A parent wood stork, on the right, cares for three young nestlings, two to three weeks old.
Proposed Delisting of the Wood Stork

The Service has determined that the U.S. breeding population of wood storks no longer faces the imminent threat of extinction and proposes removing the species from the Endangered Species Act. 

Serving Florida by conserving our most imperiled species and working with federal agencies and others to conserve plants, fish, and wildlife.
Doing a deeper dive on endangered species policy, planning and species?

Latest News

A parent wood stork, on the right, cares for three young nestlings, two to three weeks old.
Endangered Species Act
Service Proposes Delisting the Wood Stork
After decades of conservation work, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes taking the wood stork off the Endangered Species List.
A parent wood stork, on the right, cares for three young nestlings, two to three weeks old.
Endangered Species Act
Wood Stork Proposed Delisting
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the U.S. breeding population of wood storks no longer faces the threat of extinction and proposes they be removed from the protections under the Endangered Species Act.
This closeup of a Florida bristle fern at Castellow Hammock Preserve shows its reproductive phase. The largest leaves on this tiny plant are the size of a penny.
Endangered Species Act
Florida Bristle Fern
Frequently Asked Questions for the Florida Bristle Fern Designated Critical Habitat
This closeup of a Florida bristle fern at Castellow Hammock Preserve shows its reproductive phase. The largest leaves on this tiny plant are the size of a penny.
Endangered Species Act
Service Designates Critical Habitat for the Endangered Florida Bristle Fern   
Comments from peer reviewers and the public resulted in expanding units and adding parcels to the critical habitat designation during the comment period for the proposed rule.
Bee on a branch full of purple and white flowers. Sparse green leaves radiate from the branch. Brown and beige background surrounds the branch.
Endangered Species Act
FAQ for Proposed Critical Habitat for 4 Everglades Plants
Q: What action is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service taking? A: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to designate critical habitat for four imperiled plants that only grow in South Florida, specifically in Monroe, Collier, and Miami-Dade Counties, Florida. The four plants are:...
Big Pine partridge pea branch showing two yellow flowers and several green leaves. The flowers have five buttercup-like petals, with reddish-brown stamen.
Endangered Species Act
Proposed Critical Habitat for 4 Florida Keys Plants
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to designate critical habitat, essential for the survival of four imperiled plants that only grow in the Florida Keys in Monroe and Miami-Dade counties. Big Pine partridge pea, wedge spurge, sand flax and Blodgett’s silverbush are disappearing from...
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About Us

Biologist standing chest-deep in water holding a gulf sturgeon
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the nation's wildlife management and conservation agency. The Florida Ecological Services Office is the primary Service office serving the state of Florida on matters of federal threatened and endangered species conservation, including supporting the conservation of private lands; and working with federal agencies and other partners to address fish, plant, and wildlife impacts resulting from their actions. The Florida Ecological Services Office is headquartered in Gainesville, with offices in Panama city, Jacksonville, and Vero Beach to better serve those areas of the state.

What We Do

Perdido Key beach mouse sticking its head out from a human-made shelter covered in sand
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Across Florida, we carry out the Service’s mission by:

  • Conserving imperiled species.
  • Helping federal agencies identify and address negative plant, fish, and wildlife impacts from projects they fund or authorize.
  • Conversing with the American public about wildlife conservation via social media, educational programs, public hearings, and other forms of public interaction.

Our Organization

A rocky shoreline of a river. The water is calm. Mist and green branches line the river.
The Ecological Services Program works to restore and protect healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants and the environments upon which they depend. Using the best available science, we work with federal, state, Tribal, local, and non-profit stakeholders, as well as private land owners, to...
Program
Baileys Crossroads, VA

Our Species

Our staff are experts on more than a hundred federal threatened and endangered species in Florida. Learn more about the species that are the focus of our conservation efforts.

A large white bird with black wing tips wades through the water

Wood storks are large, long-legged wading birds, about 5O inches tall, with a wingspan of 60 to 65 inches. The plumage is white except for black primaries and secondaries and a short black tail. The head and neck are largely unfeathered and dark gray in color. The bill is black, thick at the...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
The Southeastern beach mouse is the largest beach mouse; it averages 139 millimeters in total length and 52 millimeters in tail length. Although it is darker and more buffy than the Anastasia Island beach mouse, it is still lighter than most inland subspecies of the oldfield mouse.
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The Perdido Key beach mouse has a small body, haired tail, relatively large ears, and protuberant eyes. Its head and body length is 2.7 to 3.3 inches; the tail length is 1.7 to 2.5 inches. The upper parts are colored grayish fawn to wood brown with a very pale yellow hue and an indistinct middorsal...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
Florida Panther

The Florida panther is a large, long-tailed cat with a great deal of color variation: pale brown or rusty upper parts, dull white or buffy under parts; tail tip, back of ears, and sides of nose are dark brown or blackish. Mature male panthers examined in the wild in Florida since 1978 have...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
A jet black snake with reddish orange coloring around it's face on sandy soil

