Many national parks play a crucial role in recovery efforts for certain endangered species.
Some contain all or a large part of the population of a species. Following are accounts of some of the species for which the National Park Service has a special responsibility. The grizzly bear, once found over most of western North America, now is restricted mainly to western Canada and Alaska. It is listed as threatened in the lower 48 states, where it survives only in parts of the northern Rockies and northern Cascades. Conflict with humans and loss of habitat led to its present status.