CHARLESTON, W.Va.— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to decide whether the yellow-spotted woodland salamander could warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Fewer than 400 yellow-spotted woodland salamanders remain and they only live in Appalachian rock outcrops targeted by coal mining.

The Center petitioned to list the yellow-spotted woodland salamander under the Endangered Species Act in August 2022. The Service was required to issue an initial decision on the petition within 90 days, which could start the process of granting the salamanders federal protections. But 17 months later, the Service hasn’t issued the finding.

“These salamanders can’t wait any longer for Endangered Species Act protections,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center. “They’re one of the most endangered species on the planet, and without immediate action they’ll go extinct on our watch.”

Yellow-spotted woodland salamanders are found in shale and sandstone rock faces in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. The same sites are targeted by mountaintop removal mining, which uses explosives that blast apart mountains to access coal seams. More than 500 mountains and 1.4 million acres of forest in Appalachia have been destroyed by mountaintop removal mining over the past 40 years.

Three known yellow-spotted woodland salamander populations have already been wiped out by mining and road construction in the past decade and many others have likely been obliterated by mountaintop removal mining. Most remaining yellow-spotted woodland salamander populations consist of only one or a few individuals.

This slender, purplish-brown lungless salamander is distinguished by two rows of yellow spots along its back. Two genetic studies in 2018 and 2019 confirmed that the yellow-spotted woodland salamander is a distinct species.

Appalachian Mountain Advocates, Appalachian Voices, Citizens Coal Council, The Clinch Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, Dogwood Alliance, Forest Keeper, Heartwood, Kentucky Heartwood and Kentucky Waterways Alliance joined the Center in petitioning to list the species.

“These salamanders have been clinging to Appalachian rock walls for millions of years,” said Harlan. “To continue hanging on, they urgently need the Fish and Wildlife Service to act.”