Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Florida Keys Mole Skink
Key claim: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the Florida Keys mole skink (Plestiodon egregius egregius) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.
Abstract
(Rule · Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service) We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), list the Florida Keys mole skink (Plestiodon egregius egregius), a lizard subspecies from the Florida Keys, Florida, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. This rule extends the protections of the Act to this species.
Why this matters
Listing the Florida Keys mole skink as endangered triggers ESA Section 7 consultation obligations for federal actions in the Keys and Section 9 take prohibitions, which can affect coastal development, shoreline armoring, and public-lands management decisions. Because the subspecies’ habitat overlaps low-elevation coastal strand vulnerable to sea-level rise, the listing links ESA protection to broader climate-adaptation and land-use pressures in South Florida.