Spotting a Canada lynx is an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime moment for many in Maine’s North Woods. As is watching a wild Atlantic salmon swim upstream to spawn or a Piping Plover trot across a sandy beach. These inspiring animals have something in common not only because they wow us when we have the opportunity to see them, but also because they are all endangered species. We must do all we can to keep from losing them forever.

Scientists said climate change is having an unprecedented and accelerating effect on the biodiversity of plants and animals in Maine. Rising sea temperatures are altering critical habitats and food webs, as seen in the collapse of Atlantic shrimp stock and loss of kelp beds, which hurts both marine life and Maine’s vital fishing industry.

Endangered and Threatened inland fish and wildlife species in Maine are listed either under Maine's Endangered Species Act [MESA], the U.S. Endangered Species Act [ESA], or both. Species listed under MESA receive state protection; species listed under ESA receive federal protection; and species listed under both receive state and federal protection.

Maine lobstermen testified in Washington Tuesday against a bill that could put the industry back on the hook for regulations aimed at protecting endangered right whales. But without them, a marine biologist warns the whales could become functionally extinct within the next 12 years.

The decline of beech, ash and hemlock will transform forest ecosystems, disrupt wildlife and exacerbate the climate crisis.