PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration today for delaying critically needed Endangered Species Act protections for the Crater Lake newt. The newts live only in Oregon’s Crater Lake, and their population has crashed to as few as 13 animals in recent years because of the introduction of signal crayfish and warming lake temperatures from climate change.

“Crater Lake newts are on the brink of extinction and if the government waits any longer to protect them it’ll be really tough for these imperiled amphibians to recover,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an endangered species attorney at the Center. “These tiny newts are part of what makes Crater Lake so special to Oregonians and the hundreds of thousands of people who visit every year. They’re absolutely worth protecting.”

Following a Center legal petition in 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Crater Lake newt may qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act. But the Service has yet to enact any protections for the species, and the Trump administration’s cuts to federal agencies will make it harder to recover imperiled wildlife and maintain Crater Lake National Park’s ecosystems.

Crater Lake newts, also known as Mazama newts, are a subspecies of the more widely distributed rough-skinned newt. While the rough-skinned newt produces a potent neurotoxin to deter predators, the Crater Lake newt is adapted to being at the top of the lake’s aquatic food chain and lacks any predator defense mechanisms.

In the late 1800s fish were introduced to the lake to attract visitors, and in 1915 park managers introduced signal crayfish as a food source for the fish. Both fish and crayfish prey upon the newt, but it wasn’t until lake temperatures warmed because of climate change that the number of crayfish exploded, devastating newt populations.

Crayfish now occupy more than 95% of the lake’s shoreline and scientists project they could occupy 100% in less than two years. Crayfish also compete with newts for food, as both species feed on invertebrates. Surveys in 2023 detected 35 newts and in 2024 scientists found just 13.

Crater Lake is renowned for being one of the world’s deepest and clearest lakes. Scientists have found that by preying on the lake’s native plankton-consuming invertebrates, crayfish are increasing algae growth in the lake, threatening its famous clarity. Introductions of non-native species to water bodies have had devastating consequences for native wildlife and ecosystems. If the newts are protected under the Endangered Species Act, federal funding could help with a captive breeding program and crayfish removal.

“We’re in a biodiversity crisis because of our government’s short-sighted actions,” said Stewart-Fusek. “Nearly half of the world’s amphibians are at risk of extinction, and the situation is even worse for salamanders and newts, with three out of five species at risk. We must do what it takes to reverse course and remember that what harms wildlife harms us, too.”