WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration today for failing to protect the Florida pinesnake under the Endangered Species Act. The pinesnake lives in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

“These amazing snakes are hidden gems of the Southeast, but if they don’t get Endangered Species Act protections soon there’s a real chance they could go extinct,” said Jeremiah Scanlan, a legal fellow at the Center. “Florida pinesnakes are secretive, but that doesn’t mean their plight should be ignored.”

Florida pinesnakes are large snakes that spend most of their time underground, using their spade-shaped head to dig or occupying burrows made by other species. They primarily live in the sandy, open-canopied pine upland ecosystems that historically dominated the Southeast’s coastal plain.

Logging, urbanization and suppression of natural fire cycles have destroyed and degraded the habitat that Florida pinesnakes depend on. Today only 3% of longleaf pine uplands are in relatively natural condition and pinesnake populations have declined precipitously with the loss of their habitat.

Car strikes are a major threat to these large and slow-moving snakes, and they are found dead on roads in high numbers. While pinesnakes are harmless, humans also kill them intentionally, mistaking them for rattlesnakes because they hiss and have a similar appearance. Climate change, collection for the pet trade, and predation by imported red fire ants also threaten the snakes.

The Center first petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect Florida pinesnakes under the Endangered Species Act in 2012.

Longleaf pine ecosystems are important habitats for many other imperiled Southeast species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises and frosted flatwoods salamanders.

“Protecting Florida pinesnakes will also help safeguard the incredible biodiversity and natural beauty of the pine uplands,” said Scanlan. “So much damage has already been done but the Fish and Wildlife Service has a chance to live up to its mission and protect these pinesnakes along with the places they call home.”