Endangered and Threatened Species

Environmental Indicators:

Societal Indicators:

Energy Population Water Use Endangered Species

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Explore the map:

The initial map shows the number of threatened and endangered fish species per county. The user may also select a threatened and endangered fish species to display their habitat range on the map.
Each of the above highlighted attributes can be changed in the grey sidebar to the left of the map. Click the Update Map button to refresh the map based on your selections.

Explore the charts:

Click a location on the map and scroll down to see how ESA species change over time at that location. Click on the tabs for more information.

Select

Political Boundary:

Listing Category:



Add a Species Range to the Map:

Species Name:

Not all species have an overlay layer. See Information tab for missing species.


The number of species over time (left) shows the cumulative number of fish species listed by year. The percentage of species listed as threatened or endangered are shown below the chart.

Timing of ESA species listed shows the start and end date of species listed. These data show only currently listed species and not include species that have been removed from ESA listings.

Number of ESA species over time

Percent endangered species

Percent threatened species

Timing of ESA species listed

Water resources infrastructure, such as reservoirs, have historically been designed under the assumption of stationarity. Reservoir characteristics, such as storage volume and operations, are shaped by the initial characteristics of the river system at the time in which the reservoir was designed. Endangered Species protection began in earnest with the passing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973. There were a few species protected as early as 1966 with the passing of the Endangered Species Preservation Act. Species that are identified as threatened or endangered are federally protected. Agencies such as the Corps are prohibited to take any action that might negatively impact these species and are required to proactively support their habitat. The number of species protected by the ESA varies over time. Fish were taken as a proxy to understand the potential constraints on reservoir operations; however, other amphibious animals, riparian vegetation, and migratory birds may also require alterations to reservoir operations.


  • Data Sources:

  • Methods:
    • Species: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife data were filtered to list only fish species that were listed as threatened or endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature database was used to obtain the spatial extent of species ranges. This database was only used as an overlay on the map. All analysis was done using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife database.
    • County and State: The number of unique species were summed by county and state based on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife listings.
    • Corps Divisions/Districts: Counties were spatially joined to Corps Divisions and Districts based on maximum area. The number of unique species were tallied within each district and division.

  • Data Last Updated: July 2018
  • Anticipated Update Frequency: Unknown