation challenges for polar bears.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/26/12
Rare Animal Research at Camp Shelby, Mississippi (5:35)
Partner: The Nature Conservancy, USDA-Forest Service, Mississippi National Guard, Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks, and others
Description: The Nature Conservancy's Camp Shelby Conservation Program provides information on threatened, endangered and rare species to the Mississippi Army National Guard. In order to do this, staff survey for and study rare species and communities.
Learn More
- Posted
- 04/16/12
Recovering the Mexican Wolf (07:41)
Host: Ann Haas with Patrick Valentino
Status: Endangered/ Listed on January 12, 1998
Scientific Name: Canis lupus
Description: Since 2006, the Mexican Wolf Fund has raised more than $300,000 in grants and donations to help fund on-the-ground solutions with ranchers to continue their traditional lifestyles while helping to retain the wildlife heritage of the Southwest.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 04/09/12
Working to Restore the Newell's Shearwater (09:00)
Host: Ann Haas with Special Agent Keith Swindle
Status: Threatened/ Listed on October 28, 1975
Scientific Name: Puffinus auricularis newelli
Description: Strategically exercising his enforcement authority, Special Agent Keith Swindle has brought legal action to bear on chronic violations of the Endangered Species Act in Hawaii, particularly on behalf of the threatened Newell's shearwater.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 03/23/12
Wolves and Grizzly Bears (25:10)
Partner: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, National Park Service, Natural Resource Defense Council and others
Status: Threatened (Grizzly bear)/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Ursus arctos horribilis
Status: Non-Essential Experimental Populations/proposed for delisting in Wyoming (Gray wolf)/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Canis lupus
Description: This episode of Wyoming Wildlife TV takes an in-depth look at the recovery of these species in Wyoming and the effects they are having on people who live, work, and recreate in bear and wolf country. The show features interviews with bear and wolf experts from various agencies and organizations, as well as outfitters, hunters, ranchers, conservationists, and businesspeople who deal with bears and wolves on a regular basis.
Species Profile (Grizzly bear)
Learn More
Species Profile (Gray wolf)
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/19/12
George & Tex (11:26)
Partner: International Crane Foundation
Status Endangered: Threatened/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Grus americana
Description: Dr. George Archibald, Co-founder of the International Crane Foundation headquartered in Baraboo, Wisconsin, tells the story of his efforts to save the endangered Whooping Crane from the brink of extinction.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/12
NASA | What Doesn't Stay in Vegas? Sprawl. (12:31)
Partner: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey
Status: Non-species video
Description: This video portrays on a year-by-year basis the growth of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Though a departure from the videos that we normally share, this video provides a dramatic visual of the scale of impact that development can have on native habitat. The loss of habitat is one of the most frequently cited causes of species endangerment.
- Posted
- 03/09/12
A History of Black-Footed Ferrets (12:31)
Partners: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Mustella nigripes
Description: This video chronicles the rediscovery of black-footed ferrets in Wyoming 30 years ago. At that time, black-footed ferrets were thought to be extinct. The rediscovery set in motion one of the most successful conservation efforts in history.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/09/12
A History of Black-Footed Ferrets (4:42)
Partners: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Mustella nigripes
Description: Thought to be extinct only a few decades ago, a small colony of black-footed ferrets was discovered near Meeteetse, Wyoming, in 1981. This video details the history of this species in North America and the exciting discovery that has led to their comeback.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/07/12
Florida's Coastal Treasures: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore (6:04)
Partners: National Aeronatics and Space Administration, National Park Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and others
Status (Florida scrub-jay): Threatened/ Listed on June 3, 1987
Scientific Name: Aphelocoma coerulescens
Description: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 as an overlay of the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Consisting of 140,000 acres, the Refuge provides a wide variety of habitats: coastal dunes, saltwater estuaries and marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals including the federally threatened Florida scrub-jay.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/02/12
Mission Blue Butterfly: An Endangered Species Fighting for Survival (5:19)
Partners: The Natural Laboratory (Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center) and Bay Area National Parks
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 8, 1976
Scientific Name: Icaricia icarioides missionensis
Description: Butterfly experts discuss the plight of the mission blue butterfly, the challenges to its survival, and some ways that you can help.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/02/12
Fire and Butterflies (5:01)
Partners: U.S. Geological Survey, San Francisco Bay Area National Parks and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 8, 1976
Scientific Name: Icaricia icarioides missionensis
Description: The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is teaming up with its partners to study how fire may promote the growth of silver leaf lupin, a native flower that serves as host to the endangered mission blue butterfly.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 02/22/12
Biologists Monitor Crocodiles at Nuclear Plant (2:01)
Partner: Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station
Status: Threatened/ Listed on September 25, 1975
Scientific Name: Crocodylus acutus
Description: The American crocodile is often confused with its more numerous cousin, the alligator. Alligators are dark colored, have broad, rounded snouts and are found throughout the deep South. Crocodiles are gray in color, have narrow tapered snouts and, because they are less tolerant of cold, their only habitat In the United States is in South Florida.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 02/14/12
The Unsolved Puzzle of White Nose Syndrome (4:06)
Partners: University of Tennessee (Knoxville)
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Myotis sodalis
Description: In a race against time, researchers at the University of Tennessee are working to save America's bats, including the endangered Indiana bat, from possible extinction.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/27/11
Habitat Restoration for Kangagoo Rats (1:29)
Partner: San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy
Status: Endangered/ Listed on September 30, 1988
Scientific Name: Dipodomys stephensi
Description: The San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy is planting 10,000 native grass seedlings to aid in the recovery of endangered Stephens' kangaroo rats. The translocation of 150 kangaroo rats in 2011 has been successful, already doubling the population of this 4-inch-long rodent.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/24/11
The Clinch River: America's Crown Jewel (3:56)
Partners: Nature Conservancy
Description: Where is the country's most diverse river of life? Check out The Nature Conservancy's video on the Clinch River in southwest Virginia—home to our nation's most diverse mussel and fish species.
