DID YOU KNOW?

There are 29 different endangered species in Andover! 

Well if you didn't know, you're not alone! Many Andover residents go the majority of their lives without knowing about the endangered species in their own backyard. Most of these species are endangered due to habitat destruction and population. Most harm is done often without realizing the repercussions that are endangering plants, animals, and insects. We took these 29 species from the Massachusetts Government website, but there are many more that are rare that are also living in Andover that we should be aware of.

How Concerned Citizens Can Help:

Learn why species are endangered:

• • Habitat fragmentation, loss and destruction

  • Excessive predation 

  • Invasive species

  • Pollution

  • ATV riders on reservation land (illegal in Andover)

  • Accidental deaths, especially by cars running over turtles and amphibians during mating and nesting seasons

Become a Citizen Scientist and help raise awareness:

• • Learn about the endangered or threatened species that live in your yard, or on the AVIS or Conservation Reservations

  • Look at the Endangered Species section to learn to recognize the species that are endangered in our towns

  • Learn about turtle conservation:

    • Avoid running them over, especially in spring and early summer when they're finding nesting sites and the babies are hatching.

    • If you see a turtle crossing the road, help it go in the direction it was heading, even if that is AWAY from water because they are most likely seeking a dry nesting site.

    • Never take a wild turtle into your home as a pet.

    • If you see any turtle in Andover, except a Snapping Turtle, report it to the Andover Conservation Commission or mass.gov

    • Encourage your school to volunteer to "headstart" newborn turtles for Zoo New England's conservation project (Visit their website to learn more)

Get your backyard certified as a "Certified Wildlife Habitat"   

• • Even if you don't get it fully certified, providing as many of these requirements as possible helps:

    • Provide food sources (seeds, berries, nectar, foliage, nuts, fruits, sap, pollen, suet, bird feeders, hummingbird feeders, etc.)

    • Provide at least 1 water source (birdbaths, wetlands, ponds, etc.)

    • Provide at least 2 sources of cover (bushy plants and bushes, log piles or dense shrubs or thickets)

    • Provide at least 2 places where wildlife can raise their young (small trees or bushes in patio planters, trees and birdhouses)

Plant native species that will provide food, shelter and nesting habitats for endangered animals

Rid your yard of any invasive species

Donate to our partner organizations

Print our brochure & share it widely!

Send these letters!

Template to State Representatives and Senators asking to co-sponsor the bill

Letter Template for SARO committee