Protected Species
The SEATTLE POST reported that there are 17 species currently under protection from the Federal Endangered Species Act in the Puget Sound area. There are:
Endangered:
- Sei whale
- Finback whale
- Gray wolf
- Brown pelican
- Marsh sandwort (plant)
Threatened:
- Marbled murrelet
- Canada lynx
- Steller sea lion
- Bald eagle
- Chum salmon (Hood Canal)
- Chinook salmon
- Orcas (southern resident)
- Grizzly bear
- Bull trout
- Spotted owl
- Golden paintbrush (plant)
- Water howellia (plant)
- Kincaid's lupine (plant)
Unprotected species that are "critically imperiled:
Sea otter: Weasel relative that was nearly hunted to extinction for its pelts. One of the few non-primates known to use tools.
Pallid bat: Large, pale bat with doglike face. Feeds at night on large insects. Emits a skunklike odor when disturbed.
Oregon spotted frog: Green-, brown- or magenta-colored, with black blotches on its head and back. Now absent from 90 percent of former range.
American peregrine falcon: Removed from federal endangered list in 1999, but still endangered in Northwest. Cliffs were preferred nesting sites, but today many nest on high-rises.
Yellow-billed cuckoo: Adults are a foot long, with an exceptionally long tail marked with three large black spots. Only breeds in riparian forests and wetlands.
Green sturgeon: Olive-green fish grows to 7 feet (2.1 m) in length, 350 pounds and 70 years in age. First appeared more than 200 million years ago.
Walleye pollock: Member of the cod family. Annual catch in Alaskan waters is nearly 2 million metric tons. Important prey for marine mammals.
Sea cucumber: Relative of starfish and sea lilies; popular in Asian cuisine. Fourteen species found in Northwest waters.
Pacific giant earthworm: Grows to 3 feet (0.91 m) in length. Emits peculiar, flowerlike aroma. Oregon giant earthworms live in moist soils of riparian forests.
Marsh shrew: Insect-seating aquatic shrew with fringe of hairs on toes to aid swimming. Can run on top of the water for several seconds.
Read more about this topic: Environmental Issues In Puget Sound
Famous quotes containing the words protected and/or species:
“When a girl’s under 21, she’s protected by law. When she’s over 65, she’s protected by nature. Anywhere in between—she’s fair game.”
—Stanley Shapiro (1925–1990)
“The French manner of hunting is gentlemanlike; ours is only for bumpkins and bodies. The poor beasts here are pursued and run down by much greater beasts than themselves; and the true British fox-hunter is most undoubtedly a species appropriated and peculiar to this country, which no other part of the globe produces.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)