ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Miami Waterkeeper sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for failing to finalize Endangered Species Act protections for the Miami cave crayfish.

Miami cave crayfish live exclusively in southern and central Miami-Dade County and are only found in the Biscayne Aquifer along the Atlantic Coastal Ridge. The Service proposed to protect the animals as threatened in 2023 but has failed to issue a final determination, leaving the species without lifesaving safeguards while their habitat rapidly disappears. The Center petitioned the agency to protect the species in 2010.

“Miami cave crayfish have suffered for too long without endangered species protections, but this legal action could finally get them desperately needed safeguards,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Endangered Species Act has worked time and again to protect rare wildlife from extinction, but it can’t save these crayfish if the Fish and Wildlife Service doesn’t follow the law.”

The rare, subterranean crayfish are commonly orange in color, sporting a distinctive red stripe down their abdomens. The primary threat to the crayfish is saltwater intrusion into the freshwater aquifer resulting from sea-level rise, more frequent tidal flooding, and storms of increasing intensity. Saltwater completely destroys the species’ habitat, reducing their already limited range. By 2070, Miami cave crayfish are projected to lose as much as half of all available habitat.

The crayfish are also hurt by over-consumption of groundwater and aquifer contamination which destroys their habitat, causes direct mortality and harms their reproductive success.

“Protecting the Miami Cave crayfish is also about safeguarding the Biscayne Aquifer, a critical source of drinking water for South Florida communities,” said Mariana Aziz, environmental policy specialist at Miami Waterkeeper. “The crayfish depends on the Biscayne Aquifer, the same freshwater source millions of people rely on. Allowing saltwater intrusion and contamination to destroy its habitat puts both wildlife and people at risk. Strong Endangered Species Act protections are essential to safeguard our aquifer and our communities for generations to come.”

When the Service proposed to protect the Miami cave crayfish as threatened, it also developed a proposed rule that would protect habitat critical to the species’ recovery. That rule was meant to be published following interagency review with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. That proposal has now been delayed for more than two years while the threats to the species continue.

Species with federally protected critical habitat are more than twice as likely to be moving toward recovery than species without it, underscoring the urgent need for the Service to act. Federal agencies that fund or permit projects in critical habitat must consult with the Service to ensure habitat is not harmed.