Endangered species across America: Coastal California and Florida are home to the most threatened species – over 300 each – while land-locked states like Montana and Wyoming have less than 25
- Research was done to celebrate 50th anniversary of Endangered Species Act
- California has the most endangered creatures with 368, followed by Florida
- Texas, Alabama and New York all also have high lists of near extinct species
- Wyoming, Idaho and the Dakotas all have the fewest endangered species
California and Florida are home to hundreds of endangered species, the most in the United States, according to conservation researchers.
The numbers come from a state-by-state look at which endangered species call which parts of America their home, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
The organization categorizes various creatures by their risk of global extinction and shows where they’re native to.
An original breakdown was created by a Reddit user meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the US Endangered Species Act into law.
The law was signed by President Richard Nixon after near-unanimous passage in the House and Senate in late 1973.
It’s designed to protect endangered species from extinction caused by ‘economic growth and development un-tempered by adequate concern and conservation.’
In a ruling affirming the law, the Supreme Court called it ‘the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation.’
California leads the nation, with 368 different endangered species calling the Golden State home.
Some of the state’s endangered residents include sea otters, several different species of sea snails and dozens of different kinds of rare plant life.
Florida comes in second with 341, and, unsurprisingly, the state’s endangered species include many sea creatures.
In addition to aquatic life like turtles and hammerhead sharks, it also has many endangered migratory birds.
Texas and Alabama have the third-highest numbers of endangered species, with 181 and 169, respectively.
The Lone Star State is home to some species of monkeys (who are housed in zoos) on the list, while Alabama contains everything from rabbits to bats.
The northern state with the most endangered species is New York, where creatures as different as whales and gazelles have both been found.
The four states in America with the fewest endangered species are all land-locked and all border one another: Montana (18), Wyoming (20), North Dakota and South Dakota (both 21).
Those areas are home to everything from whooping cranes to rare bumblebees – which have vanished from large swaths of the country – to green ash.
In June, the White House announced plans to strengthen the ESA after rollbacks were instituted during the Trump administration.
In June, the Biden White House announced plans to strengthen the ESA after rollbacks were instituted during the Trump administration
American bumblebees are limited to eight states as they edge toward extinction
‘This is a decisive move toward undoing the damage done by the previous administration to the bedrock law that protects endangered and threatened animal species and their habitat,’ Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, said in a statement at the time.
‘Among other steps, federal agencies under the previous administration made it more difficult to grant and maintain protections for species facing extinction and created carve-outs catering to both state and special interests that privileged profits and economic development over the survival of imperiled wildlife,’ Amundson added. ‘Things are not supposed to work that way when it comes to ESA protections.’
Among other initiatives, the Department of the Interior under President Biden has reinstated a longstanding policy extending protections to species listed under the ESA as ‘threatened,’ including from being trapped, shot, harassed or otherwise harmed.
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