Lena, a 14-year-old Canada lynx, at her enclosure Feb. 15 at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. As the northern boreal forest goes, so goes the lynx.

— David Joles, Star Tribune, Star Tribune

How you can help Minnesota's most endangered animals and plants

Across the state, people are taking measures to save vulnerable species at risk of extinction. Here's what you can do.

These 50 animals and plants have disappeared from Minnesota

Scientists know the actual number of extirpated species is much larger, but we don't have a full picture of what species have lived here.

How to save the lynx from extinction? It starts with poop

Lynx scat that researchers and developers collect in Minnesota is being used to develop a species recovery plan. There are only 100 to 300 lynx in the wild in the state.

— David Joles, Star Tribune, Star Tribune

Two decades after they were declared a threatened species, Canada lynx still need a recovery plan. Their poop, which researchers and volunteers collect in Minnesota, could be crucial in preservation efforts.

After coexisting for millennia, beetles now eating away Minnesota's tamarack trees

Tamarack trees are among the toughest things to ever grow in Minnesota. But now the eastern larch beetle is threatening their survival.

— Brian Peterson, Star Tribune, Star Tribune

Tamaracks were once the most common trees across Minnesota, but climate change has made them vulnerable to the eastern larch beetle's voracious appetite.

From nearly extinct to occasional nuisance, the fall and rise of Minnesota's wild turkeys

The wild turkey population hasn’t just recovered — it’s exploded. They’ve done so well that now some question whether there’s still enough space and tolerance for the birds in Minnesota’s cities.

— David Joles, Star Tribune, Star Tribune

Once nearly extinct, the wild turkey has become one of the United States' biggest conservation success stories. Flocks in Minnesota are now so comfortable that they verge on becoming a nuisance.

This otherworldly fish in Minnesota survived the fall of the dinosaurs — but is struggling now

The outlandish-looking paddlefish once ranged across much of the U.S. The gentle river giants now exist only around the Mississippi and a handful of tributaries.

— Brian Peterson, Star Tribune, Star Tribune

Paddlefish have survived in Minnesota for 125 million years, but dams and pollution threaten the silent, toothless river giants of the Mississippi and its tributaries.

The fate of a rare songbird depends on Minnesota's forests

Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge in northern Minnesota is one of the few major breeding grounds for the golden-winged warblers, which migrate thousands of miles to return each year.

— Brian Peterson, Star Tribune, Star Tribune

Minnesota's forests are one of the few significant breeding grounds left for the golden-winged warbler. Now the question is whether conservationists can manage trees and shrubs in a way that will allow the birds' population to grow.