Endangered Species Law & Policy

On December 3, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other agencies (collectively, “Agencies”) announced an update to the standard Bank Enabling Instrument (“BEI”) template for use in connection with the development of mitigation banks that will be located in or propose service areas within the State of California.

BEI templates are used in connection with the approval of mitigation banks the purpose of which is to provide mitigation for projects that have received authorizations from ...

On November 30, 2015, the California Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Case No. S217763 (Nov. 30, 2015).  The decision comes at the conclusion of a nearly five-year legal battle over the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) approval of an environmental impact report (EIR) for the Newhall Ranch development project (Newhall Ranch) in Los Angeles County.  Newhall Ranch was approved as a mixed-use development on nearly 12,000 acres of land along the Santa Clarita River.  ...