Special efforts have successfully prevented 99 percent of the species officially identified as threatened or endangered from extinction. And when we protect endangered species, ensuring a healthy environment for wildlife, we are contributing to a healthy environment for people. This coloring book lists some of the threatened species that depend on the lower Columbia River estuary and its surrounding environment. As you color the pictures in this book, think about actions you might take to save a part of nature for your children and your children's children. They feed on other birds, some of which may have been poisoned by pesticides .
Scientists believe that a diet containing pesticides causes eggshell thinning.
Eggshell thinning reduces the chances Peregrine Falcons will hatch healthy young. The species was listed as endangered in 1970. Steelhead stay in the estuary for 30-60 days, adjusting to saltwater, and eating insects, small fish, and crustaceans . After one to three years in the ocean they return to the estuary and move upriver to spawn in the Columbia and its tributaries . Steelhead have lost habitat due to forestry, farming, and development activities.