THE ENDANGERED

FOOTBALL LEAGUE
WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED
BY LANDON WATNICK
THE TEAMS
4 16

6 18

8 20

10 Oakland 22

12 24

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 opening kickoff
The narrative about football
potentially being endangered has
been a mainstream topic for quite
some time, but what about actual
endangered species?
People love to debate about
football’s future, particularly the
long-term viability of the National
Football League. The NFL (and the
sport as a whole) has been faced
with a number of questions recently
because of concussions, questionable
player discipline policies and the hot
debate about players protesting racial
injustice during the national anthem.
Meanwhile, endangered species
indigenous to the United States
haven’t drawn nearly as much
attention as Americans’ favorite sport.
The current White House hasn’t
been shy to attack the NFL, but their
quiet maneuvering on environmental
matters have some worried about
whether they could consider
weakening aspects of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973.
Recently, the Trump administration
denied endangered species protection
to 25 different species. Not too long
ago, President Trump decided to allow
elephant trophy imports, reversing
course on an Obama-era ban.
In an era where big business is of
far greater importance to the White
House than the environment and the
species that inhabit its ecosystems,
what lies next for the U.S.’s own
endangered species?
We love to talk about the NFL, so
let’s bring some attention to a notable
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handful of these endangered species
by creating the “Endangered Football
League” – a 12-franchise conceptual
football league.
These 12 teams represent 12
of some of the most fascinating
endangered species currently
native to the U.S. This book and the
conceptual league will hopefully help
shed more light on their importance
and help bring awareness to
conservation efforts.
Each of these teams is based off
of a species considered endangered
or critically endangered by the
International Union for Conservation
of Nature and/or the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. For each franchise,
I’ve illustrated an original logo and
jersey concept.
 An adorable, slender-
bodied inhabitant of
west-central North America,
the black-footed ferret has
faced a number of threats
in recent decades.
Humans have caused
most of the issues for
Kimberly Fraser / USFWS
these creatures who reside
in semiarid grasslands
and mountain basins.
Nicknamed the “prairie
dog hunter,” black-footed
ferrets rely heavily on
them for prey. However,
extermination of prairie
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dogs for agricultural
purposes – and a non-
native plague that also led
to prairie dog population
decline – resulted in a
decline in black-footed
ferrets. Habitat loss and
defragmentation caused
by agricultural use has
also deeply affected these
“prairie hunters.”
In the late 1980s,
the black-footed ferret
went nearly extinct, but
conservation efforts began
to salvage what was left of
the species.
Black-footed ferrets
were re-introduced to the
wild in the late 2000s, and
currently more than 1,000
members live in the wild
across 18 populations.
Four of them are
self-sustaining, with two
currently in South Dakota,
and one each in Arizona
and Wyoming.
Kimberly Fraser / USFWS
 Throughout time, the
California condor has been
a symbol for its state and
many of its Native American
groups. However, during
the past few decades, the
impressive bird has faced a
variety of threats.
This condor, which
features a large body
covered in black feathers,
a wingspan that can reach
3 meters and a head color
that ranges from orange to
red-purple, is the heaviest
Scott Flaherty/USFWS
bird species and the largest However, some California The California condor
flying bird in North America. condors have been can live up to 60 years –
Lead poisoning, reintroduced to west-coast one of the longest lifespans
poaching and habitat states, but those individuals for a bird in the world – but
destruction have remain monitored by human activity has not
contributed to the decline conservation groups. Its allowed the vast majority of
of the California condor population is now up to these birds to achieve that
population. In 1987, a roughly 500 members. notable milestone.
conservation plan was
put in place by the U.S.
government to capture the
remaining 27 individuals
in the wild – and then and
there, the species officially
became extinct in the wild.
Dick Daniels/CarolinaBirds.org
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 The red wolf is
considered the rarest and
most endangered species
of wolf in the world. Since
1996, the IUCN has listed
the red wolf as critically
endangered.
B. Bartel/USFWS
A number of factors
led to the drastic decline
in red wolf population in
the United States during
the mid 1900s, including
aggressive predator-
control programs, habitat
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destruction and extensive
hybridization with coyotes.
By the late 1960s, the
species was nearly extinct.
Soon, a conservation
plan was put into effect and
14 survivors were selected
to be the founders of a
population bred in captivity.
Roughly 20 years later,
the species was released
into the Alligator River
National Wildlife Refuge
and the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park in
North Carolina.
The red wolf population
nearly doubled after being
released into the wild
but has seen a decline in
recent years.
By 2012, there were
100-120 red wolves in
the wild. As of 2015, there
are only 50-75 as gunshot
mortalities have increased.
LaggedOnUser/Flickr.com
 The Gunnison sage-
grouse may just be one of
the most fascinating birds
in North America, on just
appearance alone.
Thanks to its stiff,
pointed tail feathers, yellow
cervical sacs and yellow
eye combs, once you see a
sage-grouse it won’t leave
your memory.
The sage-grouse, which
has its largest population in
the Gunnison Basin region
Jeannie Stafford/USFWS
in Colorado, are known for urbanization, the Gunnison to be endangered. The
their elaborate courtship sage-grouse’s population good news is that recently
rituals. Every spring, has declined to fewer than the government has
males take part in leks 3,000 individuals. implemented conservation
by performing a strutting The USFWS lists the plans for these birds to
display for females, who species as threatened, but help reverse their current
then select the most the IUCN Red List considers population declines. Long
attractive and desirable the Gunnison sage-grouse live the sage-grouse.
males for mating purposes.
However, over time the
dating world has gradually
dried up for the sage-
grouse. Due to habitat
loss caused mainly by
Bob Wick/BLM
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 Since the middle Data points to a 95% in their decline. Due to in the degradation of their
of the 20th century, population decrease over their toothed rostrum, natural habitats.
the population of the time of the smalltooth smalltooth sawfish are Today, the species is
smalltooth sawfish in the sawfish, with bycatch vulnerable to entanglement limited to the southeast of
United States has been on and habitat loss being by nearby fishing nets and the United States, with its
a significant decline. two of the biggest factors are sometimes accidentally biggest population being
caught by fishermen using found in Florida. It also
these methods. resides in other nearby
Sawfish also rely on habitats in the Bahamas,
estuaries and mangroves -- Honduras and Cuba.
and commercial and urban Still, populations of the
development throughout smalltooth sawfish are
this century have resulted currently fragmented.

