Endangered Species Act Archives

Grizzlies Saved: Ninth Circuit Stops Yellowstone Trophy Hunt

July 8, 2020July 9, 2020 MATTHEW RENDA

bears, Endangered Species Act, Hunting, Idaho, Ninth Circuit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming, Yellowstone

The Ninth Circuit upheld protections for grizzly bears in the area of Yellowstone National Park Wednesday, staving off plans for trophy hunts in parts of Wyoming and Idaho.

Appeals Civil Rights Environment Government

Landowners Lose Again in Fight to Strip Protections for Rare Spider

May 29, 2020June 1, 2020 TRAVIS BUBENIK

Endangered Species Act, Fifth Circuit, insects, jurisdiction, property rights, Texas, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

A rare species of blind, cave-dwelling spider in the Central Texas hill country will remain federally protected under the Endangered Species Act for now, despite a legal fight brought by landowners and private property advocates who claim the spider’s protection has threatened development projects and led to tens of millions of dollars in permitting costs.

Criminal Environment

Irish Man Extradited to Texas on Wildlife Trafficking Charges

May 26, 2020May 27, 2020 DAVID LEE

Endangered Species Act, extradition, Ireland, rhinoceros, Texas

Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that an Irish man accused of trafficking endangered black rhinoceros horns from Texas to New York City was extradited to the Lone Star State.

Courts Environment

Judge Advances States’ Fight Against Rule Changes to Weaken Endangered Species Act

May 18, 2020May 19, 2020 MARIA DINZEO

Endangered Species Act, Trump administration

A federal judge gave the green light to a California-led lawsuit challenging new Endangered Species Act rules the states claim will gut protections for more than 1,600 plant and animal species in the United States.

Appeals Environment Law

Resource Management

May 15, 2020May 18, 2020 BRIEF

dbrief5, Endangered Species Act, fish, forests, Oregon

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s biological opinion that concluded resource management plans for forests in Oregon — which included a strategy to protect fish habitat and ecosystems — were not likely to endanger threatened species did not violate the Endangered Species Act, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

Environment Government

Endangered Jaguar at Crux of New Border-Wall Fight

May 12, 2020May 13, 2020 ALEXANDRA JONES

Border Wall, Budget, Endangered Species Act, Mexico, Trump administration, wildlife

Three environmental groups challenging the border wall between the United States and Mexico argued Tuesday in a federal complaint that the plan will completely kill off a population of jaguar.

Appeals Environment Government

War Over Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Protections Waged at Ninth Circuit

May 5, 2020May 6, 2020 MATTHEW RENDA

bears, Endangered Species Act, Env4, national parks, Ninth Circuit, Trump administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Wildlife advocates faced off with Trump administration lawyers at the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to determine the fate of grizzly bears living in and around Yellowstone National Park.

Environment Government

Endangered Species

May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 BRIEF

Brief4, Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Species Act, Interior Department, wildlife

The Center for Biological Diversity claims in a federal complaint that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt missed the deadline to decide whether coastal populations of the Humboldt marten merit protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Environment Government

Rare Butterfly Wins Endangered Species Protections

May 4, 2020May 5, 2020 MARTIN MACIAS JR

butterfly, Endangered Species Act, Env2, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington state

Ninety years after it was thought to have gone extinct, the island marble butterfly won protections from the Trump administration that include setting aside part of its only known habitat.

Energy Environment Government Regional

Push to Protect West Texas Lizard Moves Forward After Settlement

May 1, 2020May 4, 2020 TRAVIS BUBENIK

animals, Endangered Species Act, fracking, Oil and gas, Texas, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

A long-running effort by environmental groups to get a rare species of West Texas lizard added to the endangered species list took a step forward on Thursday, when the federal government settled a lawsuit over its alleged “political delay” in even considering the idea.

Appeals Environment Government

Ninth Circuit Takes Up EPA Vetting of Popular Herbicide

April 21, 2020April 22, 2020 MATTHEW RENDA

Endangered Species Act, EPA, Ninth Circuit, pesticides, regulation

A Ninth Circuit panel heard oral argument Tuesday in a case involving the legality of dicamba, a pesticide farmers say is necessary to kill noxious weeds but environmentalists claim ravages ecology.

Environment Government

California Dam Operators Can’t Dodge Fish-Endangerment Claims

April 20, 2020April 21, 2020 MARTIN MACIAS JR

California, dams, Endangered Species Act, fish, Sci1, water

Federal and regional operators of Southern California’s Twitchell Dam lost their bid to dismiss claims the dam causes unlawful killing of endangered steelhead trout, but they won’t face an emergency injunction restricting their operations, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Environment Government

Feds Looking at Protections for Spring-Run Chinook Salmon in Oregon

April 10, 2020April 13, 2020 MARTIN MACIAS JR

Endangered Species Act, fish, National Marine Fisheries Service, Oregon, regulation, salmon, Trump administration

The Trump administration will spend the next year studying whether a population of spring-run Chinook salmon along the Oregon coast should be listed as threatened or endangered.

Environment Government

Feds Withdraw Protections for California-Nevada Sage Grouse

March 30, 2020March 31, 2020 MATTHEW RENDA

birds, California, Endangered Species Act, Nevada, sage grouse, Trump administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The Trump administration continued its pattern of rolling back or declining to pursue protections for the greater sage grouse, the iconic bird which has seen its population numbers dwindle across a broad swath of rangeland in the American West.

Business Environment Government

Golden Conure

March 23, 2020March 24, 2020 BRIEF

birds, Brief7, Endangered Species Act

The American Federation of Aviculture sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in federal court for failing to downlist the golden conure, a popular pet bird, from endangered to threatened status.

Environment Government

Threatened Bird

March 20, 2020March 24, 2020 BRIEF

birds, Brief7, Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Species Act, wetlands

The Center for Biological Diversity sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in New Orleans Federal Court for failing to list the wetlands-dwelling eastern black rail as endangered due to loss of habitat.

Environment Government

Grizzlies

March 11, 2020March 12, 2020 BRIEF

bears, Brief4, Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Species Act, Idaho, infrastructure, U.S. Forest Service

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Forest Service in federal court, claiming its approval of construction and maintenance of six roads in national forests in the Idaho Panhandle will harm threatened grizzly bears.

Business Environment

Chimpanzees

March 10, 2020March 11, 2020 BRIEF

dbrief1, Endangered Species Act, PETA, primates

A federal court in Missouri ruled PETA may pursue claims of violations of the Endangered Species Act against the former owner of the Missouri Primate Foundation, which kept several chimpanzees, finding the suit is not moot even though the owner has transferred control of the primates.

Environment Government

Group Takes on Trump Over Hundreds of Species at Risk

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020 ALEXANDRA JONES

Endangered Species Act, Trump administration

Fed up with the backlog of more than 500 species on deck for federal protection, a biodiversity watchdog group filed suit Thursday to compel listing determinations by the Trump administration.

Business Law Regional

Judge Slams Florida Zoo Over Tiger Cub Encounters

February 26, 2020 ALEX PICKETT

animals, Endangered Species Act, Florida, injunction, PETA, zoo

A private Florida zoo violated federal law by allowing patrons to handle, pet and swim with tiger cubs, a judge ruled late Tuesday.

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