The following reports identify those native Maryland animals that are among the least understood, the rarest, and the most in need of conservation efforts. It includes species occurring in Maryland that are on the federal list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), species currently on the State’s Threatened and Endangered Species list, and additional species that are considered rare or under assessment by the Wildlife and Heritage Service.
Compiled by Wildlife and Heritage Service staff and conservation partners, this list of rare species is a result of more than 40 years of effort to gather, research, and analyze data from numerous sources, such as museums, scientific literature, unpublished documents, reports from zoologists and amateur naturalists, and extensive field work conducted by scientists from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
While biological information is constantly updated, the regulatory process is more complex; as such, updates to the Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species list are made periodically. The report below contains conservation status rank and State legal status revisions since our last published list in 2016.
Rare, Threatened and Endangered Animals of Maryland
RTE Lists by County
Allegany County
Anne Arundel County
Baltimore City
Baltimore County
Calvert County
Caroline County
Carroll County
Cecil County
Charles County
Dorchester County
Frederick County
Garrett County
Harford County
Howard County
Kent County
Montgomery County
Prince George's County
Queen Anne's County
Talbot County
St. Mary's County
Somerset County
Washington County
Wicomico County
Worcester County
