Scientists found no wild Crater Lake newts during a recent snorkel survey, according to records obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Records obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity show that the count has dropped from 35 newts in 2023 to four in 2025, with no wild newts found in a recent snorkel survey.
The Mazama newt is a subspecies of the rough-skinned newt found only in Oregon’s Crater Lake. They sit at the top of the lake’s food chain and never evolved any predator-defense mechanisms.
“These survey results are heartbreaking,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an endangered species attorney at the Center, according to KDRV. “Crater Lake newts needed protection long ago and it’s absolutely devastating that the Trump administration is allowing them to blink out of existence.”
“These little newts have flourished in Crater Lake for thousands of years, and we have a responsibility to ensure they remain part of its ecosystem for generations to come,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an endangered species attorney at the Center.
The trouble traces back more than a hundred years.
Both introduced species prey on the newts, while crayfish also compete with them for invertebrate food sources.
Climate change has driven water temperatures up in the lake. According to a National Park Service report, the water averaged 54 degrees Fahrenheit in the 1960s and now reaches 59 degrees. This warming allowed the crayfish population to explode.
While wild numbers plummeted, captive programs achieved some recent milestones. The Oregon Zoo announced that 20 tiny Mazama newts hatched in its lab, the first time the species has reproduced in human care. “Twenty tiny Mazama newts have hatched in our lab, the very first babies of their kind ever in human care,” said the Oregon Zoo in a Facebook post.
Researchers, the zoo, and Southern Oregon University are preparing a potential release site for captive-bred newts. However, experts agree that removing the invasive crayfish remains the biggest obstacle to restoring them to the wild.
The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a legal petition on November 28, 2023, asking for emergency Endangered Species Act protection and critical habitat designation, as detailed in a Federal Register notice. A legal agreement signed in May required a decision by October 30.
A court granted a request for more time, pushing the deadline to November 20. The agency now has until November 20 to decide whether to protect the newt.
“This administration is a trainwreck for our nation’s imperiled wildlife.”
Unlike rough-skinned newts found elsewhere, Crater Lake newts evolved as the top aquatic predator in the lake and never developed predator-defense mechanisms.
National Park Service records show the lake averaged 54 degrees Fahrenheit in the 1960s and now averages 59 degrees.
A court granted a request for more time, pushing the decision deadline to November 20.