SAVING THE FLORIDA KEYS MOLE SKINK

Florida Keys mole skinks are one of the rarest and most mysterious of Florida native species. These 5-inch-long lizards have shiny, armor-like scales, a pinkish-red tail, and a brown body. They're secretive animals, living under rocks, leaves, debris, and washed-up beach vegetation called tidal wrack. They're also the southernmost U.S. mole skink species, found mainly in Dry Tortugas and the Lower Keys along Florida's shoreline, living in sandy areas where they burrow deep for refuge.

BACKGROUND

But these little lizards are in trouble much deeper than their burrows. Their populations are currently in sharp decline because of urban development in the past and sea-level rise now and in the future, which causes flooding that destroys their habitat. Human population has spurred development along the shoreline in the Florida Keys, destroying many of the nooks and crannies these mole skinks call home.

OUR CAMPAIGN

The Center is working to halt destructive sea-level rise and prevent the extinction of these lizards. In 2010 we filed a petition to protect 404 southeastern aquatic species, including the skinks, under the Endangered Species Act. In its 2011 response to that petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the mole skinks may warrant the Act's protection — but the agency failed to make a final decision. So in 2013 we filed a lawsuit seeking protections for the skinks and their habitat, and a few months later, the Service agreed to make a protection decision by 2017. Under the first Trump administration, that year the Fish and Wildlife Service unlawfully denied Endangered Species Act protection to this and 24 other highly imperiled species. So we had to sue again in 2019, and a year later we prevailed in court.

Following that 2020 legal victory by the Center, in 2022 the Service proposed protecting Florida Keys mole skinks as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, also proposing 7,068 acres of critical habitat. Four years later the Service finally listed the mole skinks as endangered, making them one of the first three species to win final protection under the second Trump administration (though the Service failed to concurrently issue lifesaving critical habitat protections).

Check out our press releases to learn more about the Center's actions for Florida keys mole skinks.