Federally Endangered Plants & Wildlife
The federal Endangered Species Act protects more than 1,200 different plant and animal species that are on the brink of extinction. The Los Padres National Forest provides habitat for at least 27 protected wildlife & plants species, more than any other national forest in California. The nearby Carrizo Plain National Monument is also home to 13 federally endangered species.
Species classified as endangered (E) are in danger of extinction, and species classified as threatened (T) is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. Candidate (C) species have declined to such a level that they qualify for endangered or threatened status, but the federal agency in charge of officially adding them to the list has not yet done so. Petitioned species are those for which an official detailed request has been made to an agency to list the species as sensitive, threatened, or endangered.
