We’re launching a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for denying Endangered Species Act protections to the imperiled North Oregon Coast population of red tree voles. These small rodents of the Pacific Northwest spend virtually their entire lives in the tops of big trees, eating conifer needles. Most animals can’t survive on pine needles, which have resin ducts containing terpenoids: chemical compounds that deter herbivores (and give pine trees their distinctive smell). But smart tree voles know to remove the resin ducts before eating the needles. North Coast red tree voles are threatened by logging and climate change-fueled wildfires. If we protect red tree voles, we also protect their forests and the web of life in which they play an important role. These tree hamsters, as they are affectionately known, are a harbinger of ecosystem health — and worthy of continued existence. #stopextinction #redtreevole #endangeredspecies