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/20/11
"Back from the Brink" (1:35)
Partners: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Description: Wisconsin's law to safeguard rare wildlife, plants and their habitat turns 40 in 2012 and there's a lot to celebrate. See some of the species that Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and partners have helped bring back from the brink of extinction.
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/17/12
University of Maine Students Conduct Endangered Sturgeon Research in the Penobscot River (2:32)
Partners: University of Maine, NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Acipenser brevirostrum
Description: The reasons for this species' endangered status are many. All stem from its vulnerability to habitat changes during is its life cycle. It breeds slowly, lives long, and has specific habitat requirements for different parts of its life.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/11/12
Searching for the Spruce-Fir Moss Spider in the Smoky Mountains (1:44)
Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on February 6, 1995
Scientific Name: Microhexura montivaga
Description: The spruce-fir moss spider is one of the smallest members of the primitive suborder of spiders popularly referred to as "tarantulas." The spruce-fir moss spider only lives on the highest mountain peaks in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 1/6/12
World's First Captive Hellbender Breeding (06:48)
Host: Sarah Leon with Jeff Ettling
Status: Endangered/ Listed on October 7, 2011
Scientific Name: Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi
Description: In November 2011, the Saint Louis Zoo's Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation and the Missouri Department of Conservation announced that Ozark hellbenders have been bred in captivity—a first for this federally endangered species. This decade-long collaboration has yielded 165 baby hellbenders to date.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 01/3/12
Mussel Species Sampling Before Restoring Flow to the Coosa River (2:31)
Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 17, 1993
Scientific Name: Pleurobema decisum (Southern clubshell)
Description: Habitat modification, sedimentation, and water quality degradation represent the major threats to this species. These freshwater mussels do not tolerate impoundments. More than 1,000 mi (1,609 km) of large and small river habitat in the Mobile River drainage has been impounded for navigation, flood control, water supply, and/or hydro-electric production purposes. Impoundments adversely affect riverine mussels by (1) killing them during construction and dredging, (2) suffocating them with accumulated sediments, (3) lowering food and oxygen availability by reducing water flow, and (4) locally extirpating host fish.
Species Profile
Learn More (ArKive site)
- Posted
- 12/29/11
Saving the Virgin Islands Tree Boa (1:01)
Partner: U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife
Status: Endangered/ Listed on October 13, 1970
Scientific Name: Epicrates monensis granti
Description: The Virgin Islands tree boa is found only in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A non-venomous snake, it can grow to about four feet in length.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 12/20/11
Gila Trout Stocked into Willow Creek (3:56)
Partners: State of New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, U.S. Forest Service
Status: Threatened/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus gilae
Description: By the time the Gila trout was scientifically described in 1950, its distribution had been dramatically reduced to as few as 20 stream miles and a population of less than 8,000 individuals. Ongoing captive propagation and reintroduction efforts, aimed not only at increasing population numbers but also at preserving and replicating genetic lineages. In 2005, the USFWS stated their belief that the viability of the Gila trout was sufficiently protected and proposed downlisting the Gila tout to threatened. The proposed rule to downlist also proposes a special rule that will allow for some recreational fishing of the species.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 12/16/11
Panther Project: How We Collar a Florida Panther (3:58)
Partners: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Panther Project Team
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Puma concolor coryi
Description: Florida panthers once roamed throughout the entire Southeast from east Texas to the Atlantic and north to parts of Tennessee. Overhunting, loss of habitat, and reduction of their primary prey reduced their population to a remnant living on the southern tip of Florida.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 12/14/11
The Hunt for the Tiger Slayers (5:58)
Partners: Wildlife Conservation Society, Government of Thailand, Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Save the Tiger Fund, Natural History New Zealand, and WCS Indonesia Program
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Panthera tigris
Description: Wild tigers, once abundant throughout Asia, now live in small fragmented groups, mostly in protected forests, refuges, national parks and their corridors. Experts estimate that more than 500 tigers are killed each year.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 12/09/11
The Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (9:18)
Partners: Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Campephilus principalis
Description: The Ivory-billed Woodpecker, considered to be extinct by many birders, was rediscovered on Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. The discovery is the result of a collaborative effort by The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, working together with Cornell Lab of Ornithology as the primary researcher to determine if the Ivory-billed Woodpecker exists in the bottomland hardwood habitat of the White and Cache River basins. Since the discovery, searchers have explored a variety of locations in other states to find the Ivory-bill. They include Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 11/28/11
2011 Ferret Release: Connecting Youth to Conservation (2:00)
Partners: In Canada: Government of Canada, Parks Canada, Environment Canada, Prairie Learning Centre, City of Swift Creek, the Chinook School Division, Toronto Zoo, Calgary Zoo, the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation (PFRA) – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatchewan Environment, private stakeholders, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the World Wildlife Fund's U.S. Northern Great Plains Program
