Wildlife & Plants

Federally Endangered Plants & Wildlife

The federal Endangered Species Act protects more than 1,200 different plant and animal species that are on the brink of extinction. The Los Padres National Forest provides habitat for at least 27 of these protected species, more than any other national forest in California. The nearby Carrizo Plain National Monument is also home to 13 federally endangered species.

Species classified as endangered (E) are in danger of extinction, and species classified as threatened (T) is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. Candidate (C) species have declined to such a level that they qualify for endangered or threatened status, but the federal agency in charge of officially adding them to the list has not yet done so. Petitioned species are those for which an official detailed request has been made to an agency to list the species as sensitive, threatened, or endangered.

MAMMALS

Giant kangaroo rat (E)
Gray wolf (E)
San Joaquin kit fox (E)
Southern sea otter (T)
Steller sea lion (T)

BIRDS

California condor (E)
California least tern (E)
California spotted owl (Proposed E)
Least bell’s vireo (E)
Marbled murrelet (T)
Pinyon jay (Under Review)
Southwestern willow flycatcher (E)
Western snowy plover (T)
Yellow-billed cuckoo (T)

REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS

Arroyo toad (E)
Blunt-nosed leopard lizard (E)
California red-legged frog (T)
Foothill yellow-legged frog (E)
Lesser slender salamander (Petitioned)
Southwestern pond turtle (Proposed T)
Western spadefoot toad (Proposed T)

FISH

Santa Ana sucker (T)
South-central steelhead (T)
Southern California steelhead (E)
Tidewater goby (E)

INVERTEBRATES

Conservancy fairy shrimp (E)
Kern primrose sphinx moth (T)
Longhorn fairy shrimp (E)
Monarch butterfly (Candidate)
Smith’s blue butterfly (E)
Vernal pool fairy shrimp (T)

PLANTS

California jewelflower (poss.) (E)
Camatta Canyon amole (T)
Kern mallow (E)
Refugio manzanita (Petitioned)
San Joaquin woolly-threads (poss.) (E)
San Luis Obispo fountain thistle (E)
Southern mountain wild-buckwheat (T)

Sensitive Species

In addition to the federally-protected plants and animals listed above, the Los Padres National Forest is also home to an 118 “sensitive” species. The population viability of these species is a concern due to current or predicted downward trends in population numbers or habitat capability. Whenever the Forest Service undertakes or approves an activity on public lands, officials are required by law to avoid or minimize impacts to these sensitive species.

BIRDS

Bald eagle
Brown pelican
California spotted owl
Northern goshawk
Pinyon jay
Swainson’s hawk
Willow flycatcher

MAMMALS

Fringed myotis
Mt. Pinos lodgepole chipmunk
Pallid bat
Tehachapi white-eared pocket mouse
Townsend’s big-eared bat

REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS

California legless lizard
Foothill yellow-legged frog
Lesser slender salamander
Pacific pond turtle
San Bernardino ringneck snake
San Simeon slender salamander
Two-striped garter snake
Yellow-blotched salamander

