Endangered Species Law & Policy

On March 9, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued its 12-month finding that listing Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana) as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is not warranted. The 12-month finding was made to comply with a September 20, 2021 court-ordered remand of the Service’s previous “not warranted” finding in August 2019.

In September 2015, WildEarth Guardians submitted a petition to list the Joshua trees as threatened and, if applicable, designate critical habitat for the species. The Service issued ...

On October 18, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced 12-month findings on a petition to list three California-based salamander species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): the Kern Plateau salamander (Batrachoseps robustus), the Kern Canyon slender salamander (Batrachoseps simatus), and the relictual slender salamander (Batrachoseps relictus). All three salamander species occur in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The Service determined that listing the Kern Canyon slender salamander and the relictual slender salamander is ...

On August 25, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) filed a stipulated settlement agreement (Agreement) in a case challenging the agency’s failure to timely make a 12-month finding on a petition to list the dunes sagebrush lizard (Scleroperus arenicolus) (Petition). Under the Agreement, the Service will submit a 12-month finding on the Petition to the Federal Register no later than June 29, 2023. The 12-month finding will determine whether listing the species is warranted (and will simultaneously issue a proposed rule to list the species), whether listing the ...

On February 8, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published findings on several petitions to list species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), some of which have been highly anticipated.

Pursuant to an August 2020 settlement agreement between the Service, WildEarth Guardians, and Western Watersheds Project, the Service published a 12-month finding on a petition to list the Sonoran desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai). The tortoise is patchily distributed across 68,600 square miles in the Sonoran Desert ecoregion of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. In its 12-month ...

This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued three separate notices in the Federal Register concerning the agency’s 12-month findings on a number of petitions to list various wildlife and plants under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

First, the USFWS announced a positive 12-month finding on a petition to list the Peñasco least chipmunk (Neotamias minimus atristriatus), a small mammal from New Mexico.  The USFWS proposes to list the Peñasco least chipmunk as an endangered species under the ESA and to designate approximately 6,574 acres of land as critical ...

Earlier this week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a Federal Register notice addressing 90-day findings for three separate species.  With the notice, two species moved one step closer to being listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In July of 2020, the Service received a petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf (Canis lupus ligoni) as an endangered or threatened species.  The wolf’s current range includes Alaska and Canada.  The Service concluded in the 90-day finding that listing may be warranted due to potential threats associated ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently announced its finding that three salamander species do not warrant listing as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service’s announcement follows a court-approved settlement agreement in which the Service agreed to make a 12-month finding for the Shasta salamander (Hydromantes shastae), Samwel salamander (H. samweli), and Wintu salamander (H. wintu). The finding comes despite concerns from some environmental groups that a proposed project to raise the height of the Shasta Dam and ...

On Thursday, October 5, 2017, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) announced 12-month not warranted findings on petitions to list 25 species as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  It is likely that the Service’s not warranted findings represent the Trump administration’s departure from the previous administration’s  90-day determinations wherein the Service found that the petitions contain substantial information that listing may be warranted.  For over half of the 25 species, the not warranted findings satisfy the terms of various ...

On January 6, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued its 12-month finding on the petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf (Canis lupus ligoni) as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, concluding that listing the wolf species throughout all or a significant portion of its range "is not warranted at this time."

The Alexander Archipelago wolf inhabits the mainland of southeastern Alaska, coastal British Columbia, and several island complexes.  On March 31, 2014, the Service issued a 90-day finding for the wolf stating that ...