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Mustela nigripes
Description: After the ferrets are released into Grasslands National Park and prairie dog towns, the ferrets are expected to disperse within their habitat. The population will require intense monitoring until the effects of ferrets on their ecosystem, and their survival rates can be understood. Monitoring will also be conducted to ensure that other species at risk populations are not adversely affected. Recovery of species at risk is a long-term commitment and will require multiple releases and monitoring efforts to ensure the greatest chance of success.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 11/17/11
Clakamas River Bull Trout Monitoring and Evaluation (4:37)
Partners: Oregon Depaartment of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and others
Status: Threatened/ Listed on June 10, 1998
Scientific Name: Salvelinus confluentus
Description: In the past, bull trout were abundant and widely distributed in the Willamette Basin, including the Clackamas River. They were a historical component of the river's native fish assemblage that evolved over thousands of years. Currently, bull trout are extirpated from the Clackamas River Subbasin; there have been no documented sightings of bull trout in the Clackamas River since 1963. The bull trout was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1998. Efforts to recover the species are underway, including restoring the species to areas from which it has been lost.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 11/16/11
Kirtland's Warbler Tour (3:00)
Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Midwest Region, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Dendroica kirtlandii
Description: The Kirtland's warbler, an endangered species, is a songbird that nests in young jack pine stands. Until 1995 Kirtland's warblers had only been known to nest in the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Today, they also nest in the Upper Peninsula, and since 2007, have nested in Wisconsin and Canada. They migrate from their nesting grounds to the southeastern coast of the United States on their way to wintering grounds in the Bahamas. The male Kirtland's warblers' summer plumage is composed of a distinctive bright yellow colored breast streaked in black and bluish gray back feathers, a dark mask over its face with white eye rings, and bobbing tail. The female's plumage coloration is less bright; her facial area is devoid of a mask. Overall length of the bird is less than six inches.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 11/03/11
Partnering to Conserve Virginia's Coast (4:06)
Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Northeast Region, Bavon Beach Homeowners Association, Mathews County, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and several interested corporate partners
Status: Threatened/ Listed on August 7, 1990
Scientific Name: Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis
Description: A peaceful beach on the serene coast of Virginia holds a rich history as home to generations of families and abundant wildlife. But as Mother Nature changes the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the homeowners on this beach have struggled to protect their narrowing strips of sand. Here at Bavon Beach, the northeastern beach tiger beetle, a federally threatened insect, has become the root to the solution to save this shore.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/27/11
Santa Clara Pueblo Rio Grande Cutthroat Restoration (10:25)
Host: Sarah Leon with Chris Kitcheyan, Josheph Chavarria, and Gilbert Gutierrez
For over a decade Santa Clara Pueblo has worked to restore the Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki virginalis) to the headwaters of Santa Clara Creek in northern New Mexico. While the pueblo has faced a number of obstacles over the years that have threatened to scuttle this work, it has continued to move forward with efforts to conserve this rare fish so that it can endure into the future.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 10/27/11
Saving the Tree Cactus (2:52)
Partners: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and private landowners
Status: Endangered/ Listed on July 17, 1984
Scientific Name: Pilosocereus robinii
Description: Plosocereus robinii is a large, tree-like cactus known in the U.S. only from the Florida Keys. The Key tree-cactus produces large white flowers and a purplish-red fruit. It is a member of the rare and declining tropical hammock communities on Upper and Lower Matecumbe, and Long and Big Pine keys. Populations formerly found on Key West and Windley and Boca Chica keys are believed to be extirpated. As early as 1917, this cactus was on the edge of being extinct as a result of habitat destruction. The Key tree-cactus Grants as listed as endangered because of severe population declines caused by destruction of its habitat for commercial and residential development.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/21/11
Arizona Ocelot (8:38)
Partner: Arizona Game and Fish Department, Beatty's Guest Ranch
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 28, 1972
Scientific Name: Lepardus pardalis
Description: In February 2011 an ocelot was photographed in the Huachuca Mountains of southern Arizona. It was only the 3rd confirmed ocelot sighting in Arizona in the last 50 years. Over the last century, the U.S. population of the ocelot has been dramatically reduced. Restoring and protecting existing habitat is crucial because as an ocelot begins to mature it must leave its parents and go out in search of its own territory.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/18/11
Going Batty (2:34)
Partner: Indiana State University
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Myotis sodalis
Description: The Indiana bat spends summer months living throughout the eastern United States. During winter, they cluster together and hibernate in only a few caves. Over the last 25 years, the population of Indiana bats has declined by about 50 percent.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/13/11
Cumberland Sandwort - Cincinnati Zoo (1:37)
Partners: Cincinnati Zoo and U.S. Forest Service
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 23, 1988
Scientific Name: Arenaria cumberlandensis
