Endangered Species Law & Policy

Two men were sentenced in federal court last week after admitting to the 2007 slaughter of over 100 federally endangered Indiana bats in Kentucky.  In light of the brutality of the attacks, one man received 3 years probation, while the second man, who was involved in two separate attacks on the endangered bat, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison.  

Both men pleaded guilty to violating the take prohibition in the federal Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), which provides for a maximum criminal penalty of $50,000 or one year in prison, or both.  While the ...

The California Fish and Game Commission provided notice (PDF) that it will be holding a hearing in Stockton on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 8:30 am to take comments on the listing of the California tiger salamander to the list of threatened animals pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act.  The Department of Fish and Game submitted a status review (PDF) of the California Tiger Salamander to the Commission on January 11, 2010.

As detailed in the notice, written comments are requested to be submitted on or before April 30, 2010, but must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 3, 2010.  ...

In the latest round of litigation over endangered species impacts of water management in Southern Florida, a district court invalidated an incidental take statement applicable to actions of the Corps of Engineers to restore the Everglades.  The decision in Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida v. United States (PDF), is the latest in a line of decisions concluding that the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to provide a sufficient justification for the use habitat conditions in lieu of a numerical cap on incidental take.  The decision is an example of the willingness of the federal ...

On April 8-9, Nossaman partners Rob Thornton and Paul Weiland will be co-chairing a CLE International conference on Endangered Species Law at the Omni Hotel in San Diego, California.  Nossaman attorneys Sue Meyer, Rob Thornton, and Paul Weiland will be presenting on panels at the conference.  Other speakers are among the leading attorneys, consultants, scientists, and stakeholders in the field, including Dr. Holly Doremus of University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Dennis Murphy of University of Nevada, Reno, and Dan Keppen of the Family Farm Alliance.  The conference will cover ...

The National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") has issued a final determination (PDF) listing the southern Distinct Population Segment of Pacific eulachon (commonly referred to as "pacific smelt") as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.  Because the pacific smelt has only been listed as a "threatened species," the listing does not result in an immediate prohibition on pacific smelt harvesting.  NMFS can, however, extend such a prohibition via regulation.  And in the final determination NMFS stated that in the future it will be ...

Senator Dianne Feinstein has responded (PDF) to the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council's report on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta noting that the report did not indicate a need to enforce more rigorous pumping restrictions.  Feinstein emphasized the finding that other stressors, including predators, may have a potentially large impact on endangered species in the Delta and the need to integrate the two biological opinions.  Finally, Feinstein urged the Departments of Interior and Commerce to implement the biological opinions with additional flexibility ...

Today the National Research Council’s Committee on Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta released the first of two reports regarding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in California. The report is entitled A Scientific Assessment of Alternatives for Reducing Water Management Effects on Threatened and Endangered Fishes in California's Bay Delta. It addresses two biological opinions issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the Endangered Species Act concerning the operation of the ...

Finding its methodology fatally flawed, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Forest Service violated the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in its approval of grazing allotments in Southeast Montana.  In Native Ecosystems Council v. Tidwell (PDF), the court determined that the Forest Service’s use of a habitat proxy to evaluate impacts to the sage grouse was arbitrary and capricious without considering evidence concerning the sage grouse population. The court did not consider the recent determination by the Fish and Wildlife Service that the listing of the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. Nevertheless, the decision is evidence of the potential for future conflicts between the conservation of the sage grouse and economic activities on public lands in the West. The decision is another example of the reluctance of the Ninth Circuit to defer to agency decisions on biological issues.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman has introduced Assembly Bill 2420 (PDF) to amend the provisions of the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) that allow persons who obtain incidental take authorization under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), to also obtain take authorization from the Director of the California Department of Fish and Game for species listed under both laws, provided the Director determines that such federal take authorization is consistent with CESA.

AB 2420 would revise section 2080.1 of the California Fish and Game Code. As presently written, that section ...

For the third time in nine years, the Fish and Wildlife Service has revised the designation of critical habitat for the California red-legged frog. The new designation includes 1.6 million acres in 20 counties in California. 75 Fed. Reg. 12,816 (Mar. 17, 2010) (PDF). The revised designation increases the amount of critical habitat by over one million acres from the 2006 critical habitat designation (PDF). The revised designation represents a decrease of approximately 2.4 million acres from the 2001 designation (PDF). The Service revised the prior designations in response to ...