ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE

PROTECTION STATUS: Not listed

PETITIONED: 2006 (Amargosa River population)

RANGE: The Mojave and Sonoran deserts of southern California and extending into a small area of western Arizona

THREATS: Recreational off-road vehicles, habitat loss from urban development and agriculture, toxins from nearby military operations, air pollution, global warming, non-native invasive plant species, and pesticides

POPULATION TREND: Off-road vehicle traffic has more than tripled at California’s Dumont Dunes since 1999, leaving the Amargosa River population in serious peril. More than 130,000 off-road riders visited the dunes in 2006, further precipitating sharp declines in the number of Mojave fringe-toed lizards.