Endangered Species Law & Policy

The House Committee on Natural Resources is set to hold hearings on a bill that will allow for the lethal removal of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) caught eating endangered salmon and steelhead just below the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. The Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act (H.R. 946), introduced in March 2011, would allow the states of Washington and Oregon, and four local tribal organizations, to get year-long leases to lethally remove a limited number of sea lions that prey on salmon and steelhead listed as endangered under the Endangered ...

On June 8, 2011, Senator Inhofe (R-OK) filed an amendment (SA 429 (pdf)) to S. 782, the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011, that would amend section 4 of the Endangered Species Act to exempt the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) from protection under the Act.  According to Inhofe, if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were to list the lesser prairie-chicken, it would greatly restrict the development of wind energy in Oklahoma.

Senator Inhofe's proposed amendment comes on the heels of Senator Cornyn's proposed amendment (SA 396 (pdf)) to S. 782 ...

Senator Cornyn (R-Texas) has filed an amendment to S. 782 (pdf), a bill entitled the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011, that would block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) as endangered.

The amendment would make good on half of the proposal of House Republicans from West Texas and southeastern New Mexico earlier this Spring (blogged about here) to use legislation to exempt the lizard and the lesser prarie chicken from the Endangered Species Act.

Opponents of the proposed rule (pdf) to list ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service is initiating a five-year review of 53 species under the Endangered Species Act.  The subject-species consist mainly of various frogs, butterflies, moths, snakes and lizards, including the El Segundo blue butterfly, San Francisco garter snake, California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander (Central), Western snowy plover, Longhorn fairy shrimp, and Vernal pool fairy shrimp.  Several plant species are also under review.  The purpose of the five-year review is to determine whether any of the species should be removed from the endangered ...

On May 17, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia stayed its approval of a proposed settlement agreement (Agreement) aimed at expediting findings related to petitions to list 251 species. The Center for Biological Diversity (Center) opposed approval of the Agreement after being left out of the negotiation process.

As we previously reported, plaintiff WildEarth Guardians (Guardians) entered into the Agreement with the Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), under which the Service agreed to a six-year work plan to address ...

On May 4, 2011, the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior withdrew (pdf) a controversial 2007 opinion (pdf) (the Opinion) that was recently criticized and rejected by federal courts in Montana and Arizona.  The Opinion provided an interpretation of the phrase "in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range" (the SPR phrase). This phrase is key for listing determinations under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), as an "endangered species" is defined as "any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service") announced that the mountain plover, a small native bird inhabiting open, flat lands with sparse vegetation, does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

Mountain plovers breed in the western Great Plains and Rocky Mountain States from extreme southern Canada to northern Mexico.  Within the United States, most breeding occurs in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado; fewer breeding birds occur in Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.  Mountain plovers winter mostly in California, southern ...

A public rally to oppose the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's proposal to list the dunes sagebrush lizard (formerly known as the sand dune lizard) as endangered is being sponsored by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association in west Texas.  That proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Congressmen Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Mike Conway (R-TX). 

Both the PBPA and the Congressmen claim that the listing will cost jobs in the oil and gas industry by blocking exploration and extraction in counties on or near the Texas-New Mexico border for several years.  Advocates for the listing decision ...

The New York Times reported that the number of petitions to list a species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) received by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has skyrocketed in recent years.

"Over the last four years, a few environmental groups have requested that more than 1,230 species be listed, compared with the previous 12 years in which annual requests averaged only 20 species."

(The New York Times, April 20, 2011, by Todd Woody.)  The increase from an average of 20 petitions to an average of more than 300 petitions is certain to tax the ...

As reported by a number of news outlets including The New York Times, Congress is poised to pass an appropriations bill (pdf) to fund the federal government for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2011, that includes a provision to remove the gray wolf from the list of threatened and endangered species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the states of Idaho and Montana.  The gray wolf would remain listed in Wyoming.  (The New York Times, April 13, 2011, by Felicity Barringer and John M. Broder.)

The relevant provision is section 1713 of the bill ...