Average adult size is 60-74 inches (152-188 cm), record is 103.5 inches (262.8 cm). Adults are large and thick bodied. The body is glossy black and in sunlight has iridescent blue highlights. The chin and throat is reddish or white, and the color may extend down the body. The belly is cloudy...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A bat in hand with large ears that partially cover it's face

The Florida bonneted bat is a member of the Molossidae (free-tailed bats) family within the order Chiroptera. The species is the largest bat in Florida(Owre 1978; Belwood 1992). Males and females are not significantly different in size, and there is no pattern of size-related geographic...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A curious deer with velvet covered antlers in a subtropical forest that was recently burned

This is the smallest race of North American deer. Adults measure 25 to 30 inches at the shoulder and have an average weight of 55 to 75 pounds for males and 45-65 pounds for females. The body is stockier, legs shorter, and skull wider than other races of white-tailed deer. The coat varies from a...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
A small mouse, the Key Largo cotton mouse is brown on top with white underparts. It has large ears, proturberant eyes, and a furry tail. This mouse is a noctural feeder, existing on the buds, fruits, and seeds of many plant species.
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The Key Largo woodrat is a medium-sized (2OO-26O gram) small mammal with a gray-brown back and head. Its belly, chest, and throat are white, and the tail is hairy. This species is a noctural herbivore, feeding on the buds, leaves, and fruit of many plant species. Food may be stored in the stick...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The Lower Keys Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) is a subspecies of the marsh rabbit (S. palustris), a species widespread in the southeastern United States. The Lower Keys rabbit is distinguished from the adjacent subspecies, S.p. paludicola, in skull proportions and sculpturing and in its...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The silver rice rat is of generalized rat-like appearance, with a slender skull and coarse fur which is colored silver-gray along its back. This rat has a sparsely-haired tail and reaches 250 millimeters (10 inches) in total length.
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
The long neck, long yellow legs, and massive gray-blue bill of the caracara make its appearance unique among the raptors. About 58 cm in length, the crested caracara has a white head and throat, white wing tips, and white tail contrasting with a dark body, red face, and signature black crest.
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
A mostly brown raptor with mouth open and white markings at the beginning of it's tail feathers, flying above

The Everglade snail kite is a medium-sized hawk with a wingspan of about 45 inches, very similar to the marsh hawk but without wavering, tilting flight. The beak is slender and very hooked. The adult males are slate gray with black head and wing tips, a white patch at the base of a square tail,...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
a blue and grey bird perched on a branch

The plumage of adult males and females looks alike, but males are slightly larger than females. The head, nape, wings, and tail are pale blue. The back and belly are pale gray. The throat and chest are white and bordered by a blue gray bib. Juveniles differ in appearance from adults in that they...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
Grey, white and black bird on sand in the foreground

Size: 18 cm (7.25 in) in length. Color: Breeding season: Pale brown above, lighter below; black band across forehead; bill orange with black tip; legs orange; white rump. Male: Complete or incomplete black band encircles the body at the breast. Female: Paler head band; incomplete breast band....

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A small bird with black and brown wings and light-colored breast and beak held by a hand

Florida grasshopper sparrows are small, short-tailed birds, about 13 centimeters (5 inches) long. Dorsally, they are much darker than the eastern race of the species (A. s. pratensis). They are mostly black and gray and lightly streaked with brown on the nape and upper back. Ventrally, adults...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
12 cm. Delicate warbler with slender, decurved bill. Adult male, black forecrown, grey hind-crown and nape, yellow forehead, eye-ring, lores, supercilium and throat. Yellow underparts with black patch on upper breast and white undertail. Olive-green upperparts, grey wings with olive fringes and...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
Kirtland's Warbler calling from a tree.

The Kirtland's warbler is a songbird that nests in young jack pine stands. Until 1995 Kirtland's warblers had only been known to nest in the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Today, they also nest in the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin and Canada. They migrate from their nesting grounds to...

Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A small white bird with light grey wings, orange legs and a black cap

The roseate tern is about 40 centimeters in length, with light-gray wings and back. Its first three or four primaries are black and so is its cap. The rest of the body is white, with a rosy tinge on the chest and belly during the breeding season. The tail is deeply forked, and the outermost...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
Two red cockaded woodpeckers face each other on a tree limb with pine needles and blue sky visible in the background

22 cm. Rather small black-and-white woodpecker with longish bill. Above black barred white. Below white with black spots on flanks. Black crown, nape and moustachial stripe border white cheeks and side of neck. Male has small red mark on the side of nape. Juvenile browner with variable extent of...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A large gery reptile on the bank of a water body with large, sharp, white teeth

A large lizard-shaped reptile, the crocodile closely resembles the alligator. Hatchlings are about 23 centimeters in length; adults may grow to 4.5 meters or larger. Florida crocodiles may be distinguished from alligators by their more slender build and their difference in snout shape. The...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
The Atlantic salt marsh snake is a slender, heavily keeled water snake about 2 feet in total length, with a pattern of stripes that are variously broken into blotches. The dorsal ground color is pale olive, patterned with a pair of dark brown stripes running down the back and enclosing a pale mid-...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
A jet black snake with reddish orange coloring around it's face on sandy soil

Average adult size is 60-74 inches (152-188 cm), record is 103.5 inches (262.8 cm). Adults are large and thick bodied. The body is glossy black and in sunlight has iridescent blue highlights. The chin and throat is reddish or white, and the color may extend down the body. The belly is cloudy...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A unique lizard adapted to an underground existence, the sand skink measures 10 to 13 centimeters (4 to 5 inches) in length and has a gray to tan color. Its forelegs are tiny and bear only one toe; its hindlegs are small and have two toes. The tail comprises about half of the animal's total length...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A green sea turtle swims along the bottom of the reef.

