State Listing
Draft documents are being proposed as part of the state listing decision process for the Florida reef gecko. Draft versions of the Species Action Plan, Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines, and the Species Action Plan Summary are available in the Florida reef gecko tab below for review prior to the November 2025 Commission Meeting. Additional related draft documents are available on the Imperiled Species Management Plan page. These documents are pending final approvals and subject to change.
Florida's process for listing fish and wildlife is governed by Rule 68A-27.0012, F.A.C.The Commission updated the management system for conserving threatened species in September 2010. The system includes a process for accepting listing action requests from the public for species that may be at risk of extinction.
Florida’s Endangered & Threatened Species ListListing Process
People requesting the Commission list or remove a species from the State-designated Threatened species list must follow the listing process.
Photo by Jonathan Mays
Requests to evaluate a species status may be submitted to the FWC between January 1 and June 30 of each year. Requests are evaluated for completeness between July 1 and September 30 of each year. Incomplete evaluation requests will be returned to the requestor with insufficiencies clearly noted in writing. Corrected evaluation requests can be re-submitted within 30 days outside of the January through June timeframe described above.
Requests to Evaluate must meet the following criteria:
- Be a written request submitted to the Commission through the Division of Habitat and Species Conservation;
- Include the name, address, and signature of the person(s) submitting the request;
- Include the scientific and common name of the species requested for evaluation;
- Provide sufficient information on the biology and distribution of the species to warrant investigation of its status;
- Include a biological score, calculated following the process described in Millsap, B.A., J.A. Gore, D.E. Runde, and S.I. Cerulean. 1990. Setting Priorities for the Conservation of Fish and Wildlife Species in Florida. Wildlife Monographs 111, and as subsequently modified;
- Include the data, references, and score assigned for each biological variable used to determine the biological score;
- Include or reference the best scientific and commercial data available regarding the species.
Complete evaluation requests are reviewed to determine if a change in listing status is warranted.
Listing Evaluation Request Review Process
- Commission staff review the information found in the request to evaluate and other available scientific and commercial data to determine a final biological score.
- Species with final biological scores greater than or equal to 27 are evaluated further.
- No further action is taken on species with final biological scores less than 19. The requestor will be notified if this is the case.
- Staff evaluates the population trend, size, extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, and quantitative analysis available for the species to determine if further evaluation is needed for species with final biological scores ranging from 19 to 26.
- For species that warrant continued evaluation, additional biological information is sought from the public, and a Biological Review Group is appointed by the Commission. Biological Review Groups consist of 3, 5, or 7 scientists familiar with the species.
- The Biological Review Group evaluates the species based on the criteria found in Rule 68A-27.001(3), F.A.C.
- FWC staff prepares a Biological Status Report summarizing the review group’s findings, and make a recommendation for listing status within the report.
- Staff seek peer review of the Biological Status Report from at least three independent scientists familiar with the species.
- The Commission reviews the recommendation and determines if the species warrants listing. If the species warrants listing, it is added to the list of candidate species and a workplan is established.
To determine if the removal of a species from Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species list is warranted, species are evaluated against criteria found in Rule 68A-27.001(3), F.A.C. The request to evaluate must include the same information as outlined for evaluation requests. A Biological Review Group is appointed to conduct the biological status review. Commission staff prepares a Biological Status Report with a recommended listing action. The report is peer reviewed and presented to the Commission.
For any species to be added to or removed from the Florida Endangered and Threatened Species List, a management plan must be approved by the Commission. Public comment periods are required for management plan development and review. All management plans must meet the definition of a management plan as defined in Rule 68A-27.001, F.A.C. Listing status changes are not effective until management plans are approved and the species is added to the Florida Endangered and Threatened Species List in 68A-27.003, F.A.C.
Emergency listing requests may be submitted at any time.The Executive Director reviews the request, and if listing is essential to prevent imminent extinction, a temporary Executive Order can be issued to list the species as state-designated Threatened.The temporary order is approved or terminated at the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting. If approved, the evaluation described above and the development of a management plan must be completed within 365 days.
Listing Actions
Below is information about species for which the FWC has received evaluation requests since 2016, when the Imperiled Species Managment Plan was implemented. Please visit our archive for documents on older listing actions. For questions specific to the listing process or to any of the listing actions below, please contact Imperiled@MyFWC.com.
