Sierra Nevada Wildlife at Risk
The forests of the Sierra Nevada are favored with an abundance of biological richness and diversity. This is not surprising, since California has more plants, and more endemic plants (plants that are found no where else in the world) than any other state in the nation. California also has the richest abundance of varied wildlife species than any state in the U.S., and many of these are found in the Sierra Nevada. The forests of the region provide a refuge for much of the state's wildlife.
Fifty percent of California’s 7,000 vascular plants are found in the Sierra Nevada region, and more than 400 of these are endemic. The varied topography combined with floristically and structurally diverse plant communities provide a large array of habitats important for maintaining California’s wildlife diversity and abundance.
There are approximately 570 vertebrate wildlife species that inhabit the Sierra Nevada region at
some point in their life cycle, including 290 birds, 135 mammals, 46 reptiles, 37 amphibians,
and 60 fish. Of these, 80 birds, 40 mammals, 10 reptiles, 20 amphibians, and 30 fish are included on the state's Special
Animals List. Of these, 26 are endemic to the Sierra Nevada and 26 other species found here are
endemic to California, but not restricted to this region. Hundreds of invertebrates, including rare cold stream-dwelling insects, glow-in-the-dark millipedes, show-stopping moths and butterflies, beetles, and old-growth associated snails, are also found here and no where else on the planet.
The native wildlife species found in the Range of Light and the essential habitats that they depend upon for their continued survival are at constant risk from the activities and ill-conceived decisions of their human neighbors.
It is imperative that these wildlife species have a voice which speaks on behalf of their needs and against the threats posed to them. The loss and degradation of the core habitat for many of these species is precisely why certain projects and plans are fought so adamantly by Sierra Forest Legacy and our team of scientific and legal experts, with the help of our grassroots advocates.
Within this section, in the panel at left, you can link to information about some of the wildlife that are the most at risk, and those we are working to protect throughout the Sierra Nevada. There is also a link to an analysis of the Management Indicator Species program identified by the Forest Service - a robust scientific monitoring program which has been poorly implemented and is under threat of further watering down by a recently proposed plan amendment.
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise."
~Aldo Leopold