Olympic National Park's beloved marmots are being considered for protections under the Endangered Species Act.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that Olympic marmots are one of 10 species that warrant reviews that could result them in them being listed as threatened or endangered. The proposal is now in a 12-month review period.
While there are several species of marmots, this particular one lives almost exclusively in Olympic National Park in Washington. There are thought to be just 2,000 to 4,000 Olympic marmots living in the wild.
Related to squirrels but dwelling on the ground instead of trees, marmots are often spotted playing, nuzzling or feeding in groups. The park's website calls marmots "quite possibly one of the most social and gregarious mammals" on the Olympic peninsula. They're also known as the guardians of the park's meadows.
“They’re fuzzy, and they stand up and look at you. And, I mean, when something stands up and looks at you, there’s this contact that you have with them,” John Bridge, president of the nonprofit Olympic Park Advocates, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “You don’t get to make eye contact with that many animals, but you do with marmots.”
Bridge is one of dozens of volunteers who sign up to conduct annual surveys of Olympic marmot populations.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition in May asking the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect Olympic marmots. The center filed a lawsuit in October over the issue.
Olympic marmots face several challenges to survival, including warmer temperatures, less snow and more erratic wildfire seasons, according to teh center.
“These adorable Pacific Northwest marmots need Endangered Species Act protections because not even the mighty Olympic Mountains can shield them from climate change and coyotes,” the center's Aaron Kunkler said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. “Protecting Olympic marmots will also make sure the beautiful alpine meadows they call home survive into the future.”
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