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(CN) — The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration on Thursday over delays in finalizing Endangered Species Act protections for the California spotted owl.
Living in two distinct population segments in coastal southern California and the Sierra Nevada, the California spotted owl only lives in mature and old-growth forests, which have been increasingly threatened by logging practices and climate change.
“The survival of the California spotted owl hangs by a thread and they desperately need protections,” Noah Greenwald, endangered species co-director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “For decades, the Fish and Wildlife Service has dragged its feet in protecting endangered species, but the Trump administration has made this dire situation drastically worse. The administration’s blatant disregard for the natural world could be the nail in the coffin for the spotted owl and many other precious plants and animals.”
Environmental groups initially sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2020 during Donald Trump’s first administration, over its 2019 finding that protection for the California spotted owl was not warranted. Under President Joe Biden, the agency later settled in 2021 and agreed to submit a new finding before February 2023.
On Feb. 23, 2023, the agency announced that it would propose to extend protections to the owl under the Endangered Species Act, beginning a 12-month countdown to either finalize protections or withdraw the rule. Over two years later, the government has not made a final determination.
“The California spotted owl’s low population numbers and fragmented habitat has motivated members of the public, including plaintiff, to seek to obtain legal protections for the owl under the ESA. At almost every step and for more than two decades, the service has delayed or outright refused to take the actions required by the ESA, repeatedly requiring judicial intervention,” the plaintiffs say in their complaint, filed in the Northern District of California.
The California spotted owl has increasingly faced threats caused by climate change, including wildfires, extreme droughts and tree mortality. The owl is also threatened by the rapidly expanding barred owl species, which competes with and displaces spotted owls, and secondary exposure to rodent poison ingested through its prey.
“Due to these factors, the California spotted owl’s Coastal-Southern California DPS and the Sierra Nevada DPS and their habitats now have low resiliency and may be vulnerable to extinction,” the plaintiffs say.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to order the government to issue a final listing decision as soon as possible, but no later than one year.
Earlier this year, the Fish and Wildlife Service experienced budget cuts and mass firings, thanks to the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, formerly run by Elon Musk. An estimated 420 employees were laid off.
A representative for the Department of Justice declined to comment.
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