Climate Crisis: WA Lizard Survival At Risk Due To Deforestation

Deforestation Puts Lizards At Risk - WHO CARES?
Only Snakes Are Creepier- Agreed?
Dinosaurs Are Gone - Lizards Should Be Next

I hate reptiles. Snakes are first but lizards are a close second. I'm neutral on turtles and tortoises. Crocs and gators are ok from a long distance, you know, like a continent away. But snakes and lizards are No Bueno!

Lisa Hallock, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources

The Future Looks Perhaps TOO BRIGHT for North America's Lizards

So the announcement from the University of Colorado at Boulder a couple of weeks ago that 8 in 10 lizards could be in jeopardy due to deforestation had me looking for a good deal on a used chainsaw.

Reptiles are cold-blooded, like your ex, so that means they can't moderate their body temperature. When it's too hot lizards need trees for shade. Biologists say forests serve as "critical sanctuaries" for small tree-dwelling animals like lizards. In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientists have some bad news for these scaly creeps.

deforestation combined with climate change could negatively impact 84% of North America's lizards by the end of the century. Nearly one in five could face a population decline

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Last Thing A Lizard Wants To Hear Is T-I-M-B-E-R!!!

Tree trunks have a sunny and a shady side and lizards need both at different times. Arctic and Alpine Researcher Keith Musselman says,

What's really interesting about lizards is that they just need to be able to move a short distance around the tree trunk to get to a very different climate and habitat environment

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Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Washington State Has Its Share of Lizards

Washington State is home to 7 species of lizards. But at least we don't have a "State Lizard" as some 28 other states do! Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut are the four states that enjoy the luxury of NOT playing host to any lizard species. (That is if you don't count Connecticut senior senator Richard Blumenthal)

Washington's Lizards In No Favorite Order

Northern Alligator Lizard
Southern Alligator Lizard
Northern Sagebrush Lizard
Pygmy short-horned Lizard
Side-blotched Lizarard
Western Fence Lizard
Western Skink

Getty Images

Apparently Our International "Partners" Are Lizards Too

Despite international pledges to halt deforestation, from 2001 to 2022, about 12% of the global tree cover was taken down. Scientists say lizard populations are already at risk because of climate change with an estimated 54% of lizard populations in Mexico potentially extinct by 2080. (unfortunately, that doesn't include the cartels)

You may feel differently but my love for animals stops at the first sign of creepiness. So for me, it's Hasta la Vista Lizards!

LOOK: Washington State's 33 Endangered Species

There are endangered species everywhere in the world, but it can be hard to remember that some of them are close to home. Here are Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)'s list of endangered species in the state, as last revised in February 2022.

Gallery Credit: Jaime Skelton