The green sea turtle grows to a maximum size of about 4 feet and a weight of 440 pounds. It has a heart-shaped shell, small head, and single-clawed flippers. Color is variable. Hatchlings generally have a black carapace, white plastron, and white margins on the shell and limbs. The adult...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A large sea turtle swimming along a reef

Loggerheads were named for their relatively large heads, which support powerful jaws and enable them to feed on hard-shelled prey, such as whelks and conch. The carapace (top shell) is slightly heart-shaped and reddish-brown in adults and sub-adults, while the plastron (bottom shell) is...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A hawksbill sea turtle, showing its distinctive tortoiseshell pattern across head, flippers, and carapace, swims above coral through bright blue water.

The endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle is one of seven species of sea turtles found throughout the world. One of the smaller sea turtles, it has overlapping scutes (plates) that are thicker than those of other sea turtles. This protects them from being battered against sharp coral and rocks during...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A greenish brown sea turtle laying on the beach

The Kemp's ridley turtle is the smallest of the sea turtles, with adults reaching about 2 feet in length and weighing up to 100 pounds. The adult Kemp's ridley has an oval carapace that is almost as wide as it is long and is usually olive-gray in color. The carapace has five pairs of costal...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A scaly, dark-grey reptile hatchling, partially covered in sand on a beach

The leatherback is the largest, deepest diving, and most migratory and wide ranging of all sea turtles. The adult leatherback can reach 4 to 8 feet in length and 500 to 2000 pounds in weight. Its shell is composed of a mosaic of small bones covered by firm, rubbery skin with seven longitudinal...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
Cape Sable seaside sparrows are small birds about 13 centimeters or 5 inches long. Dorsally, they are dark olive-gray with olive-brown on the tail and wings. The greenish cast on the nape is generally difficult to detect. Ventrally, adults are light gray to almost white with dark olive-gray streaks...
FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies
An iridescent insect with many small hairs on its belly standing on leaf litter and sandy soil.

The adult Miami tiger beetle is a small (6.5-9.0 millimeters), elongate beetle with an oval shape and bulging eyes. The underside of the abdomen is orange to orange-brown in color. It is uniquely identified by the shiny dark green dorsal surface, sometimes with a bronze cast and, without close...

FWS Focus
Species
Three silver salamanders almost entirely covered with black splotches

The flatwoods salamander is medium-sized, reaching an adult length of 5 inches (13 centimeters). The body color ranges from silvery gray to black, with a heavily mottled back and a variable gray cross-band pattern. The underside is plain gray with faint creamy blotches. The head is small and has...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species
A group of juvenile and adult red knot forage along the shoreline.

Length: 25-28 cm. Adults in spring: Above finely mottled with grays, black and light ochre, running into stripes on crown; throat, breast and sides of head cinnamon-brown; dark gray line through eye; abdomen and undertail coverts white; uppertail coverts white, barred with black. Adults in...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Subspecies

Projects and Research

Lone piping plover, with leg bands, standing on sand
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Working with others is at the core of our operations. We develop many conservation projects across Florida with federal, state, and local agencies, industry and private groups, and individuals. Whether it is Everglades and coastal restorations, project planning, working with landowners, or conservation at multiple military facilities, among others, effective partnering delivers results. Learn more about our efforts currently underway.

Our Library

A Florida Keys mole skink is shown from above on sand. His back is brown with a pinkish red tail.
Florida Keys Mole Skink
Browse our library for maps and information about the Florida Keys mole skink proposed listing and critical habitat designation.
Library Collection
3 Items
A Key ring-necked snake is curled on an orange fall leaf. It is a small, black on top with bright yellow, orange and red markings on the belly.
Key Ring-necked Snake
Browse our library for maps and information about the proposed listing and critical habitat designation of the Key ring-necked snake.
Library Collection
3 Items
An adult rim rock crowned snake is curled around limestone rocks and dirt on the ground in Miami, Florida. Its head is brownish black with a red-brown back and tan belly.
Rim Rock Crowned Snake
Browse our library for maps and information about the rim rock crowned snake proposed listing and critical habitat designation.
Library Collection
3 Items
A Florida bonneted bat rests on a tree trunk.
Florida Bonneted Bat
Browse our library for maps and information about the Florida bonneted bat.
Library Collection
2 Items

Get Involved

Three people on a beach, kneeling around a partially excavated sea turtle nest
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A fundamental tenet in our approach to conservation is engagement with our community – from private landowners wanting to improve endangered species habitat on their land to non-profits doing on-the-ground work.

Location and Contact Information