A federal judge has denied a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and 10 conservation groups that would have lifted Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the gray wolf in Montana and Idaho. In the decision (pdf), U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy cited the court’s lack of authority to put only a portion of an endangered species’ population under state management. He reasoned that the District Court is still constrained by the ‘rule of law.’ No matter how useful a course of conduct might be to achieve a certain end, no matter ...

In response to a petition to list the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Upper Klamath and Trinity Rivers Basin as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a finding (pdf) that "the petition presents substantial scientific information indicating the petitioned actions may be warranted."  The petition (pdf) was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Oregon Wild, Environmental Protection Information Center, and The Larch Company.  NMFS is soliciting ...

The New York Times recently reported that, in an effort to offset the rising costs associated with the review of federal listing petitions, which must be acted on pursuant to statutorily mandated deadlines set forth in the federal Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service") has requested that Congress impose a cap on funds that can be spent responding to ESA listing petitions.  (The New York Times, 3/24/2011, by Lawrence Hurley.)  In the past, environmental groups have been quick to challenge the Service's failure to ...

The United States Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) has reached an agreement with the majority of the plaintiffs, including the Defenders of Wildlife, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and eight other conservation organizations, to settle ongoing litigation over a Federal District Court’s 2010 decision (pdf) to reinstate Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the Rocky Mountain gray wolf.

The proposed settlement allows the Service to temporarily return management of the recovered wolf populations in Idaho and Montana to the states, while continuing efforts to ...

On March 13, 2011, it was reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is authorized to prepare a new proposed rule and proposed critical habitat for the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus). This news follows a September 27, 2010 decision (PDF) by the Service that, although the Gunnison sage-grouse warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), protection would be delayed while the Service addressed the needs of other high priority species.

The Gunnison sage-grouse is a small ground bird with speckled plumage and an ornate mating ritual ...

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is now accepting comments on a proposal to add northern and southern variants of the mountain yellow-legged frog to the endangered species list under the California Endangered Species Act ("CESA"). The proposal comes as a result of a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity submitted in 2010.  Comments received on the proposal by March 18, 2011 will be included in a status evaluation report that DFG plans to submit to the Fish and Game Commission ("Commission") addressing existing threats to the species and the effectiveness of current ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently announced  (pdf) a proposed rule to reclassify the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). After completing a 12-month status review, the Service found that threats still affect the wood bison, with the largest threat being the loss of habitat caused by agricultural development, the presence of diseased wood bison and cattle herds on habitat that could be restored with disease-free herds, and the commercial production of plains bison in historical wood bison ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is facing a court-ordered January 31 deadline to decide whether to propose recommending the Pacific walrus for the endangered species list under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Earlier this month, the federal Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) issued a letter (PDF) to the Service recommending that it list the species as threatened. The Commission, which oversees marine mammal conservation policies carried out by federal regulatory agencies, cited loss of sea ice habitat as the most significant threat to the species’ ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently announced that it will conduct in-depth status reviews for six California species currently listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service published (PDF) a 90-day finding in the Federal Register on January 19, 2011, concluding that a petition filed by Pacific Legal Foundation presented substantial scientific information indicating that delisting or reclassifying the species was warranted.

Pacific Legal Foundation petitioned the Service to delist the Eureka Valley evening ...

On December 22, 2010, the Department of Justice filed a supplemental brief (PDF) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia explaining the guidelines used by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in deciding if a species should be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The brief was filed in response to the court's request for a further explanation (PDF) regarding why FWS listed the polar bear as a threatened, and not an endangered, species.  Environmental groups had filed suit arguing the polar bear should be listed as ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service recently published an updated list of plant and animal species native to the United States that are candidates for listing as threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.  The list, referred to as a Candidate Notice of Review or CNOR, is published periodically by the Service.  A press release announcing the release of the CNOR is available here.  Each species on the list is assigned a listing priority number (or LPN) based on its status and threats.  The CNOR includes five new candidates, changes the LPN for four existing candidates, and ...

