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Rare Species Information

Massachusetts has a rich biological legacy and is home to a wide array of plants and animals.

Bartram's Shadbush, Threatened
Photo by Paul Somers

Some of these species are unique to our state, others that have their largest, most stable populations here, and yet others that are still relatively common.

There are 178 species of vertebrate and invertebrate animals and 264 species of native plants that are officially listed as Endangered, Threatened or of Special Concern in Massachusetts and tracked by the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program.

This section of the Natural Heritage Program website provides:

The list of species listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA)
A a tally of the MESA list by biological group
A summary of recent changes to the MESA list
A list of all MESA-listed species observed and documented in each town

You can also:

Learn more about many of the 442 MESA-listed species by reading informative fact sheets about a species' life history, habitat, and distribution
Request rare species information for a particular location
Report rare species to the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program

The Natural Heritage Program maintains GIS shapefiles as well as a variety of town-specific information that will be useful to all those working toward conservation at the statewide or municipal level.