SILVER CITY, N.M.— Following a decade of advocacy from the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today added the Peñasco least chipmunk of southeastern New Mexico to the list of endangered species. The Service also designated 4,386 acres on the Lincoln National Forest as critical habitat for the chipmunks.

Livestock grazing and other land-use changes reduced the chipmunk’s population to just a few dozen animals. The chipmunks are now imperiled by many threats including drought and wildfires caused by climate change, the maintenance and operations of a ski resort, and the rooting and predations of feral hogs.

“While the Peñasco least chipmunk’s plight is grim, Endangered Species Act protection means these adorable critters now have the best chance at surviving and still being around generations from now,” said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate with the Center. “Since time immemorial, these chipmunks nibbled gooseberries at the edges of subalpine meadows and only had to worry about predators like bobcats and hawks. But their numbers shrank as the human imprint grew, so I’m thrilled that they’re finally protected.”

Peñasco least chipmunks are a subspecies of least chipmunk native to the Sacramento Mountains including their spur, the White Mountains, the only region where they’re currently found. They developed into a unique subspecies through isolation from other least chipmunks by desert lowlands.

WildEarth Guardians petitioned to add the Peñasco least chipmunk to the endangered list in 2011, but it took a Center lawsuit last year to secure an agreement with the Service to set a timeline to determine whether the chipmunk as well as 12 other disappearing animals would be listed.

The Service today also denied Endangered Species Act protection for Rio Grande cutthroat trout, which are only found in a fraction of their historic range in New Mexico and Colorado. The Center has been trying to obtain protection for these embattled trout since 1998.

“The stunning Rio Grande cutthroat trout faces the same threats it did 26 years ago when we first petitioned for their protection, except now climate change is making everything worse for the fish,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. “Streams are getting warmer and fires are becoming more widespread. Denying protections for these rare trout makes zero sense.”