The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is raising awareness of endangered species today across the country. The National Wildlife Federation blog has a great post on it (don’t forget to Tweet it!) including a cool challenge to learn one new endangered species for your area. “There are currently 1317 species listed in the U.S.: 746 plants and 571 animals. To find out what endangered species are near you, and how you can help, please visit www.fws.gov/endangered.” There are 73 species listed on the endangered species list just for Arizona! I’ve listed them below from the Southwest Endangered Species page of the FWS. They even break it down by county, they’ve done a great job with their page. Check out their suggestions for how to take action and do something positive for these dwindling species.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Species Group	Listing Status	Species Image	Species Distribution Map
Acuna Cactus	Echinomastus erectocentrus var. acunensis	Flowering Plants	C
Apache trout	Oncorhynchus apache	Fishes	T
Arizona Cliff-rose	Purshia (=Cowania) subintegra	Flowering Plants	E
Arizona hedgehog cactus	Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. arizonicus	Flowering Plants	E
bald eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Birds	DM
beautiful shiner	Cyprinella formosa	Fishes	T
black-footed ferret	Mustela nigripes	Mammals	E, EXPN
bonytail chub	Gila elegans	Fishes	E
Brady pincushion cactus	Pediocactus bradyi	Flowering Plants	E
brown pelican	Pelecanus occidentalis	Birds	DM, E
California condor	Gymnogyps californianus	Birds	E, EXPN
Canelo Hills ladies’-tresses	Spiranthes delitescens	Flowering Plants	E
Chiricahua leopard frog	Rana chiricahuensis	Amphibians	T
Cochise pincushion cactus	Coryphantha robbinsorum	Flowering Plants	T
Colorado pikeminnow (=squawfish)	Ptychocheilus lucius	Fishes	E, EXPN
desert pupfish	Cyprinodon macularius	Fishes	E
desert tortoise	Gopherus agassizii	Reptiles	SAT, T
Fickeisen plains cactus	Pediocactus peeblesianus fickeiseniae	Flowering Plants	C
Gierisch mallow	Sphaeralcea gierischii	Flowering Plants	C	No Image
Gila chub	Gila intermedia	Fishes	E
Gila topminnow (incl. Yaqui)	Poeciliopsis occidentalis	Fishes	E
Gila trout	Oncorhynchus gilae	Fishes	T
gray wolf	Canis lupus	Mammals	DR, E, EXPN, T
Headwater Chub	Gila nigra	Fishes	C
Holmgren milk-vetch	Astragalus holmgreniorum	Flowering Plants	E
Huachuca springsnail	Pyrgulopsis thompsoni	Snails	C
Huachuca water-umbel	Lilaeopsis schaffneriana var. recurva	Flowering Plants	E
Hualapai Mexican vole	Microtus mexicanus hualpaiensis	Mammals	E
humpback chub	Gila cypha	Fishes	E
jaguar	Panthera onca	Mammals	E
Jones Cycladenia	Cycladenia jonesii (=humilis)	Flowering Plants	T
Kanab ambersnail	Oxyloma haydeni kanabensis	Snails	E
Kearney’s blue-star	Amsonia kearneyana	Flowering Plants	E
Lemmon fleabane	Erigeron lemmonii	Flowering Plants	C
lesser long-nosed bat	Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae	Mammals	E
Little Colorado spinedace	Lepidomeda vittata	Fishes	T
loach minnow	Tiaroga cobitis	Fishes	T
masked bobwhite (quail)	Colinus virginianus ridgwayi	Birds	E
Mexican spotted owl	Strix occidentalis lucida	Birds	T
Mount Graham red squirrel	Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis	Mammals	E
Navajo sedge	Carex specuicola	Flowering Plants	T
New Mexican meadow jumping mouse	Zapus hudsonius luteus	Mammals	C	No Image
New Mexico ridgenose rattlesnake	Crotalus willardi obscurus	Reptiles	T
Nichol’s Turk’s head cactus	Echinocactus horizonthalonius var. nicholii	Flowering Plants	E
northern aplomado falcon	Falco femoralis septentrionalis	Birds	E
Northern Mexican gartersnake	Thamnophis eques megalops	Reptiles	C	No Image
ocelot	Leopardus (=Felis) pardalis	Mammals	E
Page springsnail	Pyrgulopsis morrisoni	Snails	C
Peebles Navajo cactus	Pediocactus peeblesianus peeblesianus	Flowering Plants	E
Pima pineapple cactus	Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina	Flowering Plants	E
razorback sucker	Xyrauchen texanus	Fishes	E
relict leopard Frog	Rana onca	Amphibians	C	No Image
San Bernardino springsnail	Pyrgulopsis bernardina	Snails	C	No Image
San Francisco Peaks groundsel	Senecio franciscanus	Flowering Plants	T
Sentry milk-vetch	Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax	Flowering Plants	E
Siler pincushion cactus	Pediocactus (=Echinocactus,=Utahia) sileri	Flowering Plants	T
Sonora chub	Gila ditaenia	Fishes	T
Sonora tiger Salamander	Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi	Amphibians	E
Sonoran pronghorn	Antilocapra americana sonoriensis	Mammals	E
Sonoyta mud turtle	Kinosternon sonoriense longifemorale	Reptiles	C
southwestern willow flycatcher	Empidonax traillii extimus	Birds	E
spikedace	Meda fulgida	Fishes	T
Stephan’s Riffle beetle	Heterelmis stephani	Insects	C
Three Forks Springsnail	Pyrgulopsis trivialis	Snails	C
Virgin River Chub	Gila seminuda (=robusta)	Fishes	E
Welsh’s milkweed	Asclepias welshii	Flowering Plants	T
woundfin	Plagopterus argentissimus	Fishes	E, EXPN
Yaqui catfish	Ictalurus pricei	Fishes	T
Yaqui chub	Gila purpurea	Fishes	E
yellow-billed Cuckoo	Coccyzus americanus	Birds	C
Yuma clapper rail	Rallus longirostris yumanensis	Birds	E
Zuni bluehead Sucker	Catostomus discobolus yarrowi	Fishes	C
Zuni fleabane	Erigeron rhizomatus	Flowering Plants	T

