Threatened and Endangered Species

Presidio clarkia, an endangered flowering plant.

NPS / Will Elder

 

An “endangered species” classification helps federal agencies and other organizations protect species that may be at risk of extinction from a given area. A species is usually classified as endangered after its' habitat becomes reduced or fragmented or its population number gets critically low. A "threatened species" is one that is likely to become endangered in the near future.

It is hard to estimate the number of endangered species worldwide, but scientists agree that a mass extinction event is happening worldwide. Some extinction is normal, but we are now losing species at about 100-10,000x the normal, “background” rate. Most of these species are at risk due to human activities, including those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic and invasive species, and global climate change.

 

Threatened and Endangered Species at Golden Gate

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is home to many species that are threatened or endangered. The Natural Resources division works with the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory and Monitoring Network to protect these species and the critical habitat they need to survive into the future.

Below is a table that lists the known threatened and endangered species at Golden Gate. Note: This list may not represent current conditions, as species are listed and delisted on a regular basis. For more up-to-date information and advanced search capability, please visit NPSpecies. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

 

Table 1. Threatened and Endangered species occurring or presumed to occur at Golden Gate National Recreation Area..

Scientific Name	Common Name	Status	Category
Enhydra lutris nereis	Southern sea otter	Threatened	Mammal
Arctocephalus townsendi	Guadalupe fur seal	Threatened	Mammal
Balaenoptera borealis	Sei whale	Endangered	Mammal
Balaenoptera musculus	Blue whale	Endangered	Mammal
Balaenoptera physalus	Fin whale	Endangered	Mammal
Reithrodontomys raviventris	Salt-marsh harvest mouse	Endangered	Mammal
Brachyramphus marmoratus	Marbled Murrelet	Threatened	Bird
Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus	Western snowy plover	Threatened	Bird
Sterna antillarum browni	California Least Tern	Endangered	Bird
Coccyzus americanus	Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Threatened	Bird
Vireo bellii pusillus	Least Bell's Vireo	Endangered	Bird
Strix occidentalis caurina	Northern Spotted Owl	Threatened	Bird
Rana draytonii	California red-legged frog	Threatened	Amphibian
Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia	San Francisco Garter Snake	Endangered	Reptile
Acipenser medirostris	Green sturgeon	Threatened	Fish
Hypomesus transpacificus	Delta smelt	Threatened	Fish
Eucyclogobius newberryi	Tidewater goby	Endangered	Fish
Oncorhynchus kisutch	Coho salmon	Endangered	Fish
Oncorhynchus mykiss	Rainbow trout	Threatened	Fish
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha	Blackmouth	Threatened, Endangered	Fish
Cirsium fontinale var. fontinale	Fountain thistle	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Eriophyllum latilobum	San Mateo woolly sunflower	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Pentachaeta bellidiflora	Whiteray pygmydaisy	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Arenaria paludicola	Marsh sandwort	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Trifolium amoenum	Showy Indian clover	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Acanthomintha duttonii	San Mateo thorn-mint	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Castilleja affinis ssp. neglecta	Tiburon Indian paintbrush	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Hesperolinon congestum	Marin dwarf-flax	Threatened	Vascular Plant
Clarkia franciscana	Presidio clarkia	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Potentilla hickmanii	Hickman's potentilla	Endangered	Vascular Plant
Syncaris pacifica	California freshwater shrimp	Endangered	Crab/Lobster/Shrimp
Haliotis cracherodii	Black abalone	Endangered	Slug/Snail
Callophrys mossii bayensis	San Bruno elfin butterfly	Endangered	Insect
Icaricia icarioides missionensis	Mission blue butterfly	Endangered	Insect
Euphydryas editha bayensis	Bay checkerspot butterfly	Threatened	Insect