PORTLAND, Ore.— Records obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity show that no Crater Lake newts were found during a recent snorkel survey conducted by Crater Lake National Park scientists. The imperiled newts live only in Oregon’s Crater Lake and are still awaiting lifesaving Endangered Species Act protections.

The Center obtained results of the newt survey, conducted over the summer, by filing a public records request with the National Park Service. Surveys in 2025 detected just four newts, down from 35 newts found in 2023.

“These survey results are heartbreaking. Crater Lake newts needed protection long ago and it’s absolutely devastating that the Trump administration is allowing them to blink out of existence,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an endangered species attorney at the Center. “These cute little newts are paying the ultimate price for the short-sighted actions of people. If they’re lost for good Crater Lake will be forever diminished.”

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, Crater Lake newts are adapted to being at the top of the lake’s aquatic food chain and lack any predator defense mechanisms.

In the late 1800s fish were introduced to Crater 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 Crater Lake newts, but it wasn’t until lake temperatures warmed because of climate change that the number of crayfish exploded, decimating newt populations. Crayfish also compete with newts for food because both species feed on invertebrates and reduced numbers of invertebrates cause algae growth that threatens the lake’s famous clarity.

Following the Center’s legal petition in 2023, the Service announced that the Crater Lake newt may qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act. If protected, federal funding could help with crayfish removal and contribute to ongoing captive breeding efforts. However, the Service has yet to grant the species any protections.

A legal agreement signed in May required the Service to decide whether to protect the newt by Oct. 30, but the court granted the agency’s request for more time. The Service now has until Nov. 20 to make its decision.

“This administration is a trainwreck for our nation’s imperiled wildlife. What harms animals and their habitat harms us, too,” said Stewart-Fusek. “The fact that a species as endangered as the Crater Lake newt has to wait years for protection is a testament to just how underfunded and understaffed our public agencies are.”

The Trump administration has protected the fewest species of any administration since the Endangered Species Act became law and has missed dozens of deadlines for making decisions about which species require protections.