FISH

Arroyo chub
Pacific lamprey

INVERTEBRATES

Monarch butterfly
San Emigdio blue butterfly

PLANTS

Abrams’ oxytheca
Adobe sanicle
Arroyo de la Cruz manzanita
Baja pincushionplant
Bishop manzanita
Blakley’s spineflower
Bush mallow
Butterworth’s buckwheat
California satintail
California saw-grass
Caperfruit tropidocarpum
Carmel Valley malacothrix
Chickweed starry puncturebract
Club-haired mariposa lily
Cone Peak bedstraw
Cook’s triteleia
Cuesta Pass checkerbloom
Dudley’s lousewort
Dwarf goldenstar
Dwarf soaproot
Dwarf western rosinweed
Flax-like monardella
Fort Tejon woolly sunflower
Fragrant fritillary
Goosefoot yellow violet
Hardham’s bedstraw
Hardham’s evening-primrose
Hickman’s checkerbloom
Hickman’s onion
Hooked popcornflower
Hoover’s bentgrass
Hoover’s manzanita
Jolon clarkia
Jones’s layia
Kellman’s bristle moss
Kellogg’s horkelia
Late-flowered mariposa lily
Lemmon’s wild cabbage
Little Sur manzanita
Meager pygmydaisy
Mesa horkelia
Mojave Indian paintbrush
Monterey larkspur
Most beautiful jewelflower
Mt. Pinos larkspur
Mt. Pinos onion
Muir’s tarplant
Nuttall’s scrub oak
Ojai fritillary
Ojai navarettia
Pale-yellow layia
Palmer’s mariposa lily
Palmer’s monardella
Parish’s checkerbloom
Peninsular beargrass
Prickly spineflower
Pumice alpinegold
Refugio manzanita
Rock Creek broomrape
Ross’ pitcher sage
San Benito fritillary
San Bernardino aster
San Fernando Valley spineflower
San Gabriel alumroot
San Luis mariposa lily
San Luis Obispo lupine
San Luis Obispo mariposa lily
San Luis Obispo sedge
San Luis Obispo spineflower
Santa Barbara jewelflower
Santa Barbara honeysuckle
Santa Lucia bedstraw
Santa Lucia dwarf rush
Santa Lucia fir
Santa Lucia horkelia
Santa Lucia manzanita
Santa Margarita manzanita
Santa Ynez false lupine
Shevock’s copper moss
Slender mariposa lily
Small-flowered calycadenia
Smooth baccharis
Sonoran maiden fern
Southern alpine buckwheat
Southern jewelflower
Talus fritillary
Tear drop moss
Umbrella larkspur
Urn-flowered alumroot
Yellow woollystar

Management Indicator Species

The U.S. Forest Service monitors twelve Management Indicator Species (“MIS”) found in the Los Padres National Forest. These plants and animals indicate the effects of land use activities on the national forest. When monitoring indicates that their populations are declining, the Forest Service knows to make adjustments to how it manages the area.

Arroyo toad
Bigcone Douglas-fir
Blue oak
California black oak
California spotted owl
California white fir
Coulter pine
Mountain lion
Mule deer
Song sparrow
Valley oak

California Fully Protected Species

The State of California has classified certain wildlife species as “Fully Protected,” which means that they may not be killed or “taken” at any time. The classification of Fully Protected was the State’s initial effort in the 1960s to identify and provide additional protection to those animals that were rare or faced possible extinction. The designation is currently administered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

American peregrine falcon
Bald eagle
Bighorn sheep
Blunt-nosed leopard lizard
California brown pelican
California condor
California least tern
Golden eagle
Greater sandhill crane
Northern elephant seal
Ring-tailed cat
Southern sea otter
Unarmored threespine stickleback
White-tailed kite

Other Species of Interest

The Los Padres National Forest and other public lands in the Central Coast region are home to hundreds of species of plants and animals. Many of these species are important to ecosystem health though not listed as sensitive, threatened, or endangered. From the black bears that roam the Topatopa mountains to the world’s southernmost stand of coast redwoods found in the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest, these species are of special interest to the region.

American badger
Banana slug
Bats of the Central Coast
Bobcat
California black bear
California dogface butterfly
California glossy snake (CA Species of Special Concern)
California grizzly (extinct)
California newt (CA Species of Special Concern)
California quail
Ceanothus
Chamise
Chaparral clematis
Coast (Blainville’s) horned lizard (CA Species of Special Concern)
Coast patch-nosed snake (CA Species of Special Concern)
Coast redwood
Coastal whiptail (CA Species of Special Concern)
Conifers of the Los Padres
Cottonwoods
Coyotes of the Central Coast
Crotch’s Bumblebee
Cuesta Ridge thistle
Desert candle
Fire Followers
Frogs and Toads of the Central Coast
Gall Wasps
Gray fox
Greater roadrunner
Jeffrey pine
Ladybug
Lace lichen
Limber pine
Lizards of Los Padres National Forest
Matilija poppy
Peregrine falcon
Pronghorn
Purple needlegrass
Raven
San Joaquin coachwhip (CA Species of Special Concern)
Sargent cypress
Singleleaf pinyon pine
Snakes of Los Padres National Forest
Southern rubber boa
Swainson’s hawk
Sugar pine
Tarantula
Toyon
Trees of Los Padres
Tule elk

Western rattlesnake
Western red bat
Wolf lichen
Yellow-billed magpie
Yucca + yucca moth