Getting to Know your Endangered Species

I recently wrote about the Endangered Species Act's success stories. The main finding was that out of 110 species sampled, 91% were recovering at the rate projected by their federal recovery plans. Good news. Now the US Fish and Wildlife Service has produced an interactive map so that you can check up on endangered species in your state. This is a great way to tour the biodiversity present in the fifty states as well as the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

In Massachusetts, you can hear about what's being done to protect the adorable little shore bird, the Atlantic piping plover, pictured below.

You can also read about what's being done for the New England cottontail.

In Texas, you can read and hear about one of the most endangered bird in North America, the whooping crane, whose recovery efforts have now gone on for decades. 

In Puerto Rico, check out what's being done for the Puerto Rican parrot, one of the world's most endangered parrots: 

Awareness and education is the first step to saving endangered species. Just click on the map and find out about endangered species in your state, next door, or across the country.