Press Release | January 16, 2025

Lawsuit prompts federal agency to reconsider protections for rare Tennessee salamander

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, reached an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that requires the agency to reconsider listing the Berry Cave salamander—a rare salamander that is only found in a handful of East Tennessee caves—as an endangered species.

Thursday’s agreement comes eight months after the conservation groups sued the Service, arguing that the agency violated federal law when it denied Endangered Species Act protections for the Berry Cave salamander in 2019. The surprising denial came at a time when the agency’s regional leadership had directed staff to implement a quota system that set annual targets for denying species protections—a system that may have inappropriately influenced the Berry Cave salamander decision.

The agreement requires the agency to reevaluate the Berry Cave salamander’s status and determine by August 2029 whether it should be listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

“This agreement is an important step toward securing long-overdue protections for the Berry Cave salamander and correcting a harmful mistake from the Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Liz Rasheed, a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “We hope the agency will follow the science—as required by law—and give these one-of-a-kind salamanders the protections they need to have a shot at survival.”

“I’m thrilled the Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to reconsider protections for these extraordinary, rare little salamanders,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Protecting Berry Cave salamanders under the Endangered Species Act also means funding to improve Tennessee’s drinking water quality. That’s a big win for both the salamander and for the people of Tennessee.”

The Berry Cave salamander has pink feathery gills, lives its entire life in caves, and is incredibly rare. Populations have been found in just a small number of isolated caves, and in several of these caves only one salamander has ever been observed.

The already rare salamanders are under immense pressure from sprawling development in the region, and even the largest observed populations of the Berry Cave salamander are quickly declining. Survey results indicate that a population found in Knoxville’s Meads Quarry Cave—historically one of the salamander’s relative strongholds—fell by 65 percent between 2004 and 2019.

For photos of the Berry Cave Salamander, contact Dr. Matthew Niemiller.

Are you a reporter and would like more information? Please visit our press contact page for a full list of SELC’s press contacts.

Press Contacts

Eric Hilt

Senior Communications Manager (TN)

Phone: 615-921-9470
Email: [email protected]

Partner Contacts

Chelsea Stewart-Fusek

Center for Biological Diversity

Phone: 971-717-6425
Email: [email protected]