ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to list the Black Creek crayfish as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the agency to protect the Florida crayfish in 2010.

“I’m thrilled the Black Creek crayfish will get these long-awaited protections, but these little animals are still threatened by degrading water quality and invasive species,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center. “More has to be done to ensure these animals have a chance at survival, including taking strong action to stop nutrient pollution into their remaining habitat.”

The Black Creek crayfish is colorful, with a black carapace, a white or yellow dorsal stripe and a rust-colored abdomen with black stripes. The species occupies a small range in the lower St. Johns River Watershed in northeastern Florida. As a result of the crayfish’s limited range, the Service predicts that every remaining population could be harmed by a single catastrophic event.

In its federal notice, the Service emphasized that the main threats affecting the species are harms from nonindigenous and invading species, including the white tubercled crayfish, as well as nutrient inundation from agricultural activities that degrade water quality and quantity.

The Service concurrently proposed more than 650 miles of critical habitat for the Black Creek crayfish across 15 waterways. The species relies on cool, flowing, sand-bottomed and tannic-stained streams with high levels of oxygen.

Today’s decision reverses the Service’s incorrect 2021 finding that the crayfish did not warrant protection.

Species with federally protected critical habitat are more than twice as likely to be moving toward recovery than species without it. Federal agencies that fund or permit projects in critical habitat must consult with the Service to ensure habitat is not harmed.