Loda, Jenny. “Four Rare Amphibians in California Move Closer to Endangered Species Act Protection.” Four Rare Amphibians in California Move Closer to Endangered Species Act Protection. N.p., 30 June 2015. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.

This article is about the Kern Canyon Slender Salamanders who are about 5 inches in length. These brown salamanders have black sides and striking red and bronze patches on their backs. These salamanders live specifically in California’s lower Kern River Valley, hence the name: Kern Canyon Slender Salamanders. This article was also written by Jenny Loda who is a reporter for the Center for Biological Diversity.

These interesting creatures are specific to only the Kern River Valley. They only live on north-facing slopes and small, wooded tributary canyons. These habitats provide periods of moisture and high humidity that allow the salamanders to emerge from the underground hideouts and forage for food. They eat spiders, mites, earthworms, and snails. Their population is depleting because of cattle grazing, logging, mining, highway construction, hydroelectric development, and firewood collectin

Loda, Jenny. “Four Rare Amphibians in California Move Closer to Endangered Species Act Protection.” Four Rare Amphibians in California Move Closer to Endangered Species Act Protection. N.p., 30 June 2015. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.

This article is about the Western Spadefoot Toads who are now about to go extinct. The toads are known for being two inches long and looking a little stout. They also have a purr-like trill and spade-like adaptation for digging with each back foot. The toads also can speed up their metamorphosis when the shallow breeding pools that they use start to dry up. This article was written by Jenny Loda who is a regular reporter for the Center for Biological Diversity.

In the 1950s the Western Spadefoot Toads population has been declining. In fact, since the 1950s the grassland and alluvial fan habitats that the toads enjoy has declined by eighty percent. The toads are known to live closer towards southern California where many slow-moving streams for breeding are. Although, the streams have now been taken over by urban development and agricultural practices. The Western Spadefoot Toads are even included on the Species of Special Concern list. This list basically means that they are recognized as an endangered species, but they are not provided with any legal protection.

Siegler, Kirk. “Endangered Species Protections At Center Of Drought Debate.” NPR. NPR, 15 June 2015. Web. 01 Sept. 2015.

This article is mainly about the endangered species and how the drought is affecting it. Also, it mentions how the Endangered Species Act is contributing a fair amount to the drought. The Endangered Species Act is said to be restricting hundreds of millions of gallons of water in West Coast rivers and estuaries. This article was written by Kirk Siegler who is a reporter for NPR’s national desk.

The Endangered Species Act is supposed to be helping our endangered species, which it is, well only for some. It turns out that the Act might not be helping our endangered fish species in California. Because of the court-ordered restrictions on West Coast rivers and estuaries farmers haven’t been getting enough water but it’s ok because we are saving fish like the delta smelt right? No. In fact, the population of delta smelt hasn’t rebounded at all since the act was put into place. Rep. Devin Nunes believes that the act should be discarded and a new act to help our water issue and to help the endangered water species should be put into place.

Howard, Jeanette K. “Patterns of Freshwater Species Richness, Endemism, and Vulnerability in California.” PLOS ONE:. N.p., 6 July 2015. Web. 18 July 2015.

The ranges of species that depend on freshwater habitats for part of their life are declining worldwide. 3,906 vascular plants, macro invertebrates, and vertebrates that are all native to California depend on freshwater. Nearly half of all taxa with conservation status are vulnerable to extinction but only 6% of those vulnerable taxa have a legal mandate for protection of the endangered species list. Endemic taxa are at greater risk than non-endemics with 90% of the 927 endemic taxa vulnerable to extinction.

This is all relevant to endangered species and environmental science. Since 3,906 species are endangered then it should be an alarm to the government about many endangered species. Also, no particular taxonomic group represents every species. Although, hotspots of high richness for listed species cover 40% of the hotspots for all other species and 58% of the hotspots for vulnerable freshwater species. By mapping freshwater species hotspots we show locations that represents the top priority for conservation action in the state.

Jones, Terry L. “After the Grizzly: Endangered Species and the Politics of Place in California.” International Journal of Environmental Studies. N.p., 11 March 2015. Web. 15 July 2015.

In California there are five endangered species that environmental historian, Peter Alagona, as found. The five species are the grizzly bear, California condor, Mojave Desert tortoise, San Joaquin kit fox, and the delta smelt. Although listed before as endangered, the grizzly bear is actually extinct from California while the other four still remain endangered. It has been found that the grizzly went extinct in 1925 when habitat conservation efforts were just getting started.

This article is showing the impact of society on nature and the environment. The grizzly, being the poster child for extinction in California, gets the most attention about endangered species. Although, many don’t know that a lot of other species are becoming endangered because of humans and our industrialization. We, as a society, are killing our planet in many ways one of which is animal extinction and as one scientist said; once something goes extinct we can never bring it back. It is uncanny that the government has not tried hard enough to make sure other animals do not go extinct.