ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Following an agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity to reconsider protections for the Cedar Key Mole Skink, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed listing the skink as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The Service also proposed protecting nearly 3,000 acres of life-saving, critical habitat for the skink on its Florida islands.
The service found that the Cedar Key mole skink is endangered due to threats posed by climate change, particularly sea level rise, more frequent flooding at high tide, and more severe storms.
“I’m relieved that Cedar Key’s mole skinks are finally getting the protection they need,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney for the center. “Irresponsible coastal development and sea level rise have brought these little lizards to the brink of extinction, but the Endangered Species Act can bring them back.”
The Cedar Key Mole Skink has a bright pink tail and lives exclusively on the coasts of the Cedar Key Islands, which stretch about 10 miles along Florida’s Gulf Coast. The lizards burrow into dry sand and hunt for insects under leaves, debris, and washed-up vegetation on beaches.
Because of their limited coastal range, Cedar Key mole skinks are particularly vulnerable to extinction from destructive coastal development and human encroachment on their natural habitat. As sea levels rise, they are also vulnerable to flooding, being pushed into shrinking areas between rising sea levels and human sprawl. Increasingly severe storms fueled by climate change, such as Hurricanes Idalia in 2023 and Michael in 2018, can also kill skinks and inundate or destroy their coastal habitat.
“Living on islands makes these small lizards particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and increasingly powerful hurricanes, which are exacerbated by fossil fuel-induced climate change,” Whitlock said. “To ensure their future, we need a comprehensive plan for their survival and recovery, and that is exactly what protections under the Endangered Species Act will do.”
In addition to the threats posed by climate change and irresponsible development, the skink also faces the dangers of vehicle collisions, exposure to pollution and pesticides, over-harvesting, and predation by feral animals and fire ants.
The Center applied for protection of the Cedar Key Mole Skink under the Endangered Species Act in 2012. In 2015, the Service concluded that protection of the skink might be warranted, but in 2018, the agency ultimately denied the application. Following the Center’s 2022 lawsuit, which pointed out deficiencies in the agency’s analysis, the Service agreed to reconsider its denial and make a new decision by July 31, 2024.