Description: Cumberland sandwort is only known from a limited portion of the Cumberland Plateau in north-central Tennessee and adjacent Kentucky. It is restricted to shady, moist rockhouse floors, overhanging ledges, and solution pockets in sandstone rock faces. This species occurs where the correct combination of shade, high moisture, cool temperatures, and high humidity provides appropriate habitat conditions.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/12/11
Bastrop Fire Creates Uncertainty for Houston Toad (05:32)
Host: Sarah Leon with Paige Najvar
Status: Endangered/ Listed on October 13, 1970
Scientific Name: Bufo houstonensis
Description: The Bastrop Fire dealt a horrible blow to the federally endangered Houston toad this summer, when it swept through eastern Texas and destroyed a significant portion of the toads last remaining habitat. Learn what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Houston Zoo, and Texas Parks and Wildlife are doing to prevent the extinction of this rare amphibian.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 10/12/11
Borah High and Sage Grouse (5:07)
Partners: State of Idaho, Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission, Bureau of Land Management and private landowners
Status: Candidate/ Conservation to preclude ESA listing
Scientific Name: Centrocercus urophasianus
Description: Greater sage-grouse are the largest grouse in North America. Males often weigh in excess of 4-5 pounds and hens weigh in at 2-3 pounds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that proposing the species for protection is precluded by the need to take action on other species facing more immediate and severe extinction threats.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 10/06/11
Devils Hole Pupfish (3:15)
Partners: National Park Service, State of Nevada
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Cyprinodon diabolis
Description: This iridescent blue inch-long fish's only natural habitat is in the 93 degree waters of Devils Hole, located within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nye County, Nevada.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/29/11
Restoring Habitiat, Recovering the Nene (1:43)
Partners: The Hakalau Forest NWR and Refuge Friends Group, State of Hawaii
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Branta sandvincencis
Description: The Nene, also known as the Hawaiian goose, is found only in the Hawaiian islands. They are one of the eight endangered native bird species benefiting from habitat restoration efforts being undertaken by the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge.
Species ProfileLearn More
- Posted
- 09/29/11
Using Satellites to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale (2:24)
Partner: University of Maine
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Eubalaena glacialis
Description: The North Atlantic right whale was once widely distributed in the Atlantic, but the population was dramatically reduced as a result of whaling. Despite complete protection of this species since 1935, well before the protections afforded by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the species has not yet recovered.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/26/11
Thick-Billed Parrot (3:05)
Partner: Zoo America
Status: Endangered/ June 2, 1970
Scientific Name: Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha
Description: Once common in parts of Arizona, the remaining thick-billed parrot populations are found only in Mexico. The species is now the focus of a zoo-based Species Survival Plan.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/21/11
Black-Footed Ferret vs. Prairie Dog
Partners: Federal, State, Tribal and local governments, Prairie Wildlife Research and Clemson University.
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Mustella nigripes
Description: Award winning footage with Travis Livieri from Prairie Wildlife Research and Patrick McMillan from Clemson University. Expeditions brings you the first ever broadcast footage of a Black-footed ferret interacting with a prairie dog in daylight.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/20/11
Public Gets Rare Look at Endangered Plants
Partners: Federal, State, and local governments, U.S. Botanic Garden, Center for Plant Conservation and National Tropical Botanical Garden
Status: Endangered/ Listed on February 25, 1994
Scientific Name: Brighamia insignis
Description: Brighamia insignis is an endangered plant that is endemic to sea cliffs on the NaPali Coast and Ha'upu Ridge on the island of Kauai. Overgrazing, human development, and competition from invasive weeds have reduced this species to only twenty individuals in four naturally occurring populations. The extinction of its pollinator, a sphingid moth, has made it all but impossible for Brighamia insignis to reproduce. Plant conservationists go to great lengths–rappelling over steep cliff edges–to exchange pollen among plants and to collect seeds that can be grown and stored in botanical gardens and seed banks.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/16/11
Searching for Purple Bean Mussels and Alabama Lampmussels (2:26)
Partners: Nature Conservancy and Tennessee Natural Resource Agency
Status (purple bean): Endangered/ Listed on January 10, 1997
Scientific Name: Villosa perpurpurea
Description: The purple bean mussel has declined throughout its range as a result of the habitat altering effects of reservoir construction, coal mining, poor land-use practices, and non-point pollution. These are still the primary threats to its survival. The populations that remain are very vulnerable to stochastic, or random, events such as chemical spills.
Species Profile
Learn More
Status (Alabama lampmussel): Endangered/ Listed on June 16, 1967
Scientific Name: Lampsilis virescens
Description: Until the recent discovery of one individual in the Emory River, the Alabama lampmussel – an extremely rare freshwater mussel species – was thought to have been extirpated from Tennessee.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/14/11
Conserving the Missouri River Dinosaur and an Eyeless Ghost Fish (06:45)
Host: Sarah Leon with David Hendrix, Neosho National Fish Hatchery
Neosho National Fish Hatchery is the oldest operating federal fish hatchery in the U.S. Over 130 species of cold, cool, and warm water fish have been produced at the hatchery since it was established in 1888. Today, pallid sturgeon recovery is a major focus for hatchery staff, who also work to protect the endangered Ozark cavefish in one of the springs that supplies the hatcher with water.
