Fish & Wildlife Shifts Endangered Species Permits in Keys

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will transition permit reviews for three endangered species on Big Pine Key and No Name Keys to Monroe County's Permit Referral Process starting July 1, 2026.

The change affects permits for Key Deer, Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, and Eastern Indigo Snake. The current Habitat Conservation Plan and Incidental Take Permit expire June 30, 2026, and the associated HCP expired in 2023. The new process aligns with a 2010 Biological Opinion tied to FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program.

Monroe County staff and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coordinated with FEMA to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act. The Permit Referral Process already reviews these three species outside Big Pine and No Name Keys, and covers six additional endangered species across Monroe County.

Key protections carry forward under the new system, including a cumulative impact cap of "1.1 H-impact" and a 3:1 mitigation-to-impact ratio requirement. Permittees retain access to surplus mitigation credits.

Monroe County will increase the maximum number of new residential units from 200 to 236, provided total impact does not exceed "H" = 1.1. The county will track both the H-impact and the residential permit cap separately and report annually to FEMA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

County staff presented the changes at a community meeting May 28 at Big Pine Academy. The Board of County Commissioners will discuss the new process at its June 10 meeting. Presentation materials and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service letter are available at www.monroecounty-fl.gov/environmentalresources.