People alone do not make a community. Every community has a place and every place is home to critters of all kinds. On California’s North Coast, there lives a diversity of unique wildlife that must be protected. The Northern Spotted Owl, the Coho Salmon and the Marbled Murrelet deserve our respect not because they are cute or represent an economic market, but because they possess the same natural right to exist and flourish as human beings do. These critters are just as much a part of the North Coast as the people who call this region home. EPIC is working hard to protect the wildlife of Northern California and in doing so strengthen the holistic nature of the community. Click here to view recent news and updates in EPIC’s Endangered Species Archives
Chinook Salmon EPIC strives to protect Chinook salmon and their habitat from degradation of habitat due to loss of stream-side vegetation, filling of wetlands, decline in water quality of small streams, adverse competition from hatchery-grown coho salmon, and inadequate regulatory mechanisms.
Coho Salmon More than 106 native Pacific salmon stocks are now extinct, and 214 more are at risk of extinction. After considerable effort and litigation by EPIC and dozens of other conservation groups, the Northern California/Southern Oregon coho salmon population has finally been listed as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act.
Gray Wolf On December 29, 2011, the first known wolf in more than 85 year returned to California. At EPIC, we intend to advocate for wolves by continuing our important work in defending our forests and wild areas from exploitation and destruction, while also working to educate the public, and helping to reduce potential conflicts.
Green Sturgeon Green sturgeon can reach over 7 feet in length and migrated in huge numbers until very recently. The species has declined by 88 percent throughout most of its range and is in danger of becoming extinct. In 2006, EPIC successfully petitioned to protect the green sturgeon as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act
Humboldt Marten In order to save this carnivore from oblivion, EPIC is trying to list the Humboldt marten as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, to designate ‘Critical Habitat’ necessary for the marten to survive, and to ban the damaging forestry practices that are driving the Humboldt marten to the brink of extinction.
Marbled Murrelet The marbled murrelet is a small seabird that nests on the mossy limbs of old-growth trees. The precedent setting Marbled Murrelet and EPIC v. Pacific Lumber was EPIC’s first federal endangered species case and it was the first time the ESA was applied to stop logging on private forest land to conserve the habitat of an endangered species.
Northern Spotted Owl EPIC continues to advocate for the protection of spotted owls and spotted owl habitat across the species’ range in California both on private and public lands. Conservation of older forests and protecting core habitats for the spotted owl are essential for the survival and recovery of this species.
Pacific Fisher The Pacific Fisher inhabits old-growth forests and once ranged from British Columbia through Northern California. This elusive mammal was decimated by logging and early fur trapping, and only two native populations remain today—one near the western California/Oregon border, and one in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Scott Bar and Siskiyou Mountains Salamanders The Department of Fish and Game is actively trying to remove the Siskiyou Mountain salamander from the state list of threatened species, even though stacks of recent research show that Northern California’s frogs and salamanders face a host of threats from logging to climate change to fungal disease.