Learn More
Neosho NFH Blog
- Posted
- 09/13/11
Helping the Endangered Interior Least Tern (2:00)
Partner: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Status: Endangered/ Listed on May 28, 1985
Scientific Name: Sterna antillarum
Description: Dams, reservoirs, and other changes to river systems have eliminated most historic least tern habitat. The wide channels dotted with sandbars that are preferred by the terns have been replaced by narrow forested river corridors.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/09/11
Efforts to Save the Endangered Baker's Larkspur (3:31)
Partner: University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
Status: Endangered/ Listed on January 26, 2000
Scientific Name: Delphinium bakeri
Description: Part of the mission of the Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley is to collaborate with state and federal agencies to preserve endangered plant species. Curator Holly Forbes describes how they do this, and visits an area in West Marin County where they have been helping preserve the federally endangered Baker's larkspur.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 09/06/11
Salt Creek Tiger Beetles (6:35)
Partners: Federal, State, and local governments, non-governmental organizations and private landowners
Status: Endangered/ Listed on October 06, 2005
Scientific Name: Cicindela nevadica lincolniana
Description: The Salt Creek tiger beetle is a critically endangered subspecies of tiger beetle endemic to the saline wetlands of northern Lancaster County, Nebraska, adjacent to and immediately to the north of the city of Lincoln. It is a predatory insect, using its mandibles to catch other insects. The beetle is one of the rarest insects in North America.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/31/11
Desert Tortoise (3:44)
Partners: Federal, State, and local governments, non-governmental organizations and private landowners
Status: Threatened/ Listed on August 20, 1980
Scientific Name: Gopherus agassizii
Description: The desert tortoise is found throughout the Mojave Desert of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Mexico. Desert tortoises have survived in the desert for millions of years, however today they face many hurdles.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/25/11
Plants Back from the Brink (4:21)
Partner: International Conservation - Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, England
Description: The Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is responsible for the world's largest collection of living plants. The organisation employs more than 650 scientists and other staff. The living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over seven million preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants.
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/18/11
Restoring the Northern Riffleshell (2:09)
Partner: Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Status: Endangered/ Listed on January 22, 1993
Scientific Name: Epioblasma torulosa rangiana
Description: Endangered throughout its range, the surviving Pennsylvania populations are some of the best remaining in the world. Water pollution, dam construction and dredging are the major causes for its decline, but other threats include stream sedimentation, channelization and reduced host fish populations. The Epioblasma mussles are some of the most environmentally sensitive species in North America.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/10/11
Pallid Sturgeon (08:14)
Host: Sarah Leon with Rob Holm, Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery
Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery was originally established in 1957 to provide fish for recreational fishing. With many native fish species now struggling with changes in Missouri aquatic ecosystems, the hatchery's role has since changed to include maintaining migratory fishes, such as the paddlefish, and restoring endangered species, such as the pallid sturgeon.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/04/11
Mussels Abroad: An Exchange from America to China (3:39)
Partners: Freshwater Research Center in China, Virginia Tech, Virginia Department of Inland Game and Fisheries, Nature Conservancy, and others
Description: Hear Jess Jones, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, talk about his upcoming trip to the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center in Wuxi, China–a world leader in producing cultured pearls with freshwater mussels.
Learn More
- Posted
- 08/01/11
Longleaf Pine Forest (4:37)
Partner: Nature Conservancy
Description: Longleaf pine forests once dominated the United States southern landscape from southeast Virginia to eastern Texas. But after decades of logging and fire suppression, restoring these towering conifers, and the rare species they sustain, could prove to be a tall order. The Nature Conservancy is working across the Southeast to conserve remaining longleaf-pine forests and restore degraded ones.
Learn More
- Posted
- 07/20/11
Students Help New England Rabbits (3:41)
Partner: Chariho High School in Rhode Island, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/ Northeast Region
Status: Candidate/ Conservation to preclude ESA listing
Scientific Name: Sylvilagus transitionalis
Description: Some find it hard to believe that a rabbitemblematic for prolific breeding could be at risk. But New England's only native rabbit, the New England cottontail, faces threats that have reduced its range by 86 percent since the mid-20th century.
Species Profile
Learn more
Listen to a recent interview
- Posted
- 07/12/11
Preserving Endangered Species in the Everglades (1:22)
Partners: United States Army Corps of Engineers and State of Florida
Description: The Florida Everglades is one of the nation's most unique ecosystems—and its inhabitants are very dependent on each other as well as the environment.
Learn More
- Posted
- 06/29/11
Mussels of the Ozarks (7:04)
Partners: Southwest Missouri State University, Missouri Department of Conservtion, Mr. James Koepke (Private Landowner) and others.
Description: General overview of freshwater mussel conservation in Missouri. Details the unique reproductive strategies of mussels and innovative land management practices that not only help recover endangered mussel species, but freshwater aquatic ecosystems overall.
