WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Petition to List 206 Critically Imperiled or Imperiled Species in the Mountain-Prairie Region under the Endangered Species Act

Using an innovative strategy, WildEarth Guardians seeks federal protections for 206 western endangered species in the second in a series of mass listing petitions.
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

WildEarth Guardians filed a formal petition under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect 206 imperiled plant and animal species across the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. This petition comes on the heels of a 475-species petition filed for the Southwestern U.S. by WildEarth Guardians a month earlier. The latest petition cites the current human-caused extinction crisis, with extinction rates estimated at up to 1,000 times the normal background rate, as a rationale in seeking federal protection for all critically imperiled and imperiled species in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Rocky Mountain-Prairie Region. Nationwide, only 1,352 U.S. species are protected under the ESA, while scientists estimate 6,000-9,000 species are at risk and should be granted legal protection. Species extinctions are ripping a hole in the web of life.

Read the Petition (PDF)