Florida Fish and Wildlife Adds Two New Species to List of Candidate Species for Protection

alligator gar and Holbrook’s southern dusky salamander added to state’s Candidate Species list

(FWC) — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissioners approved staff recommendation to add the alligator gar and the Holbrook’s southern dusky salamander to the state’s Candidate Species list at the August 2025 Commission Meeting.

These two species join the Florida reef gecko as the only current Candidate Species.

Candidate species are protected from intentional take except as authorized by a specific permit from the agency’s Executive Director.

Evaluation Requests to review both species were first received in 2022. FWC Commissioners approved the convening of Biological Review Groups to review both species’ status against state-listing criteria in December 2023.

Staff will now create draft Species Action Plans, Conservation Measures, and Permitting Guidelines for each species as the next step in the listing process. Final listing status changes will occur at a future Commission Meeting after Commission approval of the management plans.

For more information on the listing process and to stay up to date on current listing actions for these and other species, please visit MyFWC.com/Listing.

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.

People requesting the Commission to list or remove a species from the State-designated Threatened species list must follow the listing process. 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 requester 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 makes 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 work plan is established.

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