Active Actions
Image by Jonathan D. Mays
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the Florida tree snail in 2025. At a future Commission Meeting, agency staff will request approval to convene a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria.
Photo by Pierson Hill.
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the mimic glass lizard in 2025. At a future Commission Meeting, agency staff will request approval to convene a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria.
Public domain photo by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Okaloosa darter from the federal Endangered and Threatened Species list in 2023. Rule 68A-27.0012, F.A.C., states that species removed from the federal Endangered and Threatened Species list shall receive a biological status review by a Biological Review Group. In December 2024, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria.
Wilson's Plover standing on a shell rake. Photo by Ariam Jimenez.
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the Wilson's Plover in 2023. In December 2024, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria.
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the alligator gar in 2022. Agency staff evaluated the request for completeness and conducted a biological vulnerability screening. In December 2023, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria. Following the findings of the Biological Review Group, Commissioners approved staff recommendation to add the alligator gar to the state’s Candidate Species list at the August 2025 Commission Meeting. Staff are creating draft Species Conservation Measures andPermitting Guidelines and an accompanying draft Species Action Plan to be presented at a future Commission meeting.
Photo courtesy of Zach Randall/Florida Museum of Natural History.
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the black-banded sunfish in 2022. Agency staff evaluated the request for completeness and conducted a biological vulnerability screening. In December 2023, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria.
Public domain photo by Jim Hudgins/USFWS.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Kirtland’s warbler from the federal Endangered and Threatened Species list in 2019. Rule 68A-27.0012, F.A.C., states that species removed from the federal Endangered and Threatened Species list shall receive a biological status review by a Biological Review Group. In November 2022, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria. The findings of the Biological Review Group and staff recommendation will be presented at a future Commission Meeting.
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the Holbrook's southern dusky salamander in 2022. Agency staff evaluated the request for completeness and conducted a biological vulnerability screening. In December 2023, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria. Following the findings of the Biological Review Group, Commissioners approved staff recommendation to add the Holbrook's Southern dusky salamander to the state’s Candidate Species list at the August 2025 Commission Meeting. Staff are creating draft Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines and an accompanying draft Species Action Plan to be presented at a future Commission meeting.
Photos by Jonathan Mays.
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the Florida reef gecko in 2021. Agency staff evaluated the request for completeness and conducted a biological vulnerability screening. In November 2022, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria. The findings of the Biological Review Group and staff recommendation to list the Florida reef gecko as a State-designated Threatened species were presented at the May 2024 Commission Meeting, where Commissioners approved the staff recommendation. The Florida reef gecko is currently a candidate species under Rule 68A-27.0021 F.A.C. Staff have created draft Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines and an accompanying draft Species Action Plan to be presented at a future Commission meeting.
Biological Status Review Report
Draft Species Action Plan (Subject to Change)
Draft Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines (Subject to Change)
Completed Actions
Current status is State-designated Threatened.
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the striped newt in 2019. Agency staff evaluated the request for completeness and conducted a biological vulnerability screening. In October 2019, the FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria. The findings of the Biological Review Group and staff recommendation to list the striped newt as a state-Threatened species were presented at the May 2021 Commission Meeting, where Commissioners approved the staff recommendation. Commissioners approved a management plan for the species at the November 2022 Commission Meeting, and the striped newt was reclassified as State-designated Threatened.
Biological Status Review Report
Current status is non-listed
The FWC received a species evaluation request for the American flamingo in 2018. Agency staff evaluated the request for completeness and conducted a biological vulnerability screening. In October 2019, FWC Commissioners approved the convening of a Biological Review Group to review the species' status against state-listing criteria. The findings of the Biological Review Group and staff recommendation to not list the American flamingo as a state-Threatened species was presented at the May 2021 Commission Meeting, where Commissioners approved the staff recommendation.
Current status is delisted.
The Southern Fox Squirrel was previously classified as Sherman's Fox Squirrel.
This species is included in Florida's Imperiled Species Management Plan, which guides conservation for Florida's state-listed and recently delisted fish and wildlife.
Southern Fox Squirrel Species Profile
Current status is delisted.
This species is included in Florida's Imperiled Species Management Plan, which guides conservation for Florida's state-listed and recently delisted fish and wildlife.
The current status is delisted.
This species is included in Florida's Imperiled Species Management Plan, which guides conservation for Florida's state-listed and recently delisted fish and wildlife.