Golden Gate National Recreation Area 2008 Endangered Species
Big Year
A Race Against Time to See & Save the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s 33 Endangered Species.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is home to more endangered species than any other National Park in continental North America. The nation’s largest urban park which is squeezed between some of the most expensive real estate in the country, it is a refuge for wildlife and city dwellers alike, and is one of the most recognized and visited portions of the San Francisco Bay Area featuring world-renowned destinations such Alcatraz Island and Muir Woods.

The GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year is a race against time to observe each of the 33 endangered and threatened species found within the park’s area, while taking 33 discrete conservation recovery actions that will prevent these species from going extinct. This program is also a competitive event - the person who sees and helps the most species between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, will win the Big Year!

The 33 Endangered Species include:
BIRDS - Marbled Murrelet; Western Snowy Plover; California Clapper Rail; California Least Tern; and Northern Spotted Owl
MAMMALS - Southern Sea Otter; Steller Sea Lion; Humpback Whale; and Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS - California Red-legged Frog; and San Francisco Garter Snake
INVERTEBRATES - San Bruno Elfin Butterfly; Bay Checkerspot Butterfly; Mission Blue Butterfly; and California Freshwater Shrimp
FISHES - Tidewater Goby; Coho Salmon, Central California Coast ESU; Steelhead, California Central Valley DPS; Steelhead, Central California Coast DPS; Chinook Salmon, Sacramento River Winter-Run ESU; and Chinook Salmon, Central Valley Spring-Run ESU.
FLOWERING PLANTS - San Mateo Thornmint; Presidio Manzanita; Tiburon Paintbrush; Fountain Thistle; Presidio Clarkia; San Mateo Woolly Sunflower; Marin Dwarf-Flax; San Francisco Lessingia; White-Rayed Pentachaeta; California Seablite; and Showy Indian Clover.

How Does the Endangered Species Big Year Work?
The first step is to visit the website www.ggnrabigyear.org and register.
Then, download your checklist of the 33 listed species found in the GGNRA and the 33 conservation action items you can take to help these species recover. On the website, look at the Calendar of Endangered Species Big Year events for special trips to observe endangered species and opportunities to help them recover.
You can sign-up for some trips or explore the park on your own.
Be sure to read the rules and regulations, and to follow them.
They also have an email alert program to keep you posted on the various species sightings.
You are to enter all of your sightings on the Big Year web site, and the person who has the most sightings and recovery actions listed, wins.

The 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year is a project of the following non-profit organizations: Center for Biological Diversity; Nature in the City; Sierra Club; San Francisco Zoo; National parks Conservation Association; Golden Gate Audubon Society; San Francisco Nature Education; The Xerces Society; San Francisco Naturalist Society; and Wild Nature – Educating about Wildlands of the West.