How Endangered Species Benefit From Healthy Forests

Currently listed as endangered, the Hawaiian Hoary Bat, or ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a, is the last native land mammal left in Hawaiʻi. Its traditional name, ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a, means “half-leaf", because when open, its wings resemble a taro leaf. Before its arrival on the island around 10,000 years ago, the hoary bat had to travel approximately 2,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean.

These nocturnal creatures roost in trees, leaving around sunset to dine on moths and other insects. They are primarily threatened by habitat destruction and collisions with infrastructure, including wind turbines and barbed wire fences.

Our multi-year Mauna Kea project in Hawaii is planting trees to restore degraded land. Over time, this will reduce the risk of wildfire and colonization by invasive species. As the trees grow, they will form recovery habitat for several endangered species, including birds, plants, invertebrates, and the Hawaiian Hoary Bat. Although a full recovery will be decades in the making, planting trees here is a vital part of the ongoing restoration work.

Monarch butterflies are prolific pollinators and critical to the health of our planet. While feeding on the nectar that comprises their diet, they pollinate many types of wildflowers — providing an invaluable ecological service to forests and farmlands across their range. They also provide an important food source for birds, small animals and other insects.

Unfortunately, Eastern Migratory Monarch populations have declined by more than 80% during the last three decades. Threats include dwindling food sources (primarily milkweed and nectar plants) due to herbicide use, deforestation and degradation of their overwintering grounds in Mexico, widespread pesticide use, and climate variations that have caused changes in their life cycle. As a result, the species has been classified as vulnerable.

By planting trees in and around the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, we are working to restore the vital nesting grounds of Eastern Migratory Monarch butterflies. To accomplish this, we are planting Oyamel pine and other native species to convert deforested farmland back to native forest, restore areas that were clearcut for timber or lost in forest fires, reduce pressure on the remaining forest habitat, and restore the monarch’s overwintering habitat. 

Among the largest and most powerful forest raptors, the magnificent Philippine eagle is one of the rarest eagles in the world. Today, it can only be seen on 4 islands in the Philippines: Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. Primary threats to this species are habitat loss due to deforestation, and human-wildlife conflict as they venture into agricultural areas for food.

With an estimated 400 pairs left in the wild, the eagle is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Each pair requires around 4,000-11,000 hectares of forest land to thrive in the wild, depending on availability of food and other factors.

Our Mount Matutum project in the Philippines planted a range of native tree species to restore deforested rainforest habitat within the Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape. Over time, this work will foster the return of critical habitat for many endangered species, including the Philippine tarsier and Philippine eagle.

The Southern Resident Orca population was listed as endangered in 2005 under the Endangered Species Act and are considered depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The factors causing the decline of Southern Residents are complicated, and are likely to continue until we learn more about what needs to be done to reverse this trend. Scientists have identified the three main causes of decline, which are: reduced quantity and quality of prey, persistent organic pollutants that cause immune or reproductive system dysfunction, and noise and disturbance from ships.

The Endangered Southern Resident Orca have called the stretch of Pacific Ocean from Northern California to British Columbia home for millennia. Every year, as the Orca's migrate North to South and back again they rely on the West Coast Chinook salmon for food (nearly 80% of their diet). However, salmon stocks are diminishing due to loss of habitat and increasing pollution - ultimately impacting the orca downstream. Our multi-year orca project planted trees along rivers and streams of the Pacific Northwest to restore water quality and improve the health and quantity of salmon for the orca to eat!

The wood turtle once ranged widely across eastern landscapes, specifically meandering cobble-bottomed streams with surrounding fields and forests. Living both on land and in water, it is vulnerable to the loss of both types of habitat. This medium-sized turtle species has one very unique behavior: the worm stomp. 

This involves stomping their feet and shell on the ground to imitate falling rain or the movement of moles, tricking worms into coming to the surface where they can be eaten.