The Pacific Pocket Mouse is a tiny mammal found in coastal areas of Southern California, where it lives in sandy coastal habitats, dunes, and grasslands. Its survival is threatened by habitat loss and degradation caused by coastal development, invasive plants, wildfires, and other changes to its environment. Because it depends on open, sandy habitats for burrowing, feeding, and raising its young, the loss of these areas places the species at significant risk. Protecting coastal dunes, grasslands, and native vegetation is essential for the survival of the Pacific pocket mouse and the many other species that rely on these fragile coastal ecosystems.