BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — The world's only Key deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer, are found in piney and marshy wetlands bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico on the Florida Keys. For years, their biggest threat was being struck by vehicles speeding along U.S. Highway 1 or local roads.
But those waters surrounding the islands now pose the biggest long-term risk for this herd of about 800 deer as sea rise jeopardizes their sole habitat.
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The sun sets in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks through a residential neighborhood, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, interact as they walk through a residential neighborhood Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk along mangroves, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Pine trees, which have lost their needles, stand in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Chris Bergh, the South Florida program manager for the Nature Conservancy, walks in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A road sign warns motorists not to speed in an area frequented by Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat for the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks past collected rainwater flowing from a drain in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Jan Svejkovsky, chief scientist for Save Our Key Deer, watches a Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, in front of his home, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A bucket of drinking water is left along a road for Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks in a residential neighborhood, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, crosses the road Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
These charismatic diminutive deer have been listed as endangered for almost 60 years after their numbers dipped to about 50 from hunting and poaching long ago. Yet they've made a tremendous comeback, with a peak population of about 1,000 in the mid-2010s before a deadly parasite and Hurricane Irma took a heavy toll.
However, experts and wildlife advocates say this conservation success story today is at risk of being undone by climate change. Sea level rise is already altering the landscape of Big Pine Key and at least 20 smaller islands the deer call home.
The bulk of the deer live on Big Pine Key, a marshy island 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Key West. They roam neighborhoods where about 4,500 people live, browsing on lush gardens and drinking water from buckets residents put out for them as natural freshwater supplies dwindle.
Key deer are far smaller than their North American counterparts, with the biggest bucks standing less than 3 feet (1 meter) tall at the shoulder and weighing around 75 pounds (34 kilograms).
“They were always vulnerable,” said Chris Bergh, the South Florida program manager for the Nature Conservancy, who oversees sea level rise projects and lives in Big Pine Key. “They’re much more vulnerable now. And with the sea level rising and their habitat shrinking, they’re becoming even more so.”
On Big Pine Key, mom and pop bars and restaurants dot either side of bustling U.S. 1, along with gas stations and small motels. The main industry revolves around the water — charter boats, fishing, diving, vacation rentals.
To protect the deer from being hit by vehicles, signs tell motorists they're entering deer habitat. A 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch of U.S. 1 is elevated and fenced, allowing deer to cross under the road. And speed limits are strictly enforced, often frustrating tourists driving to Key West.
Deer still are struck at an alarming rate. “The bottom line is that some 90 to 120 deer are known to be killed by vehicles each year,” said Jan Svejkovsky, chief scientist for Save Our Key Deer.
Wildlife officials have worked hard get out the message: Don’t feed Key deer. They fear deer will approach cars and go near roadways for handouts.
Even with the traffic deaths, the population has remained stable. But a larger threat looms.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects that by 2100, seas will rise 1.5 feet to 7 feet (0.5 to 2 meters) in parts of the Florida Keys. The threat is greatest to low lying islands like Big Pine Key, where the highest point is only about 8 feet (2.4 meters) above sea level.
Sea rise will continue to shrink freshwater and food sources Key deer need to survive, experts say.
“So as the sea rises, that shrinks the amount of available freshwater, the amount of available, palatable vegetation, the places for bearing their young," said Bergh of the Nature Conservancy. "It puts them increasingly in conflict with people who are also occupying those higher grounds."
In addition to sea rise, climate change brings the threat of stronger hurricanes, with storm surges that can damage deer habitat and freshwater supplies.
Salt water intrusion also is responsible for killing many of the Florida slash pines that gave Big Pine Key its name. Mangroves are growing in their place in an ever-changing environment, choking deer habitat even more.
Key deer on Big Pine Key move through neighborhoods, munching on gardens. Some people even have names for ones that frequent their yards.
“They are very gentle, very, very gentle,” said Connie Ritchie, who sometimes sees about 30 deer a day. “And the longer you live here, the more you want to protect them. Big time. Protect them because they’re so innocent.”
“They have certain plants that they really love,” Ritchie said, noting that the federal deer refuge here hosts events where it gives away native plants. “So they’re trying to teach us to plant the plants that the deer won’t eat.”
Development on Big Pine Key began in the 1970s and 1980s “when entire swaths of land on islands that still held deer were developed into planned subdivisions, complete with saltwater canal networks to provide lot-buyers with direct water access,” said Svejkovsky of Save Our Key Deer.
While the key remains mostly rural with modest Florida bungalows and more palatial places, development has taken away some deer habitat.
”We have lots of people and the wildlife living in the same really concentrated area," said Katy Hosokawa, a park ranger at the National Key Deer Refuge, established in 1957 on 8,542 acres (3,457 hectares) of Big Pine Key. “So the more houses that we build, or the less lands that we have protected, the less areas that they have that are safe.”
The deer have adapted to the humans and move freely between wild spaces and the neighborhoods. "They roam, they spend their day grazing,” Hosokawa said. “We don’t have a really nutritionally dense soil, so they need to eat a lot of food to get what they need. But trust me, they’re very good at it. If it’s soft and tender, they will try to eat it.”
The future, while uncertain, looks grim.
Just six inches (15 centimeters) of sea rise, expected by 2030, would mean loss of 16% of the freshwater holes on Big Pine Key, said Nova Silvy, professor emeritus with Texas A&M University who has studied Key deer since 1968 and has lived here for several years.
By 2050, sea rise is expected to overtake about 84% of the 1,988 remaining acres (805 hectares) of the preferred habitat on Big Pine Key — and “the deer will already be gone,” Silvy said.
What happens if the deer can't survive in the Keys?
Bergh said he prefers to buy more time to keep the deer viable here. “And at some point, if that’s no longer possible, I personally think zoos are the most responsible alternative,” he said. “But that’s a terrible alternative. Who wants that for a wild animal?”
In rare instances, scientists have been allowed to relocate endangered species threatened by climate change as a last resort. But Silvy said, “The problem is if you take them any other place with deer, they’re going to interbreed and then you’ve lost the Key deer.”
Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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The sun sets in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks through a residential neighborhood, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, interact as they walk through a residential neighborhood Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk along mangroves, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Pine trees, which have lost their needles, stand in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Chris Bergh, the South Florida program manager for the Nature Conservancy, walks in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A road sign warns motorists not to speed in an area frequented by Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat for the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks past collected rainwater flowing from a drain in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Jan Svejkovsky, chief scientist for Save Our Key Deer, watches a Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, in front of his home, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A bucket of drinking water is left along a road for Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks in a residential neighborhood, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, crosses the road Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge on Monday delayed until January his decision on whether to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion 35 years ago, squashing their family’s hope the brothers would be released and home for the holidays.
Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said at the hearing in Los Angeles that he needed time to review 17 boxes of documents and give a new district attorney in Los Angeles County time to weigh in on the case.
“I’m not ready to go forward,” Jesic said, setting the hearing for the resentencing request for Jan. 30 instead of Dec. 11 as originally planned.
The brothers were scheduled to be seen in court for the first time in decades at the hearing but technical problems prevented them from appearing virtually from a San Diego prison. They were found guilty of murdering Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
While their defense attorneys argued at trial that they had been sexually abused by their father, prosecutors denied that and accused them of killing their parents for money. In the years that followed, they repeatedly appealed their convictions without success.
Now, at 53 and 56, Erik and Lyle Menendez are making a new bid for freedom. Their lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition — a request for a court to examine whether someone is being lawfully detained — in May 2023, asking a judge to consider new evidence of their father’s sexual abuse. The brothers are being held at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Jesic allowed the brothers’ two aunts to take the stand on Monday after their attorney argued that it was difficult for them to travel for the hearing.
Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister who turns 93 on Tuesday, and Teresita Baralt, Jose’s older sister who is 85, asked for their release, saying 35 years was a long time for the brothers after suffering abuse as children. Andersen VanderMolen had said last month that she had hoped her nephews would be released and home for her birthday or the holidays.
Baralt noted that she was close to Jose and lived for years across the street from him and Kitty, who Baralt described as her best friend.
“We miss those who are gone tremendously,” Baralt testified through tears. “But we miss the kids too.”
Both aunts said they had kept in contact with the brothers, though they had not seen them in person for years.
The hearing lasted less than an hour. Mark Geragos, an attorney for the brothers, started to address the media outside the courthouse but he cut it short and walked off as journalists crowded him.
The recent releases of the Netflix drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and the documentary “The Menendez Brothers" in 2024 brought renewed attention to their plight.
Rose Castillo, a 28-year-old true crime enthusiast, arrived from Miami five minutes too late to enter the lottery and win one of the few seats offered to the public to attend the hearing, but glimpsed the brothers' family members before they entered the courthouse.
“That was crazy,” Castillo said.
A courthouse bailiff told people to stop taking pictures of the relatives as they waited in the hallway before the hearing began.
Prosecutors recommended resentencing for the brothers last month, saying they have worked on redemption and rehabilitation and demonstrated good behavior inside prison.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón asked for new sentences that could make them immediately eligible for parole.
The brothers’ extended family has said they deserve to be free after decades behind bars. Several family members have said that in today’s world — which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse — the brothers would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.
Not all Menendez family members support resentencing. Attorneys for Milton Andersen, the 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, filed a legal brief asking the court to keep the brothers’ original punishment. “They shot their mother, Kitty, reloading to ensure her death,” Andersen’s attorneys said in a statement last month. “The evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime.”
The new evidence includes a letter Erik Menendez wrote in 1988 to his uncle Andy Cano, describing the sexual abuse he had endured from his father. The brothers asked their lawyers about it after it was mentioned in a 2015 Barbara Walters television special. The lawyers hadn't known of the letter and realized it had not been introduced at their trials, making it effectively new evidence that they say corroborates allegations that Erik was sexually abused by his father.
More new evidence emerged when Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, recently came forward saying he had been drugged and raped by Jose Menendez when he was a teen in the 1980s. Menudo was signed under RCA Records, where Jose Menendez was chief operating officer.
Rossello spoke about his abuse in the Peacock docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed," and provided a signed declaration to the brothers’ lawyers.
Had these two pieces of evidence been available during the brothers' trial, prosecutors would not have been able to argue that there was no corroboration of sexual abuse, the petition states.
While clemency might be another pathway to freedom for the brothers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that he won't decide until incoming Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who takes office on Dec. 2, reviews the case.
Hochman, a Republican-turned-independent who unseated the progressive Gascón, said Jesic's decision to delay the hearing will give him enough time to “review the extensive prison records, transcripts of two lengthy trials and voluminous exhibits, as well as consult with prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel and victim family members.”
Holding the hand of Marta Cano, the sister of Jose Menendez, attorney Mark Geragos, left, talks to Joan VanderMolen, Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt, during a news conference after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Tammi Menendez, center, the wife of Eric Menendez, leaves a courthouse after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Joined by family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, attorney Mark Geragos, center, speaks during a news conference after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Tammi Menendez, center, the wife of Eric Menendez, leaves a courthouse after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Tammi Menendez, center, the wife of Eric Menendez, is hugged by an unidentified woman as she leaves a courthouse after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Mark Geragos, left, and Bryan Freedman, attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez, and their family members leave a courthouse after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez and their attorneys attend a news conference after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt Joan VanderMolen, center right, is comforted by attorney Mark Geragos after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, arrives at the Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Defense Attorney Mark Geragos, arrives at the Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, for a hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Defense Attorney Mark Geragos, arrives at the Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, for a hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Members of the media gather around the Van Nuys courthouse for a hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy maintains a perimeter around the Van Nuys courthouse for the hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt Joan VanderMolen, center, is assisted by Karen VanderMolen, as they arrive to attend a hearing at the Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt Joan VanderMolen, center, arrives to attend a hearing at the Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, talks to reporters outside a courthouse in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The media surround family members of the Erik and Lyle Menendez brothers as they arrive at a courthouse to attend a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt Joan VanderMolen, center, arrives at a courthouse to attend a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The media surround family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez brothers as they arrive at a courthouse to attend a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt Joan VanderMolen, center, arrives at a courthouse to attend a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt Joan VanderMolen, center, arrives at a courthouse to attend a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Media members gather outside the Van Nuys Courthouse West in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, where a hearing is scheduled in the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home more than 30 years ago. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
FILE - Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in the Municipal Court in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles, during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File)