Learn More
- Posted
- 06/23/11
Surveying for the American Burying Beetle (1:17)
Partner: Saint Louis Zoo
Status: Endangered/ Listed July 13, 1989
Scientific Name: Nicrophorus americanus
Description: About an inch and a half long, the American burying beetle can be identified by its striking, distinctive coloring. The body is shiny black, and on its wing covers are four scalloped, orange-red markings. Most distinctively, there is an orange-red marking on the beetle's pronotum, a large shield-like area just behind the head. The American burying beetle has orange facial markings and orange tips on the antennae. The beetles are strong fliers, moving as far as a kilometer in one night.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 06/20/11
Inside the National Zoo's Hormone Lab (Giant Panda Pregnancy Watch) (4:18)
Partner: Smithsonian Institution/National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
Status: Endangered/ Listed on January 23, 1984
Scientific Name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Description: Giant pandas are among the rarest mammals in the world. It is estimated that only 1,000 remain in the wild.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 06/15/11
Working for Plovers (12:45)
Partners: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and others.
Status: Threatened/ Listed on March 5, 1993
Scientific Name: Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus
Description: The western snowy plover is a small shorebird distinguished from other plovers (family Charadriidae) by its small size, pale brown upper parts, dark patches on either side of the upper breast, and dark gray to blackish legs. Snowy plovers weigh between 1.2 and 2 ounces. They are about 5.9 to 6.6 inches long. Historic records indicate that western snowy plovers nested in at least 29 locations on the Oregon coast. Currently, only eight locations in Oregon support nesting western snowy plovers, a 72 percent reduction in active breeding locations.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 06/08/11
Endangered Tigers Confirmed in Eastern Thailand (02:11)
Partner: Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 02, 1970
Scientific Name: Panthera tigris
Description: Tigers are territorial and generally solitary animals requiring large areas of habitat that support their prey needs. Their range includes some of the more densely populated places on earth, and this has caused significant conflicts with humans. Three of the nine subspecies of modern tiger have gone extinct, and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes of imperilment are habitat destruction and poaching.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 06/07/11
Restoring the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem (06:33)
Host: Sarah Leon with Eric Palola and EJ Williams
The longleaf pine forest once stretched across more than 90 million acres from southern Virginia to Florida, and as far west as Texas. Today only pockets of the vast forest are left, totaling less than four percent of its historic range. A number of federally listed species call this threatened ecosystem home, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, the bog turtle, and the eastern indigo snake.
- Posted
- 06/06/11
Big-River Fish Recovery (06:22)
Host: Sarah Leon with Angela Kantola
The Upper Colorado River Basin is home to 14 native fish species, including the endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha), bonytail (Gila elegans), Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus). These federally endangered fish are found only in the Colorado River system. The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is a multi-agency partnership to recover these four big-river fish while water use and development continues to meet human needs in compliance with interstate compacts and applicable federal and state laws.
Learn More
- Posted
- 05/31/11
Canada Lynx Study (07:02)
Partner: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Status: Threatened/ Listed on March 24, 2000
Scientific Name: Lynx canadensis
Description: The lynx is a medium-sized cat with long legs, large, well-furred paws, long tufts on the ears, and a short, black-tipped tail. Nocturnal, solitary, and stealhthy, these cats are rarely seen by humans. Canada lynx eat mice, squirrels, and birds, but prefer the snowshoe hare as their primary prey species. The eyesight of the Canada lynx is so strong that an individual is able to spot a mouse as far as 250 feet (75 meters) away.
Species Profile
Learn more
Listen to a recent interview
- Posted
- 05/25/11
Gopher Tortoise (02:05)
Partner: United States Army, Fort Gordon, Georgia
Status: Threatened/ Listed on July 7, 1987
Scientific Name: Gopherus polyphemus
Description: The gopher tortoise is a keystone species within its environment with over 100 species of animals found living in their burrows. Species that share tortoise burrows include protected species such as the Eastern indigo snake and Florida scrub-jay. Other, more common species include raccoons, burrowing owls, armadillos, and skunks. Gopher tortoise burrows benefit these animals in the same way that they benefit the gopher tortoise. They offer an environment of relatively constant temperature and humidity, protection from predators, and safety during fires.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 05/20/11
Whooping Crane (04:35)
Host: Sarah Leon with Dan Alonso, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 03, 1967
Scientific Name: Grus americana
Description: Even though a record-breaking 281 whooping cranes wintered this past season at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Texas, climate change is a major concern for the charismatic endangered species.
Species Profile
- Posted
- 05/19/11
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (08:50)
Partner: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on October 13, 1970
Scientific Name: Picoides borealis
Description: The red-cockaded woodpecker plays a vital role in the intricate web of life of the southern pine forests. Red-cockaded woodpeckers are 'primary' cavity nesters, meaning they are responsible for the construction of cavities. In the southern pine ecosystem there are many 'secondary' cavity users that benefit from the RCWs work. RCWs are considered a "keystone" species because use of their cavities by these animals contributes to the species richness of the pine forest.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 05/17/11
Ozark Hellbender (00:32)
Partner: Missouri Department of Conservation
Status: Proposed Endangered
Scientific Name: Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi
Description: The Ozark hellbender is a strictly aquatic amphibian found in Ozark streams of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. This subspecies of hellbender has been proposed as endangered because a rapid decline in numbers and range have left only small, isolated populations.
