Endangered Species Law & Policy

In a recent decision out of Oregon, a United States District Court found that plaintiffs do not need to prove a likelihood of future take to prevail on a Section 9 claim.  Stout v. U.S. Forest Service, ECF No. 112 (D. Or. April 24, 2012).  Plaintiffs, ranchers who had been partially enjoined from grazing on certain banks because of potential impacts to threatened Middle Columbia River steelhead (MCR steelhead), filed an action against the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alleging, among other claims, that the Forest Service had taken steelhead ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently announced (pdf) its decision that the Sonoran Desert Area population of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The Service's conclusion is the result of a revised 12-month finding on a petition to list the population as threatened or endangered under the ESA.  The Service concluded that the Sonoran Desert Area population of bald eagle does not qualify as a distinct population segment (DPS), and that listing the population is not warranted at this time.

The Service originally found that the Sonoran Desert Area population of bald eagles was not a listable entity under the ESA on February 25, 2010.  The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon Society challenged that decision in October 2010.  On November 30, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona ordered the Service to draft a new 12-month finding.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order (pdf) denying cross motions for summary judgment in a case brought by plaintiffs suing the City and County of San Francisco over the management of Sharp Park Golf Course, which San Francisco owns but which is located in the City of Pacifica in San Mateo County, California.  At issue in the case is whether San Francisco’s management of the golf course violates the take prohibition of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Previously, we posted a blog describing plaintiffs' unsuccessful attempt to ...

The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a decision (pdf) denying a request by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to enjoin the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from providing flood insurance, either directly or through third-party entities, for any new development in certain jurisdictions in the Puget Sound area until the case is resolved on the merits.  We blogged about the case previously, here.  NWF filed the case against FEMA for failure to fully implement the reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) that ...

On April 17, 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a proposed rule that would revise the critical habitat for two endangered plant species located in Riverside County, California: the Munz's onion (Allium munzii) and the San Jacinto Valley crownscale (Atriplex coronata var. natatior).  Under the proposed rule, the Service would designate an additional 8,909 acres of critical habitat for the two species.  Approximately 889 additional acres would be designated for the Munz's onion, and 8,020 acres would be designated for the San Jacinto Valley crownscale.  

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently concluded that listing of the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Upper Klamath and Trinity Rivers Basin as threatened or endangered is not warranted.  The agency made the 12-month finding following receipt of a petition to list the species in January 2011 from the Center for Biological Diversity, Oregon Wild, Environmental Protection Information Center, and The Larch Company.

In its 12-month finding, NMFS included both spring-run and fall-run Chinook salmon populations in the Klamath River Basin ...

In a recently issued draft biological opinion (PDF) , the National Marine Fisheries Service (Service) has concluded that EPA's registration of products containing the herbicides oryzalin, pendimethalin, and tricluralin is likely to jeopardize the survival of approximately half of the Pacific salmonid populations listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The draft biological opinion is the latest milestone in a series of controversial ESA section 7 consultations between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Service regarding EPA's ...

The National Research Council's Committee on Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta issued its final report (pdf) entitled Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta.  The report is 220 pages and includes five chapters as well as a number of appendix.  The National Research Council established the Committee at the request of Congress and the Departments of the Interior and Commerce.  The task statement for this final report was as follows:

• Identify the factors that may be contributing to the decline of ...

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) has determined that protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the San Francisco Bay-Delta (Bay-Delta) population of longfin smelt is warranted but precluded. The Service also determined that listing the longfin smelt rangewide is not warranted at this time.

The Service’s decision is in response to a lawsuit brought by environmental groups challenging the Service’s 2009 determination (pdf) that the Bay-Delta population of longfin smelt is not distinct from other populations in the species’ geographic range. In a ...

In a case with a complicated procedural history, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon recently held (pdf) that a claim for failure to consult under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) arises under the citizen suit provision of that Act rather than under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).  In doing so, the Court followed the Ninth Circuit's reasoning in Western Watersheds Project v. Kraayenbrink, 632 F.3d 472 (9th Cir. 2011) (pdf) and rejected a contrary interpretation included in proposed findings and recommendations (pdf) of the magistrate.  ...