Environmental News: Media Center  Press contact: Jessica Lass,
jlass@nrdc.org, 415-875-6143 NRDC Petitions Federal Government
to List Tufted Puffin Under Endangered Species Act    The
charismatic seabird is found in the open waters, islands, and
coastal cliffs of the North Pacific Ocean. Its habitat range
within North America extends from northern California to Alaska.
It is also found in Russia and a tiny remnant population
inhabits two northern Japanese islands.  As a result of human
activity, the tufted puffin population in the lower forty-eight
states has plummeted in recent decades. In California, Oregon,
and Washington, the breeding population has dropped by 85 to 90
percent in just three decades, from more than 30,000 birds to no
more than 4000 today. Most of these remaining puffins are in
Washington. Oregon and California each have breeding populations
of less than 300 individuals.  The tufted puffin population is
at risk in part because climate change is changing the
temperature and circulation patte