Endangered Species Day, May 15 | Rocky Mountain Wild

Endangered Species Day website banner showing a bighorn sheep, Hoary bat, gray wolf, Canada lynx, and American pika — Photographs (L to R): Bighorn Sheep, courtesy of Jack Rohan (public domain); Hoary Bat, courtesy of Daniel, Neal, Oregon State University (CC BY-SA 2.0); Gray Wolf, courtesy of Eric Kilby (CC BY-SA 2.0); Canada lynx, courtesy of Jamia54 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), American pika, courtesy of Donald Hobern (CC BY 2.0).

May 15 is Endangered Species Day! This day is set aside as a day to learn about, celebrate, and advocate for the protection of endangered species.

Colorado has many threatened and endangered species on the Endangered Species list:

CO Amphibians Listed as State Endangered: Boreal toad
CO Birds Listed as State Threatened: Burrowing Owl, Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Mexican Spotted Owl, Piping Plover
CO Birds Listed as State Endangered: Least Tern, Plains Sharp-Tailed Grouse, Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, Whooping Crane
CO Birds Listed as Federally Threatened: Gunnison Sage-Grouse, Mexican Spotted Owl, Piping Plover
CO Birds Listed as Federally Endangered: Least Tern, Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, Whooping Crane
CO Fish Listed as State Threatened: Arkansas Darter, Brassy Minnow, Colorado Pikeminnow, Common Shiner, Greenback Cutthroat Trout, Humpback Chub
CO Fish Listed as State Endangered: Bonytail, Lake Chub, Northern Redbelly Dace, Plains Minnow, Rio Grande Sucker, Razorback Sucker, Southern Redbelly Dace, Suckermouth Minnow
CO Fish Listed as Federally Threatened: Greenback Cutthroat Trout
CO Fish Listed as Federally Endangered: Bonytail, Colorado Pikeminnow, Humpback Chub, Razorback Sucker
CO Mammals Listed as State Threatened: Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse, River Otter
CO Mammals Listed as State Endangered: Black-Footed Ferret, Gray Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Kit Fox, Canada Lynx, Wolverine
CO Mammals Listed as Federally Threatened: Grizzly Bear, Canada Lynx, Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse
CO Mammals Listed as Federally Endangered: Black-Footed Ferret, Gray Wolf

And besides those that are listed, we also have a lot of imperiled species and those of special concern.

Partner:

A huge thank you to our Endangered Species Day partner:

Here are some things you can do to celebrate Endangered Species Day:

Read:

For Adults:

“Protecting the Endangered Species Act,” from Endangered Species Coalition
“A Wild Success: A Systematic Review of Bird Recovery Under the Endangered Species Act,” from the Center for Biological Diversity
“Success Stories,” from Endangered Species Coalition

For Kids:

“Endangered Species: Save Our Species Information,” from the Environmental Protection Agency
“Endangered Animal Facts for Kids,” from Active Wild.

Do:

For Adults:

Check out Endangered Species Coalition’s 15 Ways to Help Protect Endangered Species and try to do all 15!
Check out Endangered Species Coalition’s 15 Actions to Help Protect the Endangered Species Act and try to do all 15!
Check out Endangered Species Coalition’s 15 Ways to Celebrate Endangered Species Day Online and at Home and try to do all 15!
Take action with Endangered Species Coalition and ask Congress to pass the PAW and FIN Act to protect endangered species.
Take action with Endangered Species Coalition and tweet to support the Endangered Species Act.

For Kids:

Color in your favorite Colorado imperiled, threatened, or endangered species! We’ve also got some coloring pages of our favorite imperiled, threatened, and endangered species including: American pika, Bighorn sheep, Boreal toad, Canada lynx, Greater sage-grouse, Gunnison sage-grouse, Townsend’s big-eared bat, Wolf, and Wolverine. Consider sending it to us and we’ll post it on our social media and share during the parade at noon.

Watch:

For Everyone:

Join us for an Endangered Species Day Parade from noon-1 pm! Pay attention to our social media channels to seen what artists, performers, writers, musicians, and other creatives have made to celebrate Colorado endangered species. And on May 15, show us what you’ve done! Whether you have finished coloring pages to share, original drawings or other art, poems or stories, zines, outfits, make-up, or any other creative endeavor, we want to see it! If you would like your artwork to be featured but can’t attend, send it along to Chris along with your name and anything you want people to know about your creation. Please register to reserve your spot as space is limited.

Inspiration for your Parade submission:

At Rocky Mountain Wild, we have a lot of artist friends who donated their time and talents to provide examples and tutorials of things you can do for the Parade! Remember, these are just suggestions – any and all creative endeavors are welcome! Because a lot of artists have been out of work, we also asked our friends to drop their support sites. If you are able and inspired to tip, please do!

Kristy’s Boreal Toad Face Paint Tutorial:

Kristy did two looks based on the boreal toad with face paint! Download her face chart to do design your own look. Check out her tutorial and looks below:

Kristy says she’s not struggling as much as others and asked that if you would like to tip her, to instead support Food Bank of the Rockies.

Emily’s How to Turn a Circle into a Pika Tutorial:

Emily Meredith Lewis shows you how to turn a bat into a pika! Plus, you can use the same idea to turn many other shapes into your favorite Colorado endangered species. Check out her tutorial and art below:

American pika, Fringed myotis, Canada lynx, gray wolf, and bighorn sheep drawings.

In light of the current pandemic and the financial trouble it has had on artists, we asked all of our tutorial artists to provide us with a link to provide them with tips. If you enjoyed this tutorial, you can tip Emily here: Venmo: @emilynettie or Paypal: emily@thesadhappy.com.

Chris’s Draw a Bat Tutorial:

Chris drew three bats in this tutorial: a Townsend’s big-eared bat with a black marker and color pencils, a Fringed myotis with India ink and gouache, and a digital Hoary bat! Check out their tutorial and art below:

Chris says they’re not struggling as much as others and asked that if you would like to tip them, to instead support the official Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund.

For Kids: