Endangered Species Act

On "Florida Matters Live & Local" with guest host Cathy Carter, changes to the Endangered Species Act, the enduring wit of Mark Twain, massive soaring artwork and a dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors.

The turtles, among the world's smallest and most critically endangered, washed ashore during low water temperatures up north earlier this year.

The Trump administration wants to roll back protections for endangered and threatened species viewed as detrimental to economic growth. One critic says the proposals would have "destructive effects."

Fewer than 400 of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales remain. However, federal lawmakers have been weighing proposed rollbacks of some protections for the mammals.

So far in 2025, 477 manatees have died in Florida: more than in either 2024 or 2023, according to state data.

A rewording of the Endangered Species Act is being proposed by the Trump administration. Public comment is being taken until May 19.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to add the butterfly to the threatened species list by the end of the year following the extenned public comment period.

The move comes after a U.S. district judge rejected a 2020 decision by the federal government to shift permitting authority to the state for projects that affect wetlands.

Although federal wildlife officials protected areas where bonneted bats currently live, conservation advocates say protections need to go further to include locations the bats will eventually migrate to due to sea-level rise.

Atalas are small butterflies with inky black wings that are speckled with iridescent blue spots, and a bright red body.

His ruling that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act shifts power away from the state.

The Key deer is losing the only place it lives, raising uncomfortable questions for the people tasked with keeping endangered species alive.