In a decision that could have profound implications for listing decisions under the Endangered Species Act, on November 4, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia remanded (PDF) the Polar Bear Listing Rule to the Fish & Wildlife Service for "additional explanation for the legal basis of its listing determination" that the Polar bear is a "threatened" not "endangered" species.

In essence, the court has asked the Fish & Wildlife Service to provide the court with its agency interpretation of "endangered species."  As previously discussed here, the Fish & ...

On November 2, 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed (PDF) the Georgia pigtoe mussel, the interrupted rocksnail and the rough hornsnail as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and designated 160 miles of stream and river channels as critical habitat for the three species in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
The listing followed FWS’s determination that the species have experienced a significant curtailment in their freshwater habitats. FWS attributes the habitat loss to fragmentation and isolation of free-flowing rivers and tributaries, as well as ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a proposed rule (PDF) this week to reclassify the spikedace and loach minnows from threatened to endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed rule also designates approximately 796 miles of streams and rivers in central and eastern Arizona and western New Mexico as critical habitat for the two fish.

Both the spikedace and the loach minnow are small fish that measure fewer than three inches in length. They inhabit shallow water in perennial streams. According to the Service, prolonged drought ...

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has denied protection for spotted seal populations in Alaskan waters.   NMFS did, however, formalize protection for smaller populations of spotted seals in Liaodong Bay, China and Peter the Great Bay, Russia.  This region is home to a population of approximately 3,300 seals.

On October 20, 2010, at a hearing on a motion for summary judgment filed by Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Center for Biological Diversity, a federal judge indicated that he intends to remand to the Fish & Wildlife Service its controversial decision to list the Polar bear as a threatened species rather than an endangered species.   See Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing and 4(d) Rule Litigation, No. 1:08-mc-00764-EGS (D.D.C. filed Dec. 4, 2008).

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service made history two years ago when it listed the Polar bear as a threatened species because it identified the devastating impacts of climate change on the bear's habitat as a major factor in the species' alarming decline.  In addition, the Polar Bear is the first, and so far, only mammal to be listed specifically due to climate change impacts.

Environmentalists had hoped that the listing would force the federal government to use its considerable regulatory authority under the Endangered Species Act to impose strict limits on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).  But a controversial rule issued by the Department of the Interior under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act placed strict geographic limits on the authority of federal agencies to require projects in Alaska to curb or mitigate their GHG emissions.  As previously reported here, much to the dismay of environmentalists, the Department of the Interior under the Obama Administration chose not to overturn the polar bear rule.  Instead, the Obama Administration has called for new legislation to address GHG emissions, and the EPA may use its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate GHGs.

Environmentalists immediately challenged the Polar Bear Listing Rule, arguing that the species should be listed as endangered, not threatened.  If they prevail on that issue, and the bear attains endangered status, then the Department of the Interior will no longer have the power to issue a 4(d) rule for the Polar bear.  Without the limits in the existing 4(d) rule, the wildlife agencies could, in theory, impose limits on GHG emissions from facilities and projects that receive discretionary federal funding or approvals anywhere in the country based on their impacts on climate change, which impacts the Polar bear.

The environmental plaintiffs have also challenged the validity of the 4(d) rule itself.  Thus, if the Polar Bear Listing Rule is ultimately upheld, their challenge to 4(d) rule will remain to be decided in subsequent proceedings.

On October 19, 2010 the San Francisco Superior Court issued an order requiring the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) to reconsider its determination that the American pika is not threatened with extinction.  Center for Biological Diversity v. California Fish & Game Comm'n, No. CPF-090509927 (San Francisco Superior Court).

In 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a petition to list the pika as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).  CBD argues that the pika is threatened with extinction because climate change in ...

In compliance with a settlement agreement previously blogged about here, the Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule (PDF) effective October 28, 2010 listing the African Penguin as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act.  Unlike its prior listing decision for five other species of penguins, in this instance, the Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that climate change contributes to the threats facing the species "through rising sea levels, increasing sea surface temperatures, declines in upwelling intensities, predicted increases in frequency and ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced yesterday that the Sacramento splittail, a fish endemic to California's Central Valley, does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, stating that the best available science shows no recent decline in the overall abundance of the species nor threats that rise to the level of being significant to the splittail at the population level.

This decision marks the conclusion of a seven year controversy between politicians and scientists that began when the Service removed the fish from the threatened species list ...

On Wednesday, September 22nd, Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch of Idaho introduced SB 3825 (.PDF), which would remove the Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the list of threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the states of Idaho and Montana.  The proposed legislation, titled the State Wolf Management Act of 2010, is intended to turn wolf management over to the states to promote certainty among citizens, hunters, and sheep and cattle ranchers.  The bill was introduced in response to a federal court’s ruling in early August, which put gray wolves in Idaho and ...

On October 1, 2010, the California Fish and Game Commission declared the mountain yellow-legged frog a candidate species (PDF) as defined by section 2068 of the Fish and Game Code.  The Commission accepted the petition to list the mountain yellow-legged frog as endangered at its September 15, 2010 meeting.  The Center for Biological Diversity previously submitted (PDF) a petition to the Commission to list the mountain yellow-legged frog as endangered on January 27, 2010.  The Commission transmitted the petition to the California Department of Fish and Game for review.

The ...

On Monday, September 27, 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued its determination that the Gunnison sage-grouse warrants listing under the Endangered Species Act, but that proposing that it be listed as threatened or endangered be postponed while the Service addresses the needs of higher priority species.

Historically, the Gunnison sage-grouse occupied southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, northwestern New Mexico, and northeastern Arizona.  But according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, its range has been reduced to seven separate populations in southwestern ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently made a 90-day finding (PDF) that a petition to list the plant species Arctostaphylos franciscana presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing this species may be warranted.  Arctostaphylos franciscana is a low, spreading to ascending evergreen shrub in the heath family that is endemic to the San Francisco peninsula in California.  The species was presumed extinct since 1947 when it was last seen in the wild, but, in October 2009, an ecologist identified a plant growing in a concrete-bound ...

In compliance with a settlement agreement previously blogged about here, the Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule on August 3, 2010 listing five species of penguins as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.  Specifically, the Service determined that the yellow-eyed, white-flippered, Fiordland crested, Humboldt, and erect-crested penguins are likely to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future.

None of the five species is native to the United States, and therefore no critical habitat is designated for the listed species.  Nevertheless ...

In an article published in Yale Environment 360 on July 22, 2010, Todd Woody chronicles the ongoing campaign by various environmental organizations to use the Endangered Species Act to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The article, Enlisting Endangered Species As a Tool to Combat Warming, recounts the perils facing the American Pika, previously blogged about here,  to illustrate the broader strategy aimed at forcing the Services to regulate GHG emissions.

As noted in our blog post ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced a 90-day finding that listing the whitebark pine as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted.    The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) previously petitioned the Service to list the whitebark pine in 2008.  It filed a lawsuit in March 2010 to force the Service to act on the listing petition.  In its petition, NRDC claimed that climate change posed one of the most significant threats to whitebark pine.  According to NRDC, whitebark pines are being threatened by several factors, which are exacerbated by ...

On June 3, 2010, a federal court approved a settlement that requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to take final action on proposed listings for six penguin species and one distinct population segment in the next few months.  In response to a 2006 petition to list 12 species of penguins, in 2007 the Service found that there was enough evidence to conduct a status review for 10 of the 12.  In 2008, the Service issued three proposed rules to list seven of the 10 as threatened or endangered due to climate change and commercial fishing, among other factors.  (See 73 Fed. Reg. 77,264, 73 ...

The Fish and Game Commission announced a change in its hearing date and location regarding listing the California tiger salamander as threatened under California's Endangered Species Act.  The hearing will now be a teleconference meeting held on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. at the Commission Conference Room in Sacramento.  Locations where the public may participate are provided in the Commission's notice (PDF).

