Monterey Bay 

Friends of the Sea Otter and countless volunteers are working to protect the charismatic southern sea otter. Today only about 2,200 sea otters can be found off of California's central coast. Friends of the Sea Otter played a key role in ensuring that the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary became a reality and remains one of the strongest voices for sea otters in California. They also conduct education programs along the beaches, and build partnerships and awareness about sea otter recovery among fishermen.

Monterey Bay  

Maris Sidenstecker has been involved in saving large ocean animals since she was fourteen when she founded Save the Whales with her mother. Now a biologist, Maris operates the “Whales on Wheels” or WOW educational program for school children. She uses the program to teach children about the importance of saving whales and other ocean dwelling animals.   California ’s coastal waters are home to five endangered whales; the sperm, blue, humpback, finback, and sei. When navy sonar testing threatened to disrupt these endangered whales Maris led the successful campaign to stop the harmful testing in Monterey Bay .   Source: Save the Whales

Covelo 

Students at Round Valley Elementary School on the Round Valley Indian Reservation are getting their hands dirty with some serious work to help restore endangered wildlife. Fifth graders recently worked to rehabilitate a great horned owl and return it to the wild. The students have also adopted a watershed habitat where they have replanted native plants in preparation of reintroducing native fish to the local rivers. Restoring Coho and steelhead salmon habitat has also become very important to the students as they try to restore the fish to prior levels used by their tribes.

Los Gatos 

Rob and Barbara Dicely have spent the last 18 years doing education programs with their wild cats in schools all around the San Francisco Bay area. They feel it is important for young people to learn about native wild cats such as the cougar, bob cat, lynx and ocelot. In all, the Dicely’s have spoken to amazing 600,000 students in the past 20 years, making them among the country’s leading ambassadors for wild cats.

Marina

Beaches near the Marina Dunes Resort are very sensitive habitat for a number of endangered creatures. The resort takes great care to ensure that the habitat remains home to these creatures. A "Lizzard Crossing" has been built at the main entrance to the resort to allow for the endangered California legless lizard to safely traverse the eastern edge of the resort. Native seagrass and buckwheat adorn the banks and dunes of the property to provide the Smith's Blue Butterfly with habitat. And the open dunes adjoining the site have been preserved to provide habitat for the snowy plover.

Livingston  

Cindy Lashbrook farms in the Merced River Valley . Here she grows a number of crops including blueberries. Elderberries are also bountiful but not because she farms them. The elderberry bushes exist on her farm because they are the habitat for the endangered Elderberry Longhorn beetle.  Cindy and her husband Bill have been very conscious about building a healthy habitat for the beetle. What they didn’t know at first was this work was also building a habitat for the endangered Swainson’s hawk too. Now healthy habitat exists for two endangered species to recover even as the business of farming goes on, providing an excellent example of how farmers can play a role in species conservation. Source: personal interview

Sacramento  

Eva Butler has worked tirelessly to educate the public on the variety of species that inhabit the seasonal wetlands and pools in Mather , CA . Her efforts have led the designation of the pools as habitat for several endangered species, including the delta green ground beetle, the fairy shrimp and the tadpole shrimp. Eva leads groups of school children to the pools where they learn about the important and diverse plants and wildlife that surround the area. Source: California Native Plant Society, Sacramento Chapter 

Yuba City  

Students at Woodleaf outdoor school learn each day about the importance of protecting endangered wildlife, particularly endangered birds of prey, or raptors, such as the bald eagle. The schools director, John Hendrickson has made it his primary mission to show each student that he or she is capable of saving endangered plants and animals. The classes take field trips, do research and work with local wildlife biologists on projects to help recover birds in the Northern California region. Source: Personal interview  

Fresno  

Rapid development is quickly swallowing up the habitat of Fresno ’s bald eagle around Millerton Lake . But some residents are working to make sure the eagle will always have a home there. Mike Smith runs “eagle tours” starting each January to show residents the beauty and value of having the bald eagle in their communities. Throughout the year Mike works to educate home owners, city officials and developers on the importance of protecting bald eagle habitat. Source: personal interview 

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