Species Profile
Learn more
Listen to a recent interview
- Posted
- 05/13/11
Oregon Spotted Frog Release (01:31)
Partners: Oregon Zoo, Northwest Trek, Woodland Park Zoo, Clear Creek Correctional Facility and Fort Lewis (Army)
Status: Candidate/ Conservation to preclude ESA listing
Scientific Name: Rana pretiosa
Description: The Oregon spotted frog has been lost from at least 78 percent of its former range. Precise historic data is lacking, but this species has been documented in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. It is believed to have been extirpated (locally extinct but exists elsewhere) from California. It is currently known to occur from extreme southwestern British Columbia, south through the eastern side of the Puget/Willamette Valley Trough and the Columbia River Gorge in south-central Washington, to the Cascades Range, to at least the Klamath Valley in Oregon.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 05/10/11
The Conservation of Swamp Pink in New Jersey (06:00)
Partner: Camden County College
Status: Threatened/ Listed on September 9, 1988
Scientific Name: Hellonius bullata
Description: A perennial member of the lily family, swamp pink has smooth, oblong, dark green leaves that form an evergreen rosette. In spring, some rosettes produce a flowering stalk that can grow over 3 feet tall. The stalk is topped by a 1 to 3-inch-long cluster of 30 to 50 small, fragrant, pink flowers dotted with pale blue anthers. The evergreen leaves of swamp pink can be seen year round, and flowering occurs between March and May.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 05/02/11
Ocelot Survival (07:43)
Partner: Texas Parks and Wildlife
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 28, 1972
Scientific Name: Lepardus pardalis
Description: The ocelot once ranged throughout Texas, and could even be found in Arizona, Louisiana, and Arkansas. However, over the last century, the U.S. population has been dramatically reduced. Restoring and protecting existing habitat is crucial because as an ocelot begins to mature it must leave its parents and go out in search of its own territory.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 04/20/11
Hawaiian Bird Conservation (02:63)
Partner: San Diego Zoo
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Loxioides bailleui
Description: Update by the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research on their efforts to recover the endangered palila.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 04/18/11
N.C. Zoo and the Red Wolf Reintroduction Program (01:59)
Partner: North Carolina Zoo
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Canus rufus
Description: This video presents an overview of the North Carolina Zoo's work in support of the red wolf recovery program in Northeastern North Carolina.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 04/11/11
Massasauga Rattlesnake Research (05:39)
Partner: Missouri Department of Conservation
Status: Candidate/ Conservation to preclude ESA listing
Scientific Name: Sistrurus catenatus catenatus
Description: The Eastern Massasauga is a small venomous rattlesnake found in the northeastern United States. Populations of this snake have declined to the point where it is now necessary to work to conserve it to prevent further declines and potential extinction in the future. Adults of this species are about two feet in length.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 04/05/11
Getting Across: Aquatic Organisms and Road-Stream Crossings (05:29)
Partners: U.S. Forest Service and Federal Highway Administration
Description: Many culverts act as dams, or have water depths and flow velocities that otherwise block the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms. Not only does the health and diversity of the watershed depend on free passage upstream and downstream, but the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act both mandate free passage for aquatic species. This video explains why and how fixing culverts at road-stream crossings will restore habitats.
Learn more
- Posted
- 04/04/11
Critical Habitat for Bull Trout: Road to Recovery (03:47)
Partner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Status: Threatened/ Listed on June 10, 1998
Scientific Name: Salvelinus confluentus
Description: Bull trout are members of the family Salmonidae and are char native Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Montana and western Canada. Compared to other salmonids, bull trout have more specific habitat requirements that appear to influence their distribution and abundance. They need cold water to survive, so they are seldom found in waters where temperatures exceed 59 to 64 degrees (F). Learn about bull trout conservation and habitat needs and see amazing underwater footage.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 03/29/11
Eastern Indigo Snake (03:00)
Partner: Zoo America
Status: Threatened/ Listed on March 3, 1978
Scientific Name: Drymarchon corais couperi
Description: The eastern indigo snake is the largest nonvenomous snake found in the United States. The species was listed as threatened as a result of dramatic population declines caused by over-collecting for the domestic and international pet trade as well as mortalities caused by rattlesnake collectors who gassed gopher tortoise burrows to collect snakes.
Species Profile
Learn more
- Posted
- 03/24/11
Mysterious Marbled Murrlett (05:31)
Partner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Pacific Region
Status: Threatened/ Listed on October 1, 1992
Scientific Name: Brachyrhamphus marmoratus
Description: The marbled murrelet is a small Pacific seabird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in California, Oregon and Washington. Rarely seen by humans, they spend the majority of their lives at sea. For years, ornithologists did not know where this mysterious bird nested. It wasn't until 1974 that the first marbled murrelet nest was discovered in North America.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Endangered Mussels (06:01)
Partner: Kentucky Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Resources
Description: A video about the efforts of the Kentucky Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Resources to recover the State's freshwater mussel species.
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Kirtland's Warbler (02:49)
Partner: Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Dendroica kirtlandii
Description: The Kirtland's warbler, an endangered species, is a songbird that nests in young jack pine stands. Until 1995 warblers had only been known to nest in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula. Today, they also nest in the Upper Peninsula, and since 2007, have nested in Wisconsin and Canada.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Endangered Mussels Released into the Clinch River (02:37)
Partners: Virginia Department of Inland Game and Fisheries, Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center at Virginia Tech
Description: A video about the largest release of endangered freshwater mussels in the eastern United States.
