Bay-Area contest to spot National Parks' Endangered Species

A while back, I was privileged enough to spend a perfect afternoon hiking amongst the majestic redwoods of Marin County's Muir Woods. Turns out (though this could be seen as either a good or bad thing) that the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which Muir Woods is a part of, has more endangered species than any other chunk of National Park in the United States!

Because if this, a contest called The Endangered Species Big Year is being run to see who can lay eyes upon the most of these 36 rare species, and, in addition, take 36 conservation actions, helping to preserve these species and their habitats.

Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse

If you keep your eyes peeled, you might see a Steller sea lion, humpback whale, California red-legged frog, salt marsh harvest mouse, western snowy plover, northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, brown pelican, California clapper rail, tidewater goby, coho salmon, steelhead trout, chinook salmon, mission blue butterfly, California freshwater shrimp, Tiburon paintbrush or the Marin dwarf-flax!

Tidewater Goby

If you live in the Bay Area and want to participate, check out the link here, for more details. There is a cash prize, but the pleasure of seeing these species and spending time in some of our country's most beautiful National Parks, will undoubtedly be a reward in and of itself!

California Red-legged Frog