Island Night Lizard Delisted

The island night lizard — a small, long-lived, and sneaky reptile native to the southern California Channel Islands of Santa Barbara, San Clemente, and San Nicolas — will soon be taken off of the endangered species list, as populations and appropriate habitats have reached levels deemed sustainable by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The species was first listed in 1977, when the ecosystems of those three islands had become largely decimated by the steady presence of sheep, cats, rabbits, and other nonnative animals, and the delisting is testament to the success of eradication and conservation efforts by the military (which owns San Clemente and San Nicolas) and the National Park Service (which owns Santa Barbara Island as part of the Channel Islands National Park).