That picture is of our darling girl, Kaylee. She is part chow, part golden retriever and 100% love. She is one of our furry children and she is a rescue. She didn’t have any back story at all, she is young and full of love and life yet she ended up at Rescue a Golden, AZ. Some folks don’t realize this happens. Fabulous dogs and cats for random crazy reasons end up at shelters, the shelters are over run (spay and neuter!) and so they don’t get much time to find a home before they have lost their lives.  It is no fault of the shelter, it is a lack of funds, a lack of space, and just too many critters that necessitates this unfortunate strategy which leads to 4-5 million deaths of cats and dogs each year.

Here are some interesting numbers from the Humane Society:

The problem is obvious, there are too many abandoned animals and not enough money to care for them. More funds are needed to support animal shelters which gets me to the point of this post. Most everyone is struggling financially right now.  Abandonment rates are up as people surrender loved pets they cannot afford to care for any more. Shelters are feeling the sting of the recession, too, as people close their wallets to donations and charity. In comes a contest that will award much needed funds to deserving animal rescues based on your votes!  Here is the information I recieved:

How the contest works:

Anyone can visit Care2.com/animalsheltercontest and select their favorite animal shelter or rescue group. Then, you can tell neighbors and friends to do the same! The shelter or rescue group with the most votes wins $10,000.

In addition to the grand prize:

• Second and third place winners will each receive $1,000. The groups that place 4th through 20th will each win $500.
• Every week, a randomly selected participating group (five or more votes that week) will win $500.
• The 20 contest participants who recruit the most friends to vote for their favorite shelter will receive a $50 gift certificate for pet products as special thank-you gifts.

So, get started voting and spread the word!

Click here to find your favorite shelters in your state.

Click here for Arizona Animal Shelters.

This picture is of our kitty, Fia. We rescued her from the Arizona Animal Welfare League six years ago. She was a little scrawny stray. She was so brown and matted up they had to shave her so we thought she was a short hair. When we brought her home… *poof* her beautiful snow white mane and onyx black tail exploded into all its fluffy glory.  She is the queen of the house, our very first critter and we adore her.  Arizona Animal Welfare League will definitely get our vote as our other rescue (Rescue a Golden, AZ) is not listed.

Rescued animals come in all shapes and sizes with all different temperments. They are just like people, everyone has their own personality.  It is ridiculous to me to think that someone would purchase an animal from a pet store (most of which support puppy mills) or from a breeder for hundreds or even thousands of dollars when so many wonderful dogs, cats, and other little critters need homes, too.

This is your chance to support a good shelter by casting your vote. Also, with the holiday season coming up consider donating to your favorite shelter in your loved one’s name rather than purchasing gifts.  Those lonely dogs and cats need it more than your husband needs a new gadget or your wife needs that designer purse.

So much to be done.. so many opportunities to do it!  There are public lands all over AZ in need of some sprucing (or major overhauling) and this Saturday is your chance to help out! With locations all over the state from the Grand Canyon to Yuma, to Phoenix or Flag you are sure to find a spot within driving distance.  This is a great chance for all of us to get involved but also to get kids involved with giving back to the community and enjoying nature at the same time.

National Public Lands Day
Saturday, September 27, 2008
National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy. In 2007, 110,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, planted trees and plants, and removed trash and invasive plants. Join us for the 15th annual National Public Lands Day

NWF is looking for a few good neighbors! Are you into greening you house, making your yard into a habitat for nature, saving fuel, and generally doing good things for the planet? If so NWF is looking for new members to take the good neighbor pledge. Take the pledge here and join our friend Danielle’s Neighborhood. She is a dedicated NWF employee that has started a online good neighborhood. Once you have joined she’ll post up your picture and a link to your website if you’d like.

To join up requires a $15 donation to NWF which goes toward protecting wildlife and the environment. The good neighbor program is a great way to affirm your dedication to taking care of the planet, your community, and joining a community of like minded neighbors.

NWF Good Neighbor