News Stories

The Tar River spinymussel is one of only three freshwater spined mussels in the U.S. and only found in North Carolina.

Chris Eads

March 14, 2013

As part the Service’s commemoration of the Endangered Species Act’s 40th Anniversary, each week a different state and their unique story features our continued success in recovering threatened and endangered species. This week, learn about a team of partners in this video who are working to recover some of North Carolina’s rarest native freshwater mussels, including the endangered Appalachian elktoe mussel and Tar River spinymussel.

State Stories

ESA 40th Anniversary

Yellow-billed parrot.

ARKive © Wayne Sutherland.

March 11, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today the yellow-billed parrot is now protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This bird species is only found in Jamaica and is one of only two Amazona species endemic to the country. The impact of ongoing deforestation and fragmentation, including loss of suitable nesting trees, has led to a decline in the yellow-billed parrot’s range and population.

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Semifinalist Claire Lee chose the endangered harpy eagle for her artwork: "The best part about making the eagle was cutting and gluing the magazine pieces to make the eagle’s feathers."

Amy Lee

March 11, 2013

“It was a fun experience, and I look forward to participating again this year,” says 2012 semifinalist Claire Lee of Centreville, Va. “I hope my participation can help save and protect the animals.” Lee is among the elementary, middle school and high school students that participate in the annual Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest. The contest provides young people with an opportunity to learn about endangered species an express their knowledge and support through artwork. A prestigious panel of artists, photographers and conservationists judges the artwork. Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2013.

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Whooping cranes with chicks at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin.

Richard Urbanek / USFWS

February 26, 2013

The Service's Winter Whooping Crane Survey estimates there's a total of 279 whooping cranes, including 257 found within the primary wintering grounds and 22 beyond that area. Service personnel conducted seven surveys of the primary wintering grounds of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock, the last remaining wild flock of whooping cranes. With the help of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Texas Whooper Watch and other observers, additional sightings suggest at least 22 additional whooping outside the primary wintering grounds. Last year, the count was 267 birds. The birds begin arriving at their Texas wintering areas in mid-October and leave for their summer homes the end of March.

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Military macaw.

© ARKive. All Rights Reserved.

February 21, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reopening the comment period on proposals to protect the hyacinth macaw, great green macaw and military macaw as endangered under the Endangered Species Act to allow the public adequate time to provide additional comments on the status of these birds. These species occur in nearly 15 countries throughout Central America, South America and Mexico, and face significant threats, particularly due to habitat loss and degradation and poaching.

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Woodland Caribou, painted by Sky Waters from Minnesota, was selected as the grand prize winner of the 2012 Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest.

Endangered Species Coalition

February 11, 2013

Parents, teachers, and scout leaders tell your kids to start the drawing engines and participate in the annual Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest! Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2013. The Youth Art Contest provides students from kindergarten to high school with an opportunity to learn about threatened and endangered species and express their knowledge and support through artwork. Organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Endangered Species Coalition, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the International Child Art Foundation, the art contest is an integral part of the eighth annual national Endangered Species Day on May 17, 2013.

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Mexican wolf being brought to processing facility during 2012 population count.

Elizabeth Jozwiak / USFWS

February 6, 2013

During its annual year-end surveys, the Mexican wolf Interagency Field Team counted at least 75 Mexican wolves in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico at the end of 2012. Compared to the 2011 minimum population count of 58 wolves, this number demonstrates an increase in the known population in the wild.

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Bull trout have been observed spawning in the Clackamas River and its tributaries in Oregon as part of ongoing efforts to recover the species.

Joel Sartore with Wade Fredenberg, National Geographic Stock

February 5, 2013

As we enter the ruby anniversary year of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service honors its accomplishments in preventing species extinction and steadily improving the habitats and conservation prospects for many others. This edition of the Endangered Species Bulletin highlights the recent successes in recovery under the ESA.

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ESA 40th Anniversary.

Jennifer Hennessey / USFWS

January 14, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will honor the 40th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act with a year-long commemoration of the Act that has been so successful in stabilizing populations of species at risk, preventing the extinction of many others and conserving the habitats upon which they depend. A new dedicated web site spotlights the history and accomplishments of efforts to protect and recover America’s threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

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Blue-throated macaw.

© World Parrot Trust

January 14, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today a proposal to protect the blue-throated macaw as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This vividly colored species is only found in a small area of remaining tropical savanna in north-central Bolivia, and there are estimated to be fewer than 200 individuals left in the wild.

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Honduran emerald hummingbird.

Jennifer Hennessey / USFWS

January 4, 2013

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces a proposal to protect the Honduran emerald hummingbird as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This colorful species is restricted to arid thorn forest and scrub habitats of Honduras and is the only known bird species endemic to this country. As a result of habitat loss and fragmentation, its population continues to decline, and these hummingbirds must expend more energy to travel between and find suitable habitat that provides substrates for breeding, feeding and nesting.

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Southwestern willow flycatcher.

Jim Rorabaugh / USFWS

January 3, 2013

As part of its ongoing efforts to conserve our nation’s most imperiled species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified riparian lands that are important for the recovery of the southwestern willow flycatcher. This small songbird, which nests in vegetation along rivers and streams or other wetlands, is known to occur only in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah, and has been listed as endangered since 1995 under the Endangered Species Act.

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