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced (PDF) that it is initiating a 12-month status review of a petition to list the Hermes copper butterfly (Hermelycaena [Lycaena] hermes) as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and to designate critical habitat.  Hermes copper butterflies are known to range from Fallbrook, California, in northern San Diego County to 18 miles south of Santo Tomas in Baja California, Mexico, and from Pine Valley in eastern San Diego County to Lopez Canyon in western San Diego County.  The species inhabits coastal sage scrub and ...

Almost five years after receiving a listing petition, yesterday, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service finally issued its 90-day petition finding for the Mohave ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus mohavensis), finding that "listing may be warranted."  

The listing petition was jointly filed by the Defenders of Wildlife and Dr. Glenn R. Stewart on September 5, 2005.  Although the Endangered Species Act contemplates that the Fish & Wildlife Service will issue a 90-day petition finding within 90 days of receiving a petition, approximately six ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced (PDF) today that it will accept comments through May 20, 2010 regarding a status review of the Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthy macrolepidotus), a fish endemic to lower-elevation waters of the Central Valley of California.  Based on the status review, the Service will issue a 12-month finding by September 30, 2010 that will address whether listing the species may be warranted under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  If warranted, the Service will also publish, concurrently with the 12-month finding, a proposed rule to list the ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the delta smelt warrants uplisting (PDF) from "threatened" to endangered" under the Endangered Species Act.  However, uplisting at this time is precluded by the need to address higher priority species.  This "warranted but precluded" finding will not have any practical effect on existing protections for the delta smelt. 

According to the Service, the delta smelt is native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and subject to several threats, including predation, competition with invasive species, contaminants, and entrainment by water ...

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.  ...

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 ...

Western Watersheds Project is again challenging the Fish and Wildlife Service's listing determination for the greater sage grouse.  On March 5, 2010, the Service determined that listing the greater sage grouse was warranted but precluded by higher priority species, thereby deeming the greater sage grouse a candidate species, which does not receive any protection under the Endangered Species Act ("ESA").  This determination was a reversal of the Bush Administration's 2005 determination that listing was not warranted for the species.  As discussed in a previous post, Western ...

After seeking a week's delay, the Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the greater sage grouse warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act, but listing is currently precluded by higher priority species.  The Service is placing the greater sage grouse on the candidate list for future action.  Until then, the species would not receive any protection under the ESA. 

In its finding (PDF), the Service stated there are several factors contributing to the destruction or modification of the greater sage grouse's habitat, including the increasing degradation and ...

Another lawsuit (PDF) has been filed to force the Fish and Wildlife Service to act on a listing petition - this time for the whitebark pine tree, which is distributed across high-elevation areas in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, and southwestern Canada.  The Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned (PDF) the Service to list the whitebark pine in December 2008 claiming that climate change "poses one of the most significant threats to whitebark pine." 

The whitebark pine listing petition is one of several recent petitions seeking protection ...

In a 3-2 vote, the California Fish and Game Commission ruled yesterday that the California tiger salamander will be protected as a threatened species under the State’s Endangered Species Act.  The Commission had previously denied the listing twice, and was ordered by the State Court of Appeals to reconsider the issue after the Center of Biological Diversity filed suit in 2004.  The Commission made the decision after finding that the species’ habitat, roughly 400,000 acres in Central California, is threatened by future development.

This decision is anticipated to ...

Reminiscent of the tale of endless litigation in Dickens' Bleak House, the Fish and Wildlife Service has reinstated (PDF) the 1993 proposed rule (PDF) to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act following more than a decade of litigation, including two decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The flat-tailed horned lizard is found in the western Sonoran desert of California, Arizona and Mexico.

The reinstatement of the proposed rule is in response to Tuscon Herpetological Society v. Salazar (PDF)

Environmental groups have sued (PDF) the Fish and Wildlife Service to force the listing of the Sonoran desert tortoise in Arizona as a distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act.  The lawsuit is the latest legal development that threatens to slow or block the national effort to promote the development of solar energy on federal lands in the Arizona desert.  The listing of a related population of desert tortoise across the border in California has triggered significant limitations on solar projects in the Mojave Desert. 

On August 28, 2009, the Fish and Wildlife Service ...