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Cedar Key Mole Skink Proposed For Endangered Species Act Protection

For Immediate Release, August 7, 2024

Contact:

Ragan Whitlock, (727) 426-3653, rwhitlock@biologicaldiversity.Org

Cedar Key Mole Skink Proposed for Endangered Species Act Protection

Rare Florida Lizard Threatened by Habitat Destruction, Sea Level Rise

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 protecting the skink as endangered under Endangered Species Act. The Service has also proposed to protect nearly 3,000 acres of life-saving critical habitat for the skink on its Florida islands.

The Service found that Cedar Key mole skink is endangered due to threats associated with climate change, specifically sea level rise, increased high-tide flooding and more intense storms.

"I'm relieved that Cedar Key mole skinks are finally getting the protection they need," said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center. "Irresponsible coastal development and sea-level rise have pushed these little lizards toward the brink of extinction, but the Endangered Species Act can bring them back."

Adorned with a light-pink tail, the Cedar Key mole skink lives exclusively on the shorelines of the Cedar Key islands, along roughly 10 miles of Florida's Gulf Coast. The lizards burrow in dry sand and hunt insects under leaves, debris and washed-up vegetation on beaches.

Due to their limited coastal range, Cedar Key mole skinks are especially vulnerable to extinction from destructive coastal development and human encroachment on their natural habitats. As sea level rises, they're also susceptible to inundation and being squeezed into shrinking areas between rising seas and human sprawl developments. Increasingly powerful storms fueled by climate change, like hurricanes Idalia in 2023 and Michael in 2018, can also kill skinks and inundate or destroy their coastal habitat.

"Living on islands makes these little lizards especially vulnerable to rising seas and increasingly stronger hurricanes worsened by fossil fuel-driven climate change," said Whitlock. "To ensure their future, we need a comprehensive plan for their survival and recovery, and that's exactly what Endangered Species Act protection will do."

In addition to threats from climate change and irresponsible development, the skink is also at risk of vehicle strikes, exposure to pollution and pesticides, overcollection, and predation by feral animals and fire ants.

The Center petitioned to protect the Cedar Key mole skink under the Endangered Species Act in 2012. In 2015 the Service found that protecting the skink may be warranted, but in 2018 the agency ultimately denied the petition. Following the Center's 2022 lawsuit, which pointed to deficiencies in the agency's analysis, the Service agreed to reconsider its denial and make a new decision by July 31, 2024.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


Cullen Skink

For the stock, heat the butter and vegetable oil in a large pan and gently fry the leeks, onions and fennel for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.

Add the white wine to the pan and bring to the boil. Add the smoked haddock, pour in the water and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface, until the haddock is cooked through.

Strain the haddock, reserving the cooking stock. Chop the haddock into bite-sized pieces.

For the soup, heat the butter with the vegetable oil and fry the leeks, shallots and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add the potatoes and the chopped smoked haddock to the pan.

Add the reserved cooking stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the cream and briefly blend the soup with a stick blender.

Serve the soup with crusty bread and sprinkle with the chopped fresh parsley and a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.


Agreement Reached To Speed Endangered Species Protection For Caribbean Lizards

For Immediate Release, May 27, 2021

Contact:

Elise Bennett, Center for Biological Diversity, (727) 755-6950, ebennett@biologicaldiversity.Org

Agreement Reached to Speed Endangered Species Protection for Caribbean Lizards

Skinks Threatened by Habitat Destruction, Introduced Predators, Climate Change, Development Linked to Jeffrey Epstein

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Center for Biological Diversity and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reached an agreement today that requires the Service to make endangered species decisions for eight rare species of skink — a type of lizard — by Dec. 12, 2024.The skinks are found on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and face extinction because of introduced predators, habitat destruction and climate change.

"Help is on the horizon for the rapidly vanishing lizards of the Caribbean islands," said Elise Bennett, a Center attorney. "Rampant development and predators introduced by people have driven these fascinating skinks to the brink of extinction. And they face rising seas and storms of increasing intensity in the future. Endangered Species Act protection is the best chance we have to save them from the mounting threats to their survival."

Today's legal agreement follows the Center's 2020 lawsuit challenging the Service's failure to make timely Endangered Species determinations for the species. The findings are more than six years overdue.

Two of the skinks, the lesser Virgin Islands skink (Spondylurus semitaeniatus) and Virgin Islands bronze skink (S. Sloanii), as well as the endangered Virgin Islands tree boa (Chilabothrus granti), are believed to occur on Great St. James. Jeffrey Epstein purchased the island in 2016 to construct a sprawling compound with two homes, cottages and various other buildings connected by private roads.

At least some of the construction has taken place without government permits. And since Epstein's death, the fate of the island and the endangered animals who live there is uncertain.

In addition to habitat destruction and threats from non-native predators like cats, mongoose and rats, climate change is causing sea-level rise and extreme storm events like the deadly Category 5 Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, which damaged the limited habitat of these entirely island-dwelling species. As many of the skink's islands are small and low in elevation, they are particularly vulnerable.

BackgroundCaribbean skinks, which can grow to be about 8 inches long, are unique among reptiles in having reproductive systems most like humans, including a placenta and live birth. They have cylindrical bodies, and most have ill-defined necks that, together with their sinuous movements and smooth, bronze-colored skin, make them look like stubby snakes with legs.

Scientists identified the skinks as separate species in a 2012 study. All are considered critically endangered or endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, and they are absent or extremely rare across most of their former ranges.

The Center petitioned to protect the skinks in 2014 with Dr. Renata Platenberg, an ecologist specializing in Caribbean reptiles.

Three of the species included in today's notice are found within the territory of Puerto Rico: the Culebra skink (Culebra and the adjacent islet of Culebrita), Mona skink (Mona Island) and Puerto Rican skink (Puerto Rico and several of its satellite islands). The remaining five are found in the Virgin Islands: the greater St. Croix skink (St. Croix and its satellite Green Cay), lesser St. Croix skink (St. Croix), greater Virgin Islands skink (St. John and St. Thomas), Virgin Islands bronze skink (St. Thomas and several of its islets, several British Virgin Islands) and lesser Virgin Islands skink (St. Thomas and two adjacent islets, several British Virgin Islands).

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.





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