The city is situated on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a Federally protected ocean area extending 276 miles (444 km) along the coast. (Sometimes this sanctuary is confused with the local bay which is also termed Monterey Bay.) The California sea otter, a threatened subspecies, inhabits the local Monterey Bay marineenvironment, and a field station of The Marine Mammal Centeris located in Monterey to support sea rescue operations in this section of the California coast. Monterey is home to some endangered birdspecies: the California clapper rail, found in salt marshes; plus the California brown pelicanand the Yuma clapper rail, both of whose habitats are dunes and rocky headlands. The rare San Joaquin kit foxis also found in Monterey's oak-forestand chaparralhabitats. The chaparral, found mainly on the city's drier eastern slopes, hosts such plants as manzanita, chemiseand ceanothus. Additional species of interest (that is, potential candidates for endangered species status) are the Salinas kangaroo ratand the silver-sided legless lizard.
Source:http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
