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The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for delaying critically needed Endangered Species Act protections for the southern bog turtle and roughhead shiner.

Bog turtles are North America’s smallest turtles, measuring about the length of a human thumb. They’re also one of the world’s most imperiled turtles: Their southern population has declined by 50% since 2000, and fewer than 2,000 individuals are left.

In response to the Center’s petition, the Service announced in October 2022 that southern bog turtles may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. The agency was required to decide more than a year ago whether to officially list the turtles.

“These tiny turtles are on the brink of extinction, and they need federal protection now,” said Will Harlan, Southeast director at the Center. “They’ve spent 20 million years in the Appalachian Mountains, but we could lose them in our lifetime if the Fish and Wildlife Service doesn’t act soon.”

Bog turtles live in mountain wetlands that are being drained for development. Only 500 acres of mountain bog habitat remain across the turtles’ entire southern range, and many of the bog turtles’ remaining wetlands have recently lost federal and state protections. Only 14 viable sites are left across the turtles’ range in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.

Today’s lawsuit also challenges the Service’s delay in issuing a decision for the roughhead shiner, an olive minnow named for the bumps on its head. They’re found only in the upper James River watershed in western Virginia, where they’re being displaced by an invasive fish.

The shiner was first identified as threatened 50 years ago and was put on a waiting list for Endangered Species Act protection in 1994. The Center petitioned for protection for the fish in 2022, and in March 2023 the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the species may warrant listing. A decision on whether to list the shiner was due on March 21.

“Time is running out for both roughhead shiners and bog turtles, and the many threats they face are only getting worse,” said Harlan. “They can’t wait any longer for urgently needed protections.”

The southeastern United States is a global hotspot of diversity for fish, turtles and other freshwater species. More than 40% of the country’s fish and turtles are at risk of extinction, primarily because of habitat loss and development, pollution, poaching, invasive species and climate change.