The Striped Newt, an amphibian native to Florida and Georgia, was denied endangered species protection in 2018 by the Trump administration. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now considering granting protections after a legal victory last month for environmentalists.
The Striped Newt, marked by a reddish-to-orange stripe, is currently a state-designated threatened species. However, the Center for Biological Diversity is fighting to gain endangered species status for the newt, whose population is rapidly declining. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the striped newt warranted protection over a decade ago but then placed it on the waitlist.
This newt lives in longleaf pine ecosystems but has had large population declines due to habitat loss. The remaining favorable habitats for these newts have been severely degraded and fragmented by agriculture, fire suppression and urban development.
“The Endangered Species Act listing would mean that the Fish and Wildlife Service would develop a recovery plan for the species,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an endangered species attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Which would likely lead to more prescribed burning of the longleaf pine, where they live, which would really help maintain the longleaf pine ecosystem as a whole, and keep that remaining habitat from disappearing.”
In the agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Center for Biological Diversity, a new decision will be made in 2030 on whether or not to grant the Striped Newt protections under the Endangered Species Act.
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