Holiday Point/Flickr.com D Ross Robertson/Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

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 A multitude of
honeycreepers – and birds,
in general, in the state of
Hawaii – have experienced
threats to their existence in
recent years.
Climate change has
resulted in increased
temperatures in Hawaii,
making living conditions for
a number of honeycreepers
not ideal. Mosquitoes
carrying diseases like
Hiart/Creative Commons
malaria have also played well as deforestation, `O`u, Po`ouli, Palila, Nihoa
a part in honeycreepers’ have led to the colorful finch and laysan finch,
population decline. ‘Akohekohe’s decline. have also seen populations
The ‘Akohekohe (pictured Currently, there are just decline over the years.
bottom right and in the roughly 3,800 left. The IUCN considers the
Hawaii Honeycreepers’ Other honeycreeper Kauai akialoa (pictured
logo) is critically species, including the bottom left) as extinct.
endangered because of its
extremely small range and
the imminent threat of feral
deer impacting the habitat.
Invasive species affecting
the habitat in Hawaii, as
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
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 The Mississippi gopher resides in Mississippi, with population isolation, habitat about age 6-10 and
frog, also known as the roughly 100 members loss, urbanization, disease, reproduces only once every
dusky gopher frog, was left living near Glen’s droughts, floods and fire 4-5 years, primarily lives
once abundant in the Pond in Harrison County, suppression. The latter underground. These frogs
southeast United States. Mississippi. A variety of has reduced the quality of are so secretive, when
However, the only threats have faced the dusky gopher frog’s habitat faced with bright light they
population currently gopher frog, including and vegetation, which has will put their hands in front
been less nutrient rich over of their face to shield their
the years due to these sorts eyes. The decline of the
of practices gopher tortoise population
The gopher frog, a in Mississippi has led to
mid-sized, stocky, spotted a shortage of burrows for
creature which lives to these frogs to travel.

