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An adult lynx weights between 20 and 30 pounds. Its huge hind feet (longer than eight inches in adults) act as snowshoes to help it move across heavy snow. A rare animal in the lower 48 states, it was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. Canada lynx are known to occur in the northeastern U.S. only in Maine. In 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed designating approximately 10,000 square miles in Aroostook, Franklin, Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Somerset counties as critical habitat.
Declines in the number of eagles were first noticed in the late 1800s following sharp drops in the numbers of waterfowl and other eagle prey. The direct killing of eagles and the cutting of trees required by eagles for nest building also played a part. To arrest these activities, Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940. Unfortunately, the Bald Eagle Protection Act was unable to defend the bird against the effects of harmful pesticides, especially DDT, which poisoned eagles and made it difficult for them to reproduce. By the time the bald eagle was listed under the Endangered Species Act, there were only 500 breeding pairs in the wild in the lower 48 states. The banning of DDT, coupled with the habitat-protection standards of the Endangered Species Act, has delivered a remarkable comeback in bald eagle numbers since then. In 1995 the bald eagle was downlisted from "endangered" to "threatened" after some 5,700 breeding pairs were counted in the wild. Today, with approximately 9,100 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering a proposal to declare the bald eagle recovered and to delist the eagle.
By 1995, wild Atlantic salmon spawned only in Maine's Dennys, East Machias, Machias, Pleasant, Narraguagus, Ducktrap, and Sheepscot rivers, and in Cove Brook. In 2000, wild Atlantic salmon in the United States were listed under the Endangered Species Act. Since being protected under the Endangered Species Act active management of the remaining wild Atlantic salmon runs has increased. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through its Private Landowners Incentive Program, has invested millions of dollars in individual stewardship efforts which, combined with other activities, have permanently conserved 21,000 acres and 84 miles of rivers where wild salmon are known to spawn. In July 2000, federal, state, and local agencies and private organizations united to remove the East Machias Dam, restoring 300 miles of free-flowing wild salmon waters.
To restore healthy populations of these rare and beautiful wildflowers, private conservation organizations worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service to reroute the Crawford Path away from the known locations of cinquefoil and to begin monitoring activities. In 1982, a reintroduction effort was begun by private conservation interests. These collaborative activities increased the number of Robbins' cinquefoil in the wild to more than 14,000, leading to the plant being declared recovered and delisted in 2002. Photos courtesy USFWS. Up to Top |
Sometimes called the "Ghost of the Forest," the Canada lynx is a large, bob-tailed cat of the northern forests. Often confused with its more common relative, the bobcat, the lynx is slightly larger, has grayish fur (rather than reddish) with less prominent spots, prominent ear tufts that may be nearly as long as the actual ears, and a solid black tip on its slightly shorter tail. 
When European settlers first arrived in North America, as many as one million bald eagles flew in the skies. The bird's prowess led it to be declared the National Emblem of the United States by the Second Continental Congress in 1782. Despite its association with the new nation's identity, it was more than a century before the safeguarding of eagles became a national concern.
Fishing for Atlantic salmon is one of the greatest pleasures of the outdoors. Wild Atlantic salmon once spawned in the United States from Long Island Sound to the rivers of Northern Maine. Sadly, over harvesting, dams, and water pollution caused most wild salmon runs to disappear by the late nineteenth century. 
Like a small pot of gold, the flowers of the Robbins' cinquefoil burst from the alpine tundra in only two locations in the world: both on the slopes of New Hampshire's unforgiving White Mountains. The building of the Crawford Path, a bridle and foot route, through the mountains, began the decline of the Robbins' cinquefoil, as it was trampled by both horses and hikers alike. By 1980, the number of plants in the wild had declined to fewer than 2,000, and the Robbins' cinquefoil was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.