Atlanta, GA – After a careful review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list four species of Caribbean skinks under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Four other species involved in the Service’s comprehensive review were found not warranted for listing.
Three of the four species proposed for listing are being proposed as endangered species. They are the Puerto Rican skink, Lesser Virgin Islands skink, and Virgin Islands bronze skink. These species are threatened by non-native predators like mongoose and cats, and habitat loss and degradation from development.
The fourth species proposed for listing, the Culebra skink, is being proposed as a threatened species with a 4(d) rule that provides for its conservation. The Culebra skink is threatened by non-native predators, habitat loss and degradation from development, and sea level rise and storm surge from a changing climate.
Critical habitat is also being proposed for these skinks; 143,947 acres of critical habitat for the Puerto Rican skink on Puerto Rico and Desecheo Island; 477 acres of critical habitat for the Lesser Virgin Islands skink on Hans Lollik Island, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI); 392 acres of critical habitat for the Virgin Islands bronze skink on Water Island, Buck Island, and Turtledove Cay, USVI; and 5,648 acres of critical habitat for the Culebra skink on Culebra Island and surrounding cays. All units of proposed critical habitat are considered occupied by the associated species.
Critical habitat contains the physical and biological features that a species needs for life processes and successful reproduction. It does not affect land ownership, allow the government to take or manage private property, establish a refuge, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area conservation area
A conservation area or wildlife management area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife. There are 15 conservation areas and nine wildlife management areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Learn more about conservation area , or allow government or public access to private land. It also does not affect all activities that occur within a designated area, only those activities that involve a Federal permit, license, or funding, or are likely to destroy or adversely modify the critical habitat.
The four other species involved in this comprehensive review are the Mona skink, Greater Virgin Islands skink, Greater St. Croix skink, and Lesser St. Croix skink. Populations of the Mona skink are well protected and do not warrant listing at this time. Unfortunately for the other three species, they are likely extinct due to non-native species and habitat destruction. None of those skink species have been seen or documented in over a century.
“These skink species are some of the least studied groups of lizards in the Caribbean,” said Jan Zegarra, Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the Service’s Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office. “With this proposed rule, we share the need to conserve these elusive and beautiful lizards and hope to provide recovery actions for their survival into the future.”
For more information on the proposed listing of these skinks and their proposed critical habitat, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions.
To submit comments on the proposed rule, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS–R4–ES–2024–0154, which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by February 18, 2025. We must receive requests for public hearings, in writing, at the address shown in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by February 3, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lourdes Mena, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office, P.O. Box 491, Boquerón, PR 00622; telephone 786-244-0081; email: caribbean_es@fws.gov. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point–of–contact in the United States. Please see Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2024–0154 on https://www.regulations.gov for a document that summarizes this proposed rule.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit https://www.fws.gov/program/southeast-region. Connect with us on social media: Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Flickr, and YouTube.
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