Glen Johnson/USFWS USDA/Flickr.com

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 Numerous whale species
with populations in the
United States are listed as
endangered by both the
IUCN and USFWS.
Currently, 12 different
whale species are listed as
endangered by the USFWS:
the bowhead whale
(pictured bottom right), sei
whale, humpback whale,
blue whale, finback whale,
sperm whale (pictured
Gabriel Barathieu/Flickr.com
bottom left), beluga whale, extinction due to an excess Chesapeake Bay, have
gray whale, killer whale, of commercial whaling for helped battle the decline
southern right whale, North resources like their meat, of various whale species,
Atlantic right whale and oil and blubber. but there’s still plenty of
North Pacific right whale. Conservation efforts work left to do in order to
Some of the primary by the U.S. government, help preserve these marine
causes for various whale notably in regions like the mammals’ existence.
species’ decline have been
hunting, pollution, ship
strikes and the impact of
climate change. During the
20th century, many whale
species almost reached
Kate Stafford/Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
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 When the first European different story. A handful Worldwide, the sturgeon A long fish that typically
settlers came to North of Atlantic sturgeon population has declined by reaches about 300 pounds
America, the Atlantic populations in the U.S. are more than 90% over the in weight and 6-8 feet in
sturgeon population was in considered endangered, past 75 years. length, the Atlantic sturgeon
considerable abundance. including in those in New Pollution, habitat loss has five rows of bony plates.
Fast-forward to present York, the Chesapeake Bay and overfishing have led to While their underside is a
day, and it’s a much and North Carolina. their decline in population, yellowish-white, most of
with the latter notably their bodies are comprised
playing a big part. of a bluish black to olive
The Atlantic sturgeon is green coloration.
one of the most expensive Some of the biggest
fish in the world, because sturgeon have exceeded
its eggs can be cheaply 14 feet and have weighed
made into caviar. more than 800 pounds.

USFWS Virginia State Parks/Flickr.com

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 Reaching a size of
roughly 8 feet and a weight
of more than 560 pounds,
the giant sea bass is one of
the goliaths of its domain in
the northern Pacific Ocean.
However, according
to the IUCN Red List, the
shallow-water species has
been critically endangered
since 1996 due in large
part to overfishing. Thanks
to its large size and limited
distribution, the giant sea
Caitlin Childs/Flickr.com
bass is a vulnerable victim. those commercial and much hard data out there
Since the late 1970s, recreational acts illegal. to support that trend.
the giant sea bass faced Many believe the While the giant sea
the threat of local extinction population of the giant bass still remains under
on the California coast sea bass has supposedly protection, there’s more
because of sport fishing. increased gradually since work to do to help these
Many spearfishermen the government took mammoths survive in
and scuba divers action, but there’s not ocean waters.
considered the giant sea
bass “big game.”
The California
Department of Fish and
Game took notice and
around that time made
Pxhere.com
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 Two species of
woodpeckers indigenous to
the U.S. have experienced
existential threats in the
past century. While one has
faced a number of threats,
many consider the other to
be possibly extinct.
James St. John/Flickr.com
The red-cockaded
woodpecker (pictured
bottom right) is considered
as “near threatened” by
the IUCN but endangered
by the USFWS because
of factors like forest
defragmentation and fire
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suppression. Native to a
variety of southeastern
states including Texas,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
Alabama, the Carolinas
and others, the population
of the red-cockaded
woodpecker declined by
81% between 1970 and
2014. The good news is
that the population of this
species of woodpecker is
gradually stabilizing due to
conservation efforts by the
government. Meanwhile,
the ivory-billed woodpecker
(pictured bottom left)
is in far greater danger.
Many dispute whether it
should be listed as critically
endangered or extinct, as
the last confirmed sighting
came in the 1980s.
There have been other
reported sightings of the
species in decades since,
but those have gone
unconfirmed.
Mary Snieckus/USDA
 The Hawksbill sea turtle
is known for its beautiful
tortoiseshell, but that’s
also a key factor in why its
population has decreased
over the past century – and
continues to decline.
Hawksbill turtles are
coveted for their shells as
decorative items such as
ornaments and jewelry,
while in some parts of the
world the turtles are eaten
as delicacies. Other threats,
Mastrfshrmn/Flickr.com
such as egg collection, plans to combat population The Hawksbill sea turtle
habitat destruction, nesting declines, the Hawksbill sea is distinct for its narrow,
destruction, entanglement turtle’s population count is pointed beak and colorfully
with marine debris and still trending downward. pattern scaled shells. These
oil pollution, have led to a Currently, only 15,000 turtles play an important role
decline in their overall count females capable of laying in maintaining the health of
throughout the world. eggs exist worldwide. coral reef ecosystems.
These turtles, which have
small populations in the
northeast and southeast
U.S., are widely considered
as critically endangered.
While the government has
enacted several recovery
Prilfish/Flickr.com
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 E F L
THE ENDANGERED
FOOTBALL LEAGUE

For more information on our country’s

endangered species and what you can do to help
them, visit www.iucnredlist.org and www.fws.gov.