The BioBlitz

A bold campaign to protect biodiversity.

To celebrate the 36th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, we took action for different imperiled species during 36 work days throughout January and into February this year.

Week 1 - Species Affected by the Climate Crisis

The Mist Forestfly
Guardians goes to court for Mist Forestfly. This rare stonefly's fate is tied to glaciers in Glacier National Park, which may disappear completely by 2030.  View the factsheet.

The Bay Skipper
Guardians and the Xerces Society request Bay Skipper protection. This lovely and rare butterfly is at risk from extreme weather events such as Hurricane Katrina. The futures of this rare butterfly and humans in Gulf Coast areas are intertwined. View the factsheet.

The Jemez Mountains Salamander
Guardians goes to court for the Jemez Mountains Salamander. Longer, more severe droughts in the southwestern U.S. put this rare New Mexico amphibian at particular risk.  View the factsheet.

The Bumphead Parrotfish
Guardians requests protection for the Bumphead Parrotfish, a Pacific fish that requires healthy coral reefs.  But with ocean warming, reefs are dying.  View the factsheet.

 

The Unsilvered Fritillary
Guardians files a petition for Endangered Species Act protection of the Unsilvered Fritillary, a coastal California butterfly imperiled by burgeoning human populations, climate change, and other factors.  View the factsheet.

The Brian Head Mountainsnail
Guardians seeks Endangered Species Act protection for the Brian Head Mountainsnail, a snail found only near the summit of Brian Head Peak in southwestern Utah, which would be wiped out if the nearby ski resort expands.  View the factsheet.

The Arapahoe Snowfly
Guardians files a lawsuit to force Endangered Species Act listing for the Arapahoe Snowfly, a stonefly found in just two small streams in northern Colorado, both of which are threatened by increasing development and recreation pressures.  View the factsheet.

Week 3 - Critters in Need of a Prairie Home

The Texas Kangaroo Rat
Guardians files a petition to protect the Texas Kangaroo Rat under the Endangered Species Act. This kangaroo rat has lost most of its habitat to cropland, development, and poor livestock grazing practices.  View the factsheet.

The Platte River Caddisfly
Guardians files a lawsuit to obtain protection for the Platte River Caddisfly under the Endangered Species Act. This ecologically important insect has lost habitat through water diversion, exotic species invasions, and drought.  View the factsheet.

The Spot-tailed Earless Lizard
Guardians files a petition for Endangered Species Act protection for the Spot-tailed Earless Lizard, which is on the brink of extinction due to chemical pollutants and a ballooning human population into the animal’s range in Texas.  View the factsheet.

The Prairie Chub
Guardians files a petition to protect the Prairie Chub under the Endangered Species Act. Dams and other threats cause the fish to disappear from sections of the Red River Basin in Texas and Oklahoma where they once swam.  View the factsheet.

The Scott’s Riffle Beetle
Guardians files a lawsuit to obtain listing of the Scott’s Riffle Beetle under the Endangered Species Act. This beetle occurs only in one spring in Kansas, where it is threatened by depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer, chemical contamination, and introduction of predatory fish to its habitat.  View the factsheet.

Week 4 - Species on the Prowl

The Mexican Wolf
Guardians files a lawsuit to compel federal protection for the Mexican Wolf, a subspecies of gray wolf facing extinction for the second time in New Mexico and Arizona.  View the factsheet.

The Porbeagle Shark

 Guardians files a petition to federally protect the Porbeagle Shark, particularly in the Northwest Atlantic part of its range.  View the factsheet.

The Ocelot

Guardians files a petition to obtain Endangered Species Act critical habitat designation for the Ocelot in the U.S.  View the factsheet. 

The Gila Monster

Guardians and Dr. Daniel Beck file a petition to federally protect Gila Monsters in Utah.   View the factsheet.

 

Week 5 -  Sagebrush Sea Week

Ten Great Basin butterflies
Guardians files a petition to protect ten Great Basin butterflies under the Endangered Species Act.   View the factsheet. 

 

Pipe Springs Cryptantha
Guardians files a lawsuit to compel federal protection for the Pipe Springs Cryptantha, a plant that occurs on the southern edge of the Sagebrush Sea.   View the factsheet.

 

 

Banbury Springs Limpet
Guardians files a petition to obtain Endangered Species Act critical habitat designation for the Banbury Springs Limpet.   View the factsheet.

 
Northern Leatherside Chub
Guardians files a lawsuit to compel federal protection for the Northern Leatherside Chub.   View the factsheet.

 

Six Sand Dune Beetles
Guardians files a petition to protect six sand dune beetles under the Endangered Species Act.   View the factsheet.

 

Week 6 -  Borderlands Week

White-sided Jackrabbit
Guardians files a lawsuit to obtain federal protection under the Endangered Species Act for the White-sided Jackrabbit. View the factsheet.

Sonoran Desert Tortoise
Guardians files a lawsuit (with partner Western Watersheds Project) to obtain federal protection for the Sonoran Desert Tortoise. View the factsheet.

 

Jaguarundi
Guardians files a petition to obtain critical habitat designation for the Jaguarundi, a small wildcat. View the factsheet.

 

Sand Verbena Moth
WildEarth Guardians and the Xerces Society file a petition to obtain federal protection for the Sand Verbena Moth.  View the factsheet.

 

 Thick Billed Parrot
Guardians files a lawsuit pressuring the federal government to issue a recovery plan for the Thick-billed Parrot. View the factsheet.

 

Week 7 - Wildflower Week

Yellowstone Sand Verbena
Guardians files a lawsuit to obtain federal protection under the Endangered Species Act for the Yellowstone Sand Verbena. View the factsheet.

Pale Blue-eyed Grass
Guardians files a lawsuit to obtain federal protection under the Endangered Species Act for the Pale Blue-eyed Grass. View the factsheet.

 

Many-flowered Unicorn Plant
Guardians files a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s refusal to protect the Many-flowered Unicorn Plant. View the factsheet.

 

 Wright's Marsh Thistle
Guardians files a lawsuit to obtain federal safeguards for the Wright’s marsh thistle. View the factsheet.

Aztec Gilia
Guardians files a petition requesting federal protection for the Aztec Gilia. View the factsheet.

 

 

Week 8 - Ocean Week

Warsaw Grouper
Guardians files a petition requestng federal protection for the Warsaw Grouper. View the factsheet.

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Guardians files a petition requesting federal protection for the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle.  View the factsheet.

 

Sperm Whale
Guardians a lawsuit pressing the federal government to provide final recovery plans for the Sei, Fin, and Sperm Whales. View the factsheet.

The Western Ark

Through the Western Ark project, WildEarth Guardians seeks to bring more of this nation’s endangered species onto the legal “Ark” the Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides. We do this through our aggressive strategies to obtain ESA listing for imperiled native wildlife and plants. Sadly, over 80 percent of the West’s most imperiled wildlife and plants are not yet protected under the ESA. Because we know the ESA prevents extinctions, we work to ensure that these endangered species are allowed aboard the Ark.

WildEarth Guardians files formal petitions and takes legal action to list single species at risk, particularly focal species, whose protection can safeguard whole ecosystems. We pursue federal protection for wide arrays of different life forms to show policymakers and the public the diversity of life that hangs in the balance. We also take actions that shift the burden back to the federal government to initiate species protective actions.