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Montana Grizzly Bear DNA Part II (01:35)
Partner: Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks
Status: Threatened/ Listed on March 11, 1975
Scientific Name: Ursus arctos horribilus
Description: Grizzly bears are generally larger and more heavily built than other bears. Grizzly bears can be distinguished from black bears, which also occur in the lower 48 States by longer curved claws, humped shoulders, and a face that appears to be concave. A wide range of coloration from light brown to nearly black is common. Spring shedding, new growth, nutrition, and coat conditions all affect coloration. Guard hairs are often pale in color at the tips; hence the name "grizzly." In the lower 48 States, the average weight of grizzly bears is generally 400 to 600 pounds for males and 250 to 350 pounds for females. Grizzly bears are long lived mammals and generally live to be around 25 years old.
Species Profile
Learn More
Featured Species
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Montana Grizzly Bear DNA Part I (01:39)
Partner: Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks
Status: Threatened/ Listed on March 11, 1975
Scientific Name: Ursus arctos horribilus
Description: Grizzly bears are generally larger and more heavily built than other bears. Grizzly bears can be distinguished from black bears, which also occur in the lower 48 States by longer curved claws, humped shoulders, and a face that appears to be concave. A wide range of coloration from light brown to nearly black is common. Spring shedding, new growth, nutrition, and coat conditions all affect coloration. Guard hairs are often pale in color at the tips; hence the name "grizzly." In the lower 48 States, the average weight of grizzly bears is generally 400 to 600 pounds for males and 250 to 350 pounds for females. Grizzly bears are long lived mammals and generally live to be around 25 years old.
Species Profile
Learn More
Featured Species
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Stream Restoration to Save Coldwater Darters (02:39)
Partners: Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Conasaugua River Alliance
Description: This video describes the importance of habitat conservation and restoration for aquatic species.
View This Video- Posted
- 03/14/11
Karner Blue Butterfly (04:31)
Partner: Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin
Status: Endangered/ Listed on December 19, 1992
Scientific Name: Lycaeides melissa samuelis
Description: The Karner blue butterfly was first described more than a century ago in Karner, New York. It is a small butterfly, with a wingspan of about one inch.
Species Profile
Learn More
Featured Species
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Wyoming Toad (01:12)
Partners: University of Wyoming, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/ Mountain Prairie Region
Status: Endangered/ Listed on January 17, 1984
Scientific Name: Bufo baxteri
Description: The Wyoming toad was a common sight on areas of the Laramie Plains, Albany County, Wyoming, into the early 1970s but the populations crashed in the middle 1970s.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/11
New England Cottontail (03:53)
Host: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Northeast Region
Status: Candidate/ Identified as a candidate species on September 12, 1996
Scientific Name: Sylvilagus transitionalis
Description: As recently as 1960, New England cottontails were found east of the Hudson River in New York, across all of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, north to southern Vermont and New Hampshire, and into southern Maine. Today, this rabbit's range has shrunk by more than 75 percent. Its numbers are so greatly diminished that it can no longer be found in Vermont.
Species Profile
Learn More
Featured Species
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Pallid Sturgeon (01:34)
Host: Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks
Status: Endangered/ Listed on September 6, 1990
Scientific Name: Scaphirhynchus albus
Description: The pallid sturgeon is one of the rarest and largest freshwater fish in North America.
Species Profile
Learn More
Featured Species
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Mauna Loa Silversword (03:09)
Host: National Park Service
Status: Endangered/ Listed on April 7, 1973
Scientific Name: Argyroxiphium kauense
Description: One of a diverse group of plants have that have evolved from a single common ancestor which probably arrived on the Hawaiian Islands about 8 million years ago. The Mauna Loa Silversword is a giant rosette plant found only in the active volcano of Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Okaloosa Darter (01:35)
Partners: Eglin Air Force Base, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Status: Endangered/ Listed on June 4, 1973
Scientific Name: Etheostoma okaloosae
Description: The Okaloosa darter makes its home in only six stream systems draining into two Choctawhatchee Bay bayous in Walton and Okaloosa counties in northwest Florida. Most of this watershed drainage area is under the management of Eglin Air Force Base, as is most of the darter's present range. Over 97 percent of the habitat occupied by the darter is located on the base.
Species Profile
Learn More
Featured Species
- Posted
- 03/14/11
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor Agreement (03:29)
Partners: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Weyerhaeuser Corporation
Status: Endangered/ Listed on October 13, 1970
Scientific Name: Picoides borealis
Description: On January 8, 2010, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enrolled 58,763 acres of land owned and/or leased by Weyerhaeuser into the Louisiana Red-cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor Program.
Species Profile
Learn More
- Posted
- 03/14/11
California Condors Soar Over Utah (03:00)
Partner: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Status: Endangered/ Listed on March 11, 1967
Scientific Name: Gymnogyps californianus
Description: This video provides information about the biology of this species and great footage of these magnificent birds.
Species Profile
Learn More
Partnerships Archive