This document discusses 10 American species that are in need of habitat connectivity and corridors: the spotted turtle, Florida panther, Karner blue butterfly, pallid sturgeon, lesser prairie chicken, California tiger salamander, grizzly bear, palila, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Mexican gray wolf, and Chinook salmon. Many of these species have seen their ranges drastically reduced due to habitat loss, fragmentation, dams, hunting, and other human impacts, and now occupy only a small fraction of their historic territories. Connecting habitats and establishing migration corridors could help these at-risk species recover.

1. NO
ROOM
TO ROAM
10 AMERICAN SPECIES IN
NEED OF CONNECTIVITY
AND CORRIDORS
photo credit: Heather Green/www.heathergreenphoto.com

2. SPOTTED TURTLE
In the course of a year, spotted turtles typically visit different types of wetlands,
but habitat fragmentation has taken a toll on these frequent travelers.
photo credit: iStock.com/Najashots

3. FLORIDA PANTHER
The Florida panther once roamed a large area of the Southeast. But
habitat loss and persecution—there was a bounty in Florida on panther
scalps until 1950—drastically reduced its numbers.
photo credit: David Shindle, FWC

4. KARNER BLUE BUTTERFLY
With the loss of the wild lupine flower, the Karner blue butterfly is now
found only in tiny holdouts in about half the states it once called home.

5. PALLID STURGEON
The pallid sturgeon survived ice ages and even the asteroid hit that wiped out
the dinosaurs, but dams have brought this “living fossil” close to extinction.
photo credit: Joel Sartore, www.joelsartore.com

6. LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN
There were once as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens. Today only about
1 percent of that number remains in their five-state range.
photo credit: Larry Lamsa

7. CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDER
The California tiger salamander continues to decline due to habitat
fragmentation and loss—90 percent of California’s vernal pools are gone.
photo credit: Michael Starkey

8. GRIZZLY BEAR
Grizzly bears used to roam throughout the American West, but by the early
1900s, they’d been shot, poisoned, and trapped out of most of the country.
photo credit: Kim Keating, USGS

9. The palila, a finch-billed honeycreeper once found on three Hawaiian
islands, is now restricted to one slope of one dormant volcano —less
than 5 percent of its historic range.
PALILA
photo credit: Robby Kohley

10. EASTERN PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHID
As wetlands continue to be drained and developed, there are 70
percent fewer eastern prairie fringed orchids.
photo credit: Joshua Mayer

11. MEXICAN GRAY WOLF
Humans once targeted Mexican gray wolves for destruction. We can right
that wrong by giving these animals the wildlands they need to recover.
photo credit: Robin Silver

12. CHINOOK SALMON
Dams on rivers in the Northwest kill millions of juvenile Chinook salmon
each year and these outdated structures block adults trying to make their
way back to spawning grounds.
photo credit: Dan Cook, USFWS

13. In partnership with:
The
Caterpillar
Lab
Report Developed By: