Environmental Law
ESA Blawg 
Thoughtful discussion of the Endangered Species Act.
Post Frequency: 23.4/day Last Entry: February 02, 2010 at 22:30:00 Recent Entries: 375
By Keith W. Rizzardi
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FWS considers downlisting Okaloosa darter, and incidental take permits for Ohio wind farm take of Indiana bat and Florida airport park take of scrub jay
Posted on February 02, 201075 Fed. Reg. 5263 (Tuesday, February 2, 2010) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 / Docket FWS–R4–ES–2008–0071; 92220–1113–0000–C6 / RIN 1018—AW07 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed ...
NOAA considers recovery plan for beluga whale and critical habitat revisions for leatherback sea turtle
Posted on February 02, 201075 Fed. Reg. 4528 (Thursday, January 28, 2010) / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Docket RIN 0648–XU02 Endangered and Threatened Species: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Recovery Plan for Cook Inlet Beluga ...
ESA news: two major lawsuits announced on pesticide regulation and military effects on right whales; while two states are becoming regulatory battlegrounds.
Posted on January 30, 2010Alaska wants less regulation based on the Endangered Species Act -- much less. According to the JuneauEmpire.com, Alaska's Attorney General has budgeted $1 million next year to pay for a full-time attorney to focus on the Endangered Species Act, ...
NOAA priorities preclude critical habitat revisions for staghorn coral in South Florida
Posted on January 27, 201075 Fed. Reg. 3711 (Friday, January 22, 2010) / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Docket No. 0907081108–91430–02 / RIN 0648–XP68 Listing Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Designating Critical Habitat; ...
FWS rejects petition to delist marbled murrelet
Posted on January 27, 201075 Fed. Reg. 3424 (Thursday, January 21, 2010) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2008–0095;13410–1113–0000–C5 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a ...
Logical, illogical, or ecological? Food for thought on environmentalist ratings and rantings.
Posted on January 19, 2010Earlier today, the Center for Biological Diversity issued its press release giving the Obama Administration a "C" grade for its first year of handling of endangered species, climate, energy, public lands and oceans. According to the CBD ...
FWS notices: proposed revised bull trout critical habitat, future plans for jaguar critical habitat, reopened Shovelnose sturgeon comment, and a docket oops.
Posted on January 15, 201075 Fed. Reg. 2270 (Thursday, January 14, 2010) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2009-0085 / MO 92210-0-0009 / RIN 1018-AW88 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised ...
Is Obama too green, or not green enough?
Posted on January 13, 2010Recent news articles demonstrate a clear theme: the Obama Administration is rebutting the "just like Bush" critique. "In a sharp reversal of its predecessor's position," the Arizona Daily Star begins its article about how the ...
Floridians on notice: FWS may revise manatee critical habitat, list gopher tortoise; regulators also extend comment period for beluga whale and Oregon plants
Posted on January 12, 2010KEITHINKING: Two noteworthy announcements in the Federal Register today for Floridians. First, FWS indicated that revisions to manatee critical habitat are warranted, but for the moment, precluded by limited funds. (Or until the next lawsuit compels ...
NOAA may list Atlantic Sturgeon
Posted on January 06, 201075 Fed. Reg. 838 (Wednesday, January 6, 2010) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR 223 and 224 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Notice of 90–Day Finding on a Petition to List Atlantic ...
Stimulus funds save panthers from palm trees, Judge Redden pleased with progress on salmon species management, but some environmentalists still concerned.
Posted on November 24, 2009Panthers vs. Palm Trees? Yup. And the panther won -- thanks to stimulus funds! -- as explained by Mother Nature Network, relying on information from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: "If you like your conservation efforts served with ...
FWS announces status review for Gunnison sage grouse
Posted on November 23, 200974 Fed. Reg. 61100 (Monday, November 23, 2009)/ Volume 74, Number 224 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Intent to Conduct a Status Review of ...
Sierra Club warns of climate change effects on Florida panther, calls for critical habitat designation
Posted on November 20, 2009The Sierra Club today is calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help the Florida panther survive global warming by protecting its habitat, the non-profit organization announced in the Press Room today. "In many ways, the Florida ...
Federal judge in D.C. refuses to supplement the record
Posted on November 20, 2009The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance v. U.S. Department of the Interior Civil Action No. 09-236-RCL, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105300 (D.D.C., November 4, 2009) BACKGROUND: At issue is whether this Court should consider a report that relates to ...
FWS reopens comment period on Hawaiian damselflies
Posted on November 20, 200974 Fed. Reg. 59956 / Vol. 74, No. 222 / Thursday, November 19, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Endangered Status for Flying Earwig Hawaiian ...
Federal judge denies permanent injunction against animal trapping in Maine, finds no irreparable harm to Canada lynx population
Posted on November 18, 2009Animal Welfare Institute v. Martin, CV-08-267-B-W, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105268 (D. Me., November 10, 2009) BACKGROUND. On March 24, 2000, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated Canada lynx as a threatened species under the ....
Ninth Circuit defers to U.S. Forest Service Record of Decision, even without a biological opinion
Posted on November 18, 2009Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. U.S. Forest Service, No. 08-35841, 2009 WL 3600522 (9th Cir. Nov. 2, 2009) BACKGROUND: On April 16, 2007, Forest Supervisor Paul Bradford signed the Northeast Yaak Record of Decision (ROD) to implement "Alternative ...
Federal judge in Arizona defers to FWS and Forest Service analysis, rejects claims of effects on Mexican spotted owl
Posted on November 18, 2009Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Forest Service, No. CV-09-8116-PHX-FJM, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103382 (D. Az. Nov. 5, 2009) BACKGROUND: The Warm Fire was started by lightning on June 8, 2006, in the Kaibab National Forest and burned ...
It's official: FWS publishes notice of brown pelican delisting
Posted on November 17, 200974 Fed. Reg. 59443-59472 (November 17, 2009) / Volume 74, Number 220 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus ...
NOAA announces green sturgeon recovery plan development; FWS announces annual candidate notice of review, continues public comment on foreign bird species listing, and considering HCP applications in Florida and Alabama
Posted on November 13, 200974 Fed. Reg. 58245 / Vol. 74, No. 217 /Thursday, November 12, 2009 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Endangered and Threatened Species: Recovery Plan Preparation for the Threatened Southern Distinct ...
FWS may revise critical habitat for Florida manatee, but not Clay-loving wild buckwheat (yet); FWS also releases post-delisting monitoring plan for Brown pelican
Posted on September 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 49842 / Vol. 74, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 29, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to Revise Critical ...
Plaintiffs lose in two separate Florida cases challenging federal actions related to Perdido Key beach mouse and Everglades restoration
Posted on September 27, 2009Fisher v. Salazar,- - F.Supp.2d - -, 2009 WL 3030736 (N.D.Fla.)(William Stafford, District Judge) INTRO: The plaintiffs, Paul and Gayle Fisher (the "Fishers") and Perdido Key Property Rights, Inc. ("PKPR") (collectively, ...
FWS proposes to list shovelnose sturgeon in effort to protect pallid sturgeon, reopens comment period on Oregon Chub critical habitat
Posted on September 27, 200974 Fed. Reg. 48215 / Vol. 74, No. 182 / Tuesday, September 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Rule To List the Shovelnose Sturgeon as ....
FWS announces Revised Recovery plan for Laysan duck, and post-delisting monitoring plan for Concho water snake
Posted on September 27, 200974 Fed. Reg. 48284 / Vol. 74, No. 182 / Tuesday, September 22, 2009 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck (Anas laysanensis) ACTION: ...
ESA news: once cold, now hot; and once wet, now dry.
Posted on September 17, 2009Arctic and polar regions continue to be hotspots for Endangered Species Act news. CNSnews.com reports that theInternational Fund for Animal Welfareon Tuesday filed a petition with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to protect two North Pole ....
FWS reinstates ESA listing protections for grey wolf, leaves protections in place for Bliss Rapids snail
Posted on September 17, 200974 Fed. Reg. 47483 / Vol. 74, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reinstatement of Protections for the Gray ...
Obama Administration announces "insurance policy for the fish" in FCRPS salmonid litigation
Posted on September 16, 2009In May 2009, U.S. District Court Judge James A. Redden appeared ready to rule against the Federal Defendants in the ongoing litigation over the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS), and its impacts upon salmonid species. As explained in a ...
ESA in the News: Florida roundup
Posted on September 16, 2009The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission is revisiting -- again -- the way it categorizes species for special protection. The Orlando Sentinel reports that FWCC may use the same endangered and threatened designations that the U.S. Fish & ...
ESA in the news: bad for Bush, but good for Obama? Don't touch eagle feathers, but shoot the wolves? EPA consults, but not FEMA?
Posted on September 15, 2009"The Obama administration is moving to accelerate Endangered Species Act," says the New York Times, and the administration will be embracing an ecosystem approach, allowing for decisions on multiple species all at once. This sensible ...
FWS lists three foreign petral species as endangered, and turns one endangered cactus into three, but listing of Goose Creek milkvetch precluded by higher priorities
Posted on September 15, 200974 Fed. Reg. 46914 / Vol. 74, No. 176 / Monday, September 14, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Chatham Petrel, Fiji Petrel, and Magenta Petrel as ...
FWS makes 90-day findings on Pacific walrus, Amargosa Toad, and Wright?s marsh thistle
Posted on September 15, 200974 Fed. Reg. 46548 / Vol. 74, No. 174 / Thursday, September 10, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Pacific Walrus as ...
NOAA adopts new rule to limit incidental take of sea turtles in sea scallop fishery; FWS adopts new regulations for incidental take of eagles pursuant to Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
Posted on September 15, 200974 Fed. Reg. 46930 / Vol. 74, No. 176 / Monday, September 14, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Parts 222 & 223 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Sea Turtle Conservation ACTION: Final ...
Fish and Wildlife Service makes 90-day finding on eastern gopher tortoise
Posted on September 09, 200974 Fed. Reg. 46401 / Vol. 74, No. 173 /Wednesday, September 9, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Eastern Population of the ...
ESA blawg proud to be an ABA Blawg-100 nominee
Posted on September 06, 2009A reader recently sent me a note to let me know how much he appreciates this law blog, and he also told me that he nominated ESA blawg as one of the American Bar Association's Top 100 niche blawgs. Now, I'm not trying to launch a campaign here ...
NOAA announces final rule for smalltooth sawfish critical habitat in Southwest Florida, while Center for Biological Diversity announces lawsuit over Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow critical habitat
Posted on September 06, 200974 Fed. Reg. 45353 / Vol. 74, No. 169 / Wednesday, September 2, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 226 Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for the Endangered Distinct Population ...
FWS announces availability of Apache Trout recovery plan
Posted on September 06, 200974 Fed. Reg. 45649 / Vol. 74, No. 170 / Thursday, September 3, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Apache Trout (Oncorhynchus apache) Recovery Plan, Second Revision ACTION: Notice ...
FWS denies listing for Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly.
Posted on September 06, 200974 Fed. Reg. 45396 / Vol. 74, No. 169 / Wednesday, September 2, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Sacramento ...
FWS may list Sonoran DPS of Desert tortoise, and proposes critical habitat for San Diego ragweed.
Posted on August 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 44335 / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Sonoran Population ...
Two similar dock cases, two very different outcomes
Posted on August 30, 2009A tale of two docks. In a recent Oregon case, Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. National Marine Fisheries Service, No. CV 08-939-MO, 2009 WL 2486039 (D. Or., Aug. 12, 2009), the U.S. Army Corps and NOAA Fisheries won a complete ...
FWS seeking more information from public on black-footed albatross
Posted on August 26, 200973 Fed. Reg. 43092 / Vol. 74, No. 164 / Wednesday, August 26, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the ...
FWS proposes critical habitat for DPS of California tiger salamander in Sonoma County, but rejects petition to list ashy storm-petrel
Posted on August 25, 200974 Fed. Reg. 41662 / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Sonoma County ...
ESA in the News All Over the Nation
Posted on August 14, 2009From New England to New Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest to Florida, with a dose of Texas an West Virginia too, the Endangered Species Act made news nationwide this week. An excellent article in the New York Times on mountaintop mining reveals how ...
FWS proposes listing of seven Brazilian birds
Posted on August 12, 200974 Fed. Reg. 40649-40683 (August 12, 2009) / Volume 74, Number 154 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Seven Brazilian Bird Species as Endangered ...
NOAA undertakes status review for humpback whale for first time in a decade, and FWS announces annual warranted but precluded finding on 20 foreign species.
Posted on August 12, 200974 Fed. Reg. 40568 (August 12, 2009) / Volume 74, Number 154 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce / Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of a Status ...
NOAA revises Atlantic salmon critical habitat to exclude tribal lands
Posted on August 11, 200974 Fed. Reg. 39903 / Vol. 74, No. 152 / Monday, August 10, 2009 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 226 / Endangered and Threatened Species; Designation of Critical Habitat for ...
FWS may list Jemez Mountains salamander, announces status review
Posted on August 11, 200974 Fed. Reg. 40132 / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Jemez ...
ESA in the News: wind farms, climate change, and salmon vs. hydropower
Posted on August 09, 2009Wind farms and the Endangered Species Act continue on their collision course. Horizon Wind Energy has suspended development of the Simpson Ridge wind farm in Carbon County because of Wyoming's rigid position on protecting key sage grouse habitat...
Center for Progressive Reform comments on improving ESA Section 7 consultation may seek too much of a good thing.
Posted on August 03, 2009Responding to the Obama Administration's requests for comments on potential improvements to the Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation process, the Center for Progressive Reform offered its insights earlier today. See link. Among its ...
FWS proposes critical habitat for two Oregon plants
Posted on August 03, 200974 Fed. Reg. 37314 / Vol. 74, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 28, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for Limnanthes ...
NOAA considering petition to review critical habitat for elkhorn and staghorn coral
Posted on August 03, 200974 Fed. Reg. 36995 /Vol. 74, No. 142 /Monday, July 27, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 226 / Listing Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Designating Critical Habitat; 90–day ...
NOAA extends comment period on status review for Oregon Coast coho salmon ESU
Posted on August 03, 200974 Fed. Reg. 38170 / Vol. 74, No. 146 / Friday, July 31, 2009 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Listing Endangered and Threatened Species: Initiation of a Status Review for the Oregon Coast Evolutionarily ...
ESA in the News: FWS shuffles, and other smelt, salmon, and sawfish stories
Posted on July 30, 2009The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is making minor but familiar changes to its endangered species management personnel, reports the New York Times. Gary Frazer is back, overseeing the endangered species program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...
NOAA proposes regulations to protect killer whales
Posted on July 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 37674 / Vol. 74, No. 144 / Wednesday, July 29, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 224 / Protective Regulations for Killer Whales in the Northwest Region Under the ...
NOAA may list largetooth sawfish as an endangered species
Posted on July 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 37671 / Vol. 74, No. 144 / Wednesday, July 29, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Parts 223 and 224 / Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical ...
FWS notices proposed enhancement of survival permit for Oregon forests, granting Safe Harbor and incidental take coverage to landowners in return for habitat management measures that benefit Northern spotted owls
Posted on July 22, 200974 Fed. Reg. 35883 / Vol. 74, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 21, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permit Application, Northern Spotted Owl, Oregon ACTION: Receipt of application for ...
FWS says listing of white-sided jackrabbit may be warranted
Posted on July 22, 200974 Fed. Reg. 36152 / Vol. 74, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the White-Sided ...
ESA in the News: return of the spotted owl, and the spotted turtle (and the wolf, smelt, stork, and manatee)
Posted on July 16, 2009Earlier today, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the Western Oregon Plan Revisions were withdrawn because "the administrative record does not adequately document compliance with the Endangered Species Act and ....
Responding to petition, FWS announces 90-day findings on 14 parrot species
Posted on July 15, 200974 Fed. Reg. 33957 / Vol. 74, No. 133 / Tuesday, July 14, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List 14 Parrot Species ...
Safari Club wins Article III standing dispute in challenge to polar bear rule, but loses standing arguments in dispute over captive antelope rule
Posted on July 10, 2009In re Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing and Section 4(d) Litigation and Safari Club International, et al. v. Salazar, et al, No. 08-881(EGS). Misc. Action No. 08-764 (EGS). MDL Docket No. 1993. Nos. MISC.A. 08-764EGS, MDL.1993...
Endangered shiner gets government help
Posted on July 10, 2009Endangered Shiner Gets Government Help, by Pete David. Federal and state agencies in New Mexico are collaborating on an effort that will hopefully help support recovery of the Pecos bluntnose shiner (Notropis simus pecosensis) in the Pecos River ...
Federal judge in Oregon grants limited preliminary injunction of cattle grazing in National Forest to guard against irreparable harm to steelhead
Posted on July 10, 2009Oregon Natural Desert Association v. Kimbell, Civil No. 07-1871-HA. (D. Oregon, June 15, 2009). HAGGERTY, District Judge EXCERPT: Because the United States Forest Service (Forest Service) has reinitiated formal consultation pursuant to ? 7 of the ...
NRDC lacks standing to bring ESA challenge against Central Valley Project water contracts
Posted on July 10, 2009NRDC v. Kempthorne, No. 1:05-CV-1207 OWW SMS (E.D. Cal., June 3, 2009). OLIVER W. WANGER, District Judge. BACKGROUND: Plaintiffs' Third Amended Complaint, Docket No. 575 (Apr. 8, 2008), alleges that Federal Defendants acted unlawfully by executing 41 ...
FWS proposes listing and critical habitat for Casey's June beetle
Posted on July 09, 200974 Fed. Reg. 32857 / Vol. 74, No. 130 /Thursday, July 9, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Casey’s June Beetle (Dinacoma caseyi) as ...
Climate change creates new challenges for application of ESA's listing factors to individual species
Posted on July 08, 2009Based on the recent federal report, Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, the nation's ecosystems will soon experience massive stresses. According to this report (see Executive Summary too), our national ecosystems have already ....
FWS reviews petition, finds listing may be warranted, undertakes status review on Susan's purse-making caddisfly, and proposes endangered status for Flying earwig Hawaiian damselfly and Pacific Hawaiian damselfly
Posted on July 08, 200974 Fed. Reg. 32514 / Vol. 74, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Susan’s ...
FWS may list Puerto Rico's coqui llanero, undertakes status review
Posted on July 08, 200974 Fed. Reg. 32510 / Vol. 74, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90–Day Finding on a Petition To List the Coqui ...
FWS says listing of roundtail chub DPS warranted but precluded
Posted on July 07, 200974 Fed. Reg. 32352 / Vol. 74, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 7, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List a Distinct ...
FWS proposes listing of five foreign bird species, including Ecuador's Esmeraldas woodstar
Posted on July 07, 200974 Fed. Reg. 32308 / Vol. 74, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 7, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Rule to List Five Foreign Bird Species in ...
FWS notices status review of 23 southeastern species
Posted on July 06, 200974 Fed. Reg. 31972 / Vol. 74, No. 127 / Monday, July 6, 2009 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Status Reviews of 23 Southeastern Species SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish ...
Bat-related biological breakthrough reminds us why we need the ESA
Posted on July 04, 2009This week, in The FESEBJ Journal (published by the The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), an article discusses a potentially age-defying discovery. According to a team of Texas researchers, two long-lived bat species (one ...
Even without site-specific facts, U.S. District Court Judge says USDA's informal consultation on programmatic forestry rule revisions failed to comply with ESA
Posted on July 02, 2009Citizens for Better Forestry v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, No. C 08-1927 CW (N.D. Cal. June 30, 2009) BACKGROUND: Plaintiffs Citizens for Better Forestry, et al. (collectively, Citizens) charge Defendants United States Department of Agriculture ...
In response to petition, FWS finds that once abundant northern leopard frog population may require listing
Posted on July 02, 200974 Fed. Reg. 31389 /Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Northern Leopard ...
More litigation, more politics, and more media attention, but less water and no solutions in the Sacramento Delta
Posted on July 02, 2009Add EPA to the list of federal agencies tangled up in the Sacramento Delta disputes. The Environmental Protection Agency is settling litigation accusing the agency of failing to comply with the Endangered Species Act , says the San Francisco ...
FWS proposed revised critical habitat for Spreading Navarretia
Posted on July 01, 200974 Fed. Reg. 27588 / Vol. 74, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 10, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Revised Critical Habitat for Navarretia ...
NOAA provides notice of "intent to proceed" with critical habitat revisions for Hawaiian monk seal
Posted on July 01, 200974 Fed. Reg. 27988 / Vol. 74, No. 112 / Friday, June 12, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 226 / Endangered and Threatened Species: 12–Month Finding for a Petition to Revise ...
NOAA notices draft guidance on Pacific Northwest salmon recovery monitoring
Posted on June 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 31008 / Vol. 74, No. 123 / Monday, June 29, 2009 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Endangered and Threatened Species: Notice of Availability for Public Comment on Guidance for Monitoring ...
FWS proposes listing of, and critical habitat for, Georgia Pigtoe Mussel, Interrupted Rocksnail, and Rough Hornsnail
Posted on June 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 31114 / Vol. 74, No. 123 / Monday, June 29, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Endangered Status for the Georgia Pigtoe ...
FWS revises, and reduces, critical habitat for Quino checkerspot butterfly
Posted on June 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 28776 / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for ...
Despite State of Maine concerns, FWS and NOAA determine Atlantic Salmon DPS to be an endangered species
Posted on June 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 29344 / Vol. 74, No. 117 / Friday, June 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 224 / ...
FWS considering changes to critical habitat for clay-loving wild buckwheat
Posted on June 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 29456 / Vol. 74, No. 118 / Monday, June 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To Revise Critical ....
FWS rejects petition to delist Lost River and shortnose suckers, but FWS still intends to downlist the Lost River sucker in the Klamath Basin
Posted on June 30, 200974 Fed. Reg. 30996 / Vol. 74, No. 123 / Monday, June 29, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To Delist the Lost River ...
ESA in the news
Posted on June 24, 2009It's been kinda quiet lately in the Federal Register, with few Endangered Species Act announcements. But President Obama's nominee as Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caused a stir with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility ...
ESA news: from Florida to California, and from courtrooms to climate change
Posted on June 11, 2009The Endangered Species Act repeatedly made Florida news this week. The Orlando Sentinel reports that despite concerns for listed sea turtle concerns (nevermind local budget shortfalls), coastal governments are considering lifting tolls on beach ...
Sam Hamilton nominated as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Posted on June 11, 2009In a press release yesterday, Secretary Ken Salazar praised President Obama’s intent to nominate Sam Hamilton as Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mr. Hamilton's bio, based on his current position as Southeast Regional Director of ...
FWS rejects petition to list Narrowleaf evening primrose
Posted on June 11, 200974 Fed. Reg. 27266 / Vol. 74, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 9, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List Oenothera ...
FWS seeks additional comments on proposed critical habitat for Northern sea otter population segment, and potential areas for exclusion
Posted on June 11, 200974 Fed. Reg. 27271 / Vol. 74, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 9, 2009 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Southwest ...
10th Circuit finds ESA challenge to BLM project moot because of reintroduction of Aplomado falcons in New Mexico
Posted on June 11, 2009State of New Mexico v. Bureau of Land Management, 565 F.3d 683 (10th Cir., April 28, 2009). SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management argues that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's summer 2006 decision to reintroduce the Aplomado Falcon into the ...
FWS designates critical habitat for Alabama Sturgeon
Posted on June 03, 200974 Fed. Reg. 26488 / Vol. 74, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 2, 2009 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Alabama ...
ESA in the news: turtles, smelt, lynx, wolves, salmonids and... walrus?
Posted on June 03, 2009It was once a George Carlin Joke: what do you do if you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? But the Center for Biological Diversity doesn't share the laugh, and has filed a petition to list the western gull-billed tern, with one of ...
Speculation on Species and Ms. Sotomayor
Posted on May 27, 2009A potential Supreme Court Justice has been nominated, so let the wild speculation begin. How might Sonia Sotomayor change the highest court? Will she declare the Endangered Species Act unconstitutional? Indeed, for all the talk about ...
Noting human-induced threats, NOAA proposes 4(d) rule to protect threatened green sturgeon population from take
Posted on May 21, 200974 Fed. Reg. 23822 / Vol. 74, No. 97 / Thursday, May 21, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 223 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Proposed Rulemaking to Establish Take ...
Judge Redden outlines tentative position on 2008 biop in dispute over Columbia and Snake River dam operations, and impacts on salmonid species
Posted on May 20, 2009It's not a court opinion - yet - but Judge Redden made his position clear in a May 18, 2009 letter to the parties in National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS, CV 01-640 RE, the long-running litigation over the Federal Columbia River Power System and salmonid ...
FWS announces recovery plan for short-tailed albatross, initiates 5-year status review
Posted on May 20, 200974 Fed. Reg. 23739 / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus): Initiation of 5-Year Status Review; ...
Court of International Trade says no to jurisdiction over salmon dispute, but notes ability to hear future cases
Posted on May 19, 2009Ninth Circuit rejects FWS decision not to list the flat-tailed horned lizard
Posted on May 19, 2009Tucson Herpetological Society v. Salazar, No. 07-16641, D.C. No. CV 04-0075 NVW (9th Cir. May 18, 2009) INTRO: Conservation organizations and individual biologists (collectively “Plaintiffs”) contend that the Secretary of the Interior’s (the ...
FWS says coaster brook trout FWS declines to list coaster brook trout
Posted on May 19, 200974 Fed. Reg. 23388 / Vol. 74, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 19, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Coaster Brook ...
NOAA seeks comment on Atlantic sea scallop fishery chain mat rule designed to protect sea turtles
Posted on May 19, 200974 Fed. Reg. 20667 / Vol. 74, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 5, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Parts 222 and 223 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Sea Turtle Conservation ACTION: Proposed rule; ....
FWS revises piping plover critical habitat boundaries in Texas
Posted on May 19, 200974 Fed. Reg. 23476 / Vol. 74, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 19, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the Wintering ...
Kentucky federal court rejects need for Forest Service to reinitiate consultation on Indiana Bats, notes absence of White Nose Syndrome
Posted on May 18, 2009Heartwood, Inc. v. Agpaoa et. al., Civ. No. 07-114-KSF, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36667 (E.D. Kent. April 27, 2009) BACKGROUND: The denial of a preliminary injunction in this case was previously discussed in ESA ...
Ninth Circuit upholds FWS listing of Central California tiger salamander (in unpublished opinion)
Posted on May 18, 2009Home Builders Ass'n of Northern California v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, No. 07-17147 (9th Cir. April 10, 2009) (Not for publication...) OPINION: Home Builders Association of Northern California, California Building Industry Association, and ...
Federal Court in Utah upholds incidental take of golf course prairie dog population
Posted on May 18, 2009Wildearth Guardians v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, No. 2:07-cv-00837 CW (D. Utah, April 22, 2009) INTRODUCTION. In this action, Plaintiffs challenge two permits issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered ....
FWS proposes downlisting of Oregon chub to threatened status, based on improving population trends
Posted on May 18, 200974 Fed. Reg. 22870 / Vol. 74, No. 93 / Friday, May 15, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Rule To Reclassify the Oregon Chub (Oregonichthys crameri) From ...
Interior says no change in polar bear rule; new legislation, not the ESA, should regulate climate change
Posted on May 08, 2009Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Interior announced that it would retain the Section 4(d) conservation rule for polar bears previously adopted in the waning days of the Bush Administration, see ESA blawg (Dec. 2008). But in a press ...
FWS initial review of petition says listing of American pika may be warranted
Posted on May 07, 200974 Fed. Reg. 21301 / Vol. 74, No. 87 / Thursday, May 7, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the American Pika as Threatened or ...
11th Circuit largely deferential to FWS biological opinion in Everglades, but rejects habitat-based approach to incidental take statements
Posted on May 05, 2009Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. USA, No. 08-10799 (11th Cir. May 5, 2009) REGIONAL CONTEXT: In 1948, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers undertook the Central & Southern Florida Flood Project, which it hoped would control flooding, divert water away ...
New ESA consultation rules officially rescinded, but debate encouraged to continue
Posted on May 05, 200974 Fed. Reg. 20421 (Monday, May 4, 2009) / Vol. 74, No. 84 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 402 / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 50 CFR Part 402 / Interagency Cooperation Under ...
ESA in the news: Obama reverses Bush, Wyoming and Alaska hope to reverse Obama, and other stories of fishermen, falcons, turtles, salmon and butterflies
Posted on May 02, 2009President Obama is undoing the Bush administration’s anti-environmental legacy, says the New York Times. Rejecting Bush’s arguments about “streamlining” the process, he repealed the changes to the ESA consultation process...
Salazar and Locke Announce Repeal of Bush Administration Rules Changing Consultations under the Endangered Species Act
Posted on April 28, 2009In a joint press release issued today, the Departments of Interior and Commerce announced a decision by Secretary Salazar and Secretary Locke to "Restore Scientific Consultations under the Endangered Species Act to Protect Species and ...
FWS reopens comment period and proposes additional critical habitat for salt creek tiger beetle and California red-legged frog
Posted on April 28, 200974 Fed. Reg. 19167 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle (Cicindela nevadica ...
ESA in the News: lobbying, legislation and NOAA biological opinion with jeopardy finding on pesticides
Posted on April 23, 2009An interesting article from the New York Times today about the potential use, or in some minds, abuse, of the Endangered Species Act as a tool to change federal climate change policy (or lack thereof). On the one hand, the article notes that EPA ...
NOAA announces listing of three distinct population segments of Puget Sound rockfish
Posted on April 23, 200974 Fed. Reg. 18516 / Vol. 74, No. 77 / Thursday, April 23, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Parts 223 and 224 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Proposed Endangered, Threatened, and Not ...
FWS initial 90-day finding says listing the Tehachapi slender salamander may be warranted.
Posted on April 22, 200974 Fed. Reg. 18336 / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Tehachapi Slender ...
ESA in the news: Happy Earth Day (?)
Posted on April 21, 2009Media reports continue to warn of the steady march of climate change, with its alteration of habitat, and the threat of species extirpation or extinction. RedOrbit noted the new book by University of California biologist Anthony Barnosky, ...
FWS reduces critical habitat for Peninsular bighorn sheep DPS
Posted on April 14, 200974 Fed. Reg. 17288 / Vol. 74, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 14, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Peninsular Bighorn Sheep and ...
ESA in the Courts: jurisdiction and mootness in U.S. District Courts for Arizona, D.C., and Northern California
Posted on April 14, 2009Defenders of Wildlife, et al., v. Tuggle, CV 08-280 TUC DCB (Lead),,CV 08-820 PHX DCB (Consolidated), 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30121 (D.Az., April 1, 2009) SUMMARY: Plaintiffs challenged U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service procedures for wolf control actions ...
NOAA seeks comments on critical habitat designation for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales
Posted on April 14, 2009DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 226 / Endangered and Threatened Species: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Designate Critical Habitat for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales SUMMARY: We, the National ...
FWS rejects petition to list Longfin smelt population in Sacramento Delta
Posted on April 09, 200974 Fed. Reg. 16169 / Vol. 74, No. 67 / Thursday, April 9, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the San Francisco Bay-Delta ...
FWS undertakes 5-year review on 13 Southeastern plants, including the Key tree cactus
Posted on April 09, 200974 Fed. Reg. 16230 / Vol. 74, No. 67 / Thursday, April 9, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Status Reviews of 13 Southeastern Plant Species SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish ...
FWS revises draft recovery plan for Rio Grande silvery minnow
Posted on April 09, 200974 Fed. Reg. 16232 / Vol. 74, No. 67 / Thursday, April 9, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Recovery Plan for the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (Hybognathus amarus)/ Notice of ....
Distinct population segments of gray wolves removed from ESA protection in Western Great Lakes and Northern Rockies
Posted on April 05, 200974 Fed. Reg. 15070 / Vol. 74, No. 62 / Thursday, April 2, 2009 / Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Rule To Identify the Western Great Lakes Populations of Gray ...
Safe Harbor Agreement with expanded habitat for Palos Verdes blue butterfly could ease burden on U.S. Navy
Posted on April 05, 200974 Fed. Reg. 15516 / Vol. 74, No. 64 / Monday, April 6, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for the Deane Dana Friendship Community Regional Park in Los Angeles County, CA / Notice of ...
FWS announces 5-year reviews on 42 species in California and Nevada
Posted on March 29, 200974 Fed. Reg. 12878 / Vol. 74, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 25, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Reviews of 58 Species in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah; ...
FWS finds yellow-billed loon listing warranted, rangewide, but precluded by higher priorities
Posted on March 29, 200974 Fed. Reg. 12932 / Vol. 74, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 25, 2009 / Department of the Interior / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Yellow-Billed Loon as ...
Dollars, sense, and the Endangered Species Act
Posted on March 24, 2009Yes, its an important and controversial law. But Noah Greenwald says we have "60 days to save the ESA" on The Stump, citing the March 11 passage of HR 1105 Omnibus Appropriations Bill giving Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar 60-days to ...
FWS reconsidering proposed rule on Columbia River DPS of coastal cutthroat trout
Posted on March 24, 200974 Fed. Reg. 12297 (Vol. 74, No. 55 /Tuesday, March 24, 2009) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Significant Portion of the Range of Marine and ...
With red knots on the candidate list, Third Circuit declares emergency listing dispute moot
Posted on March 18, 2009American Bird Conservancy v. Kempthorne, No. 07-4609 (March 11, 2009) BACKGROUND: In July and August 2005, appellants, a number of conservation groups, petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) to list as endangered on an emergency basis ...
Salazar, science and centrism
Posted on March 17, 2009Secretary Salazar appears to be well on his way towards moving the Department of Interior back to a more centrist position. The agency has already listed two new endangered species (the reticulated flatwoods salamander and today's hawaiian ...
Hawaiian vine listed as endangered, and FWS reviewing new information on slickspot peppergrass
Posted on March 17, 200974 Fed. Reg. 11319 (Tuesday, March 17, 2009) / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Phyllostegia hispida (No Common Name) as Endangered Throughout Its Range / ....
9th Circuit upholds NOAA's salmon hatchery policies in Trout Unlimited v. Lohn
Posted on March 16, 2009Trout Unlimited v. Lohn, No. 07-35623 (9th Circuit, Mar. 16, 2009) BACKGROUND: We must decide whether the National Marine Fisheries Service may distinguish between natural and hatchery-spawned salmon and steelhead when determining the level of ...
NOAA proposes threatened status for euchalon population segment
Posted on March 16, 200974 Fed. Reg. 10857 (Monday, March 16, 2009) / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 223 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Proposed Threatened Status for Southern Distinct Population Segment ...
Town of Marana, AZ, and group in Charlotte County, FL, propose Habitat Conservation Plans
Posted on March 16, 200974 Fed. Reg. (March 2, 2009) / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / Town of Marana Habitat Conservation Plan, Pima County, AZ / Notice of availability: draft environmental impact statement and draft habitat conservation plan in support ...
Five year reviews underway for 103 species, including Hawaiian tree snails and the Hawaiian hoary bat
Posted on March 16, 200974 Fed. Reg. 11130 (Monday, March 16, 2009) / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Reviews of 103 Species in Hawaii / ACTION: Notice of review. SUMMARY: We, the U...
Responding to court order, critical habitat revisions proposed for New Mexico invertebrates
Posted on March 16, 200974 Fed. Reg. 10701 (Thursday, March 12, 2009) / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Roswell springsnail (Pyrgulopsis ...
Cattle grazing allowed to continue, but criticized for endangered species impacts, by federal court in Idaho
Posted on March 11, 2009Western Watersheds Project v. Dyer, Nos. CV-04-181-S-BLW, CV-02-521-S-BLW, 2009 WL 484438 (D.Idaho, Feb. 26, 2009) (B. Lynn Winmill, Chief Judge) SUMMARY: Western Watersheds Project, an environmental group, brought this lawsuit to ban livestock ...
California business park plan withstands judicial review, impacts to fairy shrimp critical habitat upheld
Posted on March 11, 2009Butte Environmental Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 2:08-cv-1316-GEB-CMK, 2009 WL 497575 (E.D.Cal. Jan. 21, 2009)(Garland E. Burrell, Jr., U.S. District Judge) BACKGROUND: Plaintiff Butte Environmental Council ("BEC") seeks ...
Status review on Roundtail chub underway by FWS in Colorado River basin
Posted on March 09, 200974 Fed. Reg. 9205 (Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2009) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of Status Review for the Roundtail Chub (Gila robusta) in the Lower Colorado River ...
Visit my guest blog on exotic pythons invading the Everglades at paw-talk.net
Posted on March 09, 2009For years, irresponsible pet owners – unwilling to destroy their too-big-to-keep reptile friends – have silently released their unwanted Burmese pythons into the Florida Everglades. The pythons survived. The Everglades now squirms with breeding ...
U.S. District Court in California rejects challenge of ?no effect? determination for jurisdictional reasons, but foreshadows just how controversial the Bush Administration?s consultation regulations are (or could have become)
Posted on March 05, 2009Court defers to FWS inferences on finding of insufficiency for petition to list giant Palouse earthworm
Posted on March 05, 2009Obama begins reversal of Bush's ESA consultation regulations by Executive Order
Posted on March 03, 2009FWS designates revised critical habitat for Canada lynx to correct prior scientific abuses
Posted on March 02, 2009Battle over Bush Administration's consultation regulations begins anew.
Posted on February 25, 2009Yesterday, the Center for Biological Diversity praised a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee for moving an omnibus appropriations bill that, if passed, "will give President Obama power to rescind rules weakening both the Endangered ...
Federal Circuit refuses request for en banc hearing on Casitas case, and battle of Western water law vs. ESA may head to SCOTUS
Posted on February 20, 2009Previously, ESA blawg readers have learned about the enormous implications of the ongoing Casitas water district litigation. See prior ESA blawg postings on the original Federal Circuit decision and the request for en banc review. In a ...
The trouble with tourists...
Posted on February 20, 2009Sure, ecotourism can be helpful, and brings much-needed dollars into conservation causes. But tourism and recreation has consequences too, as three news stories recently made clear. Resident orca populations in Puget Sound are starving as ...
FWS announces 5-year review for 10 Caribbean plant species
Posted on February 20, 200974 Fed. Reg. 7914 / Vol. 74, No. 33 / Friday, February 20, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Review of 10 Caribbean Plant Species SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and ...
The Council of Elders speaks; will Obama Administration listen?
Posted on February 19, 2009In a remarkable document, Recommendations to the Obama Administration for an Improved Columbia River Salmon Recovery Program (January 2009), the Council of Elders and Resource Renewal Institute -- largely consisting of retired wildlife managers and ....
Good news stories on ESA include whales, sea turtles, wolves, eagles, and butterflies. But for the American pika, well, not so good...
Posted on February 19, 2009The last few days offered a rare series of good news stories on the Endangered Species Act. CNN reports that volunteers and retirees are watching the Florida coastline to help protect migrating endangered, but increasing, North Atlantic right ....
Five-year reviews underway for 23 southwestern species, especially in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico
Posted on February 11, 200974 Fed. Reg. 6917 / Vol. 74, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 11, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Reviews of 23 Southwestern Species; Notice of reviews. SUMMARY: We, the ...
FWS reopens public comment on proposed decrease in critical habitat for Marbled murrelet.
Posted on February 11, 200974 Fed. Reg. 6852 / Vol. 74, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 11, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Critical Habitat for the Marbled Murrelet; Proposed rule; ...
FWS notices post-delisting plan for monitoring of Hawaiian Hawk; reopens comment period on proposed delisting
Posted on February 11, 200974 Fed. Reg. 6853 / Vol. 74, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 11, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Hawaiian Hawk From the Federal List of Endangered ...
ESA in the news: exemptions, editorials, entrees and more.
Posted on February 10, 2009The ESA litigation circus continues. Judge Redden is hearing yet another case in Oregon regarding the tension between migrating salmon and the Federal Columbia River Power System. See The Seattle Times. The Center for Biological ...
ESA recovery efforts: smalltooth sawfish and loggerhead sea turtles
Posted on February 10, 200974 Fed. Reg. 3566 / Vol. 74, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 21, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plan for the Distinct Population Segment of the ...
ESA listing decisions: salamanders, gophers, bison, black abalone, and 206 other species
Posted on February 10, 200974 Fed. Reg 6700 / Vol. 74, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 10, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Reticulated Flatwoods ...
Draft Mexican wolf conservation assessment announced by FWS
Posted on January 13, 200974 Fed. Reg. 914 / Vol. 74, No. 6 / Friday, January 9, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) Conservation Assessment; Notice of availability; draft ...
FWS denies listing for 270 species based on insufficient information; organization that filed the petition already skeptical of incoming administration
Posted on January 07, 200974 Fed. Reg. 419 / Vol. 74, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2009 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Partial 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List 475 Species in the ...
ESA in the news: more litigation
Posted on January 06, 2009Expressing outrage with abuses by the Bush Administration, a Las Vegas Sun editorial praised California's decision to sue the Federal government over the proposed Endangered Species Act regulations, and the Center for Biological Diversity announced ....
NOAA finds listing of Atlantic wolffish may be warranted
Posted on January 05, 200974 Fed. Reg. 249 / Vol. 74, No. 2 / Monday, January 5, 2009 / Proposed Rules / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 223 and 224 / Listing Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90–Day ...
FWS proposes critical habitat revisions and public hearing for Alabama sturgeon; NOAA declines petition to list the ribbon seal
Posted on December 30, 200873 Fed. Reg. 79770 / Vol. 73, No. 250 / Tuesday, December 30, 2008 / Proposed Rules / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the ...
ESA in the news: California sues Interior over consultation regulations
Posted on December 30, 2008California Attorney General Brown pushes forward with a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act's consultation regulations, and according to the LA Times,Ken Alex, senior assistant attorney ...
FWS proposes to list three foreign species: the Andean flamingo, Chilean woodstar, and St. Lucia forest thrush
Posted on December 24, 200873 Fed. Reg. 79226 / Vol. 73, No. 248 / Wednesday, December 24, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Three Foreign Bird Species From Latin America and the ...
Animal Welfare Institute v. Martin: dispute over Canada lynx trapping creates factual twists and procedural controversies
Posted on December 24, 2008ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE, v. ROLAND D. MARTIN, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97766, CV-08-267-B-W (D. Maine, Nov. 26, 2008)(Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction) EXCERPT & SUMMARY: On October 4, 2007, the Court approved a Consent Decree between the ...
Obama's NOAA appointee, Lubchenko, an environmental science heavyweight
Posted on December 22, 2008Last week, President-elect Barack Obama nominated Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See Washington Post and New York Times. According to her home state paper, The ...
FWS may expand listing of Canada lynx to include New Mexico
Posted on December 19, 200873 Fed. Reg. 76990 / Vol. 73, No. 244 / Thursday, December 18, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To Change the Listing Status of the ...
FWS announces listing decisions on penguin species
Posted on December 19, 200873 Fed. Reg. 77264 / Vol. 73, No. 244 / Thursday, December 18, 2008 / Proposed Rules / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List Four ....
FWS proposed revised critical habitat for Quino Checkerspot Butterfly
Posted on December 19, 200873 Fed. Reg. 77568 / Vol. 73, No. 245 / Friday, December 19, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the ...
FWS revises recovery plan for Florida panther
Posted on December 19, 200873 Fed. Reg. 77052 / Vol. 73, No. 244 / Thursday, December 18, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Notice of Availability of the Florida Panther Recovery Plan SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the ...
ESA in the news: Secretary Salazar, NRDC's tree-listing efforts, crashing red knots, smuggled monkeys etc.
Posted on December 17, 2008U.S. Senator Ken Salazar, D-Colo., is rumored to be President-Elect Obama's choice as the new Secretary of the Interior, and thus, a leading figure overseeing the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Salon.com considers him a moderate, ...
ESA in the News: Secretary Salazar (officially)
Posted on December 17, 2008According to his home state newspaper, the Denver Post, Endangered Species Act watchers expect controversies with the newly announced nominee for Secretary of Interior, Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo): "One area where Salazar is drawing fire is ...
FWS issues notices of enhancement permit, and status reviews
Posted on December 17, 200873 Fed. Reg. 76680 / Vol. 73, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 17, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Receipt of Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the Northern Spotted Owl and the Marbled Murrelet; Notice of ...
FWS proposes critical habitat for DPS of Northern Sea Otter
Posted on December 16, 200873 Fed. Reg. 76454 / Vol. 73, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 16, 2008 / Department of the Interior; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Southwest Alaska ...
FWS and NOAA formally announce final rule changing ESA Sec. 7 consulation process
Posted on December 16, 200873 Fed. Reg. 76272 / Vol. 73, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 16, 2008DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Interagency Cooperation Under the Endangered Species Act; ...
FWS replaces interim rule for polar bears with final rule on incidental take
Posted on December 16, 200873 Fed. Reg. 76249 / Vol. 73, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 16, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Special Rule for the Polar Bear; Final rule. SUMMARY: We, the ...
Interior's mea culpa continues: Inspector General Report reveals more about Manson/MacDonald era
Posted on December 15, 2008According to an Investigative Report released by the Department of Interior Inspector General, two leading agency officials seriously harmed the reputation of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and cost the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars. ...
Secretary Kempthorne announces final (but still controversial) consultation regulations.
Posted on December 11, 2008The Rolling Stone dubbed them a "final FU" from the outgoing President. Despite the enormous opposition of 200,000 or 300,000 public comments, and the likely rejection by Congress and the Courts, see prior ESA musing, the Section 7 ...
DOI climate change report on legal and policy issues includes noteworthy discussion of the ESA
Posted on December 11, 2008In a recently announced Department of Interior document, the Report of the Subcommittee on Law and Policy: An Analysis of Climate Change Impacts and Options Relevant to Legal and Policy Issues at the Department of the Interior, the Federal government ...
FWS updates information for species on candidate list
Posted on December 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 75176 / Vol. 73, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 10, 2008 / Department of the Interior; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing ...
FWS formally reinstates protections for grey wolf
Posted on December 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 75356 / Vol. 73, No. 239 / Thursday, December 11, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reinstatement of Protections for the Gray Wolf in the ...
NOAA announces public hearings on proposed critical habitat for smalltooth sawfish
Posted on December 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 74681 / Vol. 73, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 9, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 50 CFR Part 226; Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for the Endangered Distinct ...
FWS seeks comments on delta smelt (reclassification to endangered) and piping plovers (critical habitat in Texas)
Posted on December 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 74674 / Vol. 73, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 9, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To Reclassify the Delta ...
FWS proposes endangered status for Black-Breasted Puffleg and one of Darwin?s finches
Posted on December 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 74427 / Vol. 73, No. 236 / Monday, December 8, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Rule To List Black-Breasted Puffleg as ...
FWS may list the Sacramento Mountains checkspot butterfly... but will it bring tourists to Cloudcroft?
Posted on December 05, 200873 Fed. Reg. 74123 / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Sacramento ...
OMB approves NOAA's speed restrictions to protect right whales
Posted on December 05, 200873 Fed. Reg. 74003 / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 15 CFR Part 902; Endangered Fish and Wildlife; Final Rule To Implement Speed Restrictions To Reduce the Threat of ...
FWS designates critical habitat for 12 Hawaiian picture wing flies
Posted on December 04, 200873 Fed. Reg. 73794 / Vol. 73, No. 234 / Thursday, December 4, 2008 (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for 12 Species of Picture-Wing ....
Coral lawsuits today, but cougar lawsuits tomorrow?
Posted on December 02, 2008Last week, the NOAA Fisheries announced the designation of critical habitat for the threatened elkhorn and staghorn corals. See prior ESA blawg (Dec. 1, 2008). The Center for Biological Diversity, however, has already announced its intention ...
FWS says listing of black tailed prairie dogs may be warranted due to plague, poisoning, and more
Posted on December 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 73211 / Vol. 73, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 2, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; WS-R6-ES-2008-0111; MO 9921050083-B2 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a ...
NOAA designates coral critical habitat, excludes naval training area
Posted on December 01, 200873 Fed. Reg. 72210 / Vol. 73, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 26, 2008 / Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 50 CFR Parts 223 and 226; Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for Threatened Elkhorn and ...
FWS finds listing of Northern Mexican Gartersnake warranted but precluded, adds it to candidate list instead
Posted on November 25, 200873 Fed. Reg. 71788 / Vol. 73, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 25, 2008 / Department of the Interior; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Northern Mexican Gartersnake ...
More ruminations on the consultation regulations
Posted on November 24, 2008Updating yesterday's ESA blawg posting, I note that there is likely to be a dispute over how the Congressional Review Act applies to the ESA Section 7 consultation regulations, if they are adopted. Major rules, meaning $100 million in annual ...
Ruminations on the consultation regulations
Posted on November 22, 2008FROM A READER: "What is going on with the proposed section 7 regs? They were not in yesterday's Federal Register. We have heard different stories - they are not going to be issued or they will be in out in late December. One of our ...
NOAA announces critical habitat for smalltooth sawfish in Florida
Posted on November 21, 200873 Fed. Reg. 70290 / Vol. 73, No. 225 / Thursday, November 20, 2008 (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 50 CFR Part 226 [Docket No. 070717355–8030–01] RIN 0648–AV74 Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat ...
New regs (maybe) and big news on the Endangered Species Act, from coast to coast
Posted on November 20, 2008It has been a big week for Endangered Species Act news. On the national front, the Bush administration continues to race the clock, and Scientific American expect new "midnight regulations" to be adopted changing the ESA consultation ...
The law of unintended consequences: what the ESA needs, it takes, but what about other priorities?
Posted on November 16, 2008While an essential goal of the Endangered Species Act is to increase attention to the endangered and threatened species, compliance with the law also leads to unintended consequences. The problem stems from a simple fact: increased ESA demands do ...
U.S. Supreme Court supports Navy, reverses Nines, in appeal of preliminary injunction affecting sonar operations
Posted on November 12, 2008Winter v. NRDC" target=_newWinter v. NRDC, No. 07–1239 (S.Ct., November 12, 2008) Secretary of the Navy Winter, right, and Admiral Gary Roughead depart the Supreme Court of the United States after Oral Arguments on October 8, 2008. U.S. Navy ...
Louisiana black bear critical habitat rule proposed and comment period reopened
Posted on November 12, 200873 Fed Reg. 66831 (Wednesday, November 12, 2008) / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / RIN 1018–AV52 WS–R4–ES–2008–0047 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the ...
Will Obama transform ESA implementation? (A gaggle of ESA news from the google gadget...)
Posted on November 10, 2008"Now what?" asks Plenty. With our nation soon to undergo a huge leadership transition thanks to the election of Barack Obama, could it be that the implementation of the Endangered Species Act could radically change too? California ...
District Court clarifies reasons for rejecting FWS decision to withdraw proposed slickspot peppergrass listing
Posted on November 09, 2008Western Watersheds Project v. Kempthorne, Case No. CV 07-161-E-MHW, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84017 (D. Idaho, October 17, 2008)(Honorable Mikel H. Williams, United States Magistrate Judge) BACKGROUND: The original decision in question here was discussed ...
Court denies effort to transfer fairy shrimp critical habitat litigation to California
Posted on November 09, 2008Otay Mesa Property v. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, --- F.Supp.2d ----, Civil Action No. 08-383(RMC), 2008 WL 4767998 (D.D.C., Nov. 3, 2008.) Rosemary M. Collyer, District Judge. EXCERPT: This case involves a challenge to a final critical ...
Attempt to challenge delayed five-year status review for suckers dismissed by U.S. District Court in Oregon
Posted on November 08, 2008Moden v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Civil No. 08-CV-214-CL, 2008 WL 4763025 (D.Or. Oct. 27, 2008)(Recommendations by Magistrate Judge Clarke adopted by Judge Panner) Plaintiffs filed a complaint under the Endangered Species Act ...
ESA permit applications in Florida
Posted on November 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 64627 (Thursday, October 30, 2008) / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / WS–R4–ES–2008–N0291; 40120–1112–0000–F5/ Receipt of Applications for Endangered Species Permits Photo of a Florida Panther at the Lowery Park ...
FWS notices: no listing for Sacramento Valley tiger beetle; status review for dusky tree vole; revisiting grey wolf DPS
Posted on November 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 63421 (Friday, October 24, 2008) / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 WS–R8–ES–2008–0112; MO 9221050083–B2/ Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the ...
NOAA Notices: the extinct caribbean monk seal,
Posted on November 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 63901 (Oct. 28, 2008) / DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / 50 CFR Part 224 / ocket No. 080320453–8705–01RIN 0648–XG60 / Endangered and Threatened Species; Final Rule to Remove the Caribbean Monk Seal ...
With some procedural issues resolved, litigation over Glen Canyon Dam and the humpback chub moves to next phase
Posted on November 02, 2008Grand Canyon Trust, Plaintiff, vs. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Case No. CV-07-8164 PCT-DGC (D. Arizona, Sept. 26, 2008), 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83853 Plaintiff Grand Canyon Trust filed suit (see press release) against the United States Bureau of ...
California Attorney General pushes DOJ's Solicitor General to seek en banc review of Federal Circuit's Casitas decision
Posted on October 23, 2008A few weeks ago, this blawg posted the results of Casitas Municipal Water District v. United States, Case No. 2007-5153 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 25, 2008). See ESA blawg (Sept. 29, 2008). In commentary, I warned that the ruling had ...
9th Circuit finds conservation groups have standing to challenge treaty
Posted on October 22, 2008Salmon Spawning & Recovery Alliance v. Gutierrez, No. 06-35979, --- F.3d ----, 2008 WL 4490533 (9th Cir., October 8, 2008) SUMMARY: "Wild salmon and steelhead, which are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, ....
Recent FWS notices: Critical habitat revisions for Canada lynx and wintering Piping Plovers; 48 more listings in Kauai
Posted on October 21, 200873 Fed. Reg. 62450 (Tuesday, October 21, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; WS–R6–ES–2008–0026; 92210–1117–0000–B4 RIN 1018–AV78; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Critical Habitat for the ...
Recent NOAA notices: beluga whales listed; Gulf of Maine salmon DPS hearing; white abalone recovery plan available
Posted on October 21, 2008NOAA filing (Friday, October 17, 2008)(not yet published in the Federal Registerr)(DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 50 CFR Part 224 ocket No. 08101413578137101RIN 0648XL30; Endangered And Threatened Species; ...
FWS issues permits for import of hunting trophies to enhance the survival of the species
Posted on October 15, 200873 Fed. Reg. 61160 / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; WS–R9–IA–2008–N0275; 96300–1671–0000–P5 Receipt of Applications for Permit SUMMARY: The public is invited to comment on the ...
FWS begins status review on potential listing of the least chub
Posted on October 15, 200873 Fed. Reg. 61007-61015 / 73 FR 61007 (Wednesday, October 15, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 [FWS–R6–ES–2008–0088; MO 9921050083–B2] Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a ...
Federal Court's preliminary injunction opinion in grazing case leaves the reader wanting MUCH more...
Posted on October 14, 2008Oregon Natural Desert Association v. Kimbell et al, Civil No. 07-1871-SU,, 2008 WL 4186913 (D.Or. Sept. 5, 2008)(HAGGERTY, Chief Judge). When grazing is permitted on federal lands, livestock can trample spawning nests of fish, destroy or ...
Envirornmental groups send 100,000 comments on proposed changes to Section 7 consultation regulations
Posted on October 14, 2008According to a joint October 14, 2008 press release by the Endangered Species Coalition, Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Audubon Society, and ...
Section 1983 claims related to endangered mussels in NYC's Neversink Reservoir sent off to Neverland by federal judge
Posted on October 13, 2008Elliot v. City of New York, No. 06-CV-296 (KMK), 2008 WL 4178187 (Sept. 8, 2008, S.D.N.Y.) Plaintiffs bring this action against the City of New York including the City of New York Department of Environmental Protection… Plaintiffs allegations… revolve ...
NOAA finalizes speed restrictions to protect North Atlantic right whales
Posted on October 12, 200873 Fed. Reg. 60173 / 73 FR 60173-60191 / Friday, October 10, 2008 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 50 CFR Part 224; Docket No. 040506143–7024–03; RIN 0648–AS36; Endangered Fish and Wildlife; Final Rule To Implement Speed Restrictions to ...
9th Circuit finds ESA lawsuit related to tower strikes cannot be used to avoid FCC's administrative process
Posted on October 11, 2008American Bird Conservancy v. Federal Communications Commission, D.C. No. CV-05-00461-DAE (9th Cir. October 6, 2008) SUMMARY: We must decide whether an environmental group may employ the citizen-suit provision of the Endangered Species Act to challenge ...
FWS already abandoned e-mail; is it intentionally discouraging public comment too, and ignoring DOJ's advice?
Posted on October 07, 2008As a regular reader of the Federal Register, I have noted an ongoing error in the "privacy" provisions of the FWS notices. Could it be that FWS is discouraging public comments on its proposed Endangered Species Act actions by warning -- ...
NOAA offers workshop on green sturgeon critical habitat, fixes error in previously noticed map
Posted on October 07, 200873 Fed. Reg. 58527 / 73 FR 58527-58528 / Vol. 73, No. 195 (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 226 ocket No. 080730953–81003–01RIN 0648–AX04 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and ...
Status reviews underway on 11 mountain-prairie species, including Wyoming toad; FWS seeks public comment
Posted on October 06, 200873 Fed. Reg. 58261 / 73 FR 58261-58262 (Monday, Oct. 6, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; WS–R6–ES–2008–N0187; 60120–1113–0000; C4 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Reviews of Three Wildlife Species and ...
Mass extinction coming soon, says IUCN, and polar bears cannibalism may serve as partial proof
Posted on October 06, 2008One in four mammals risks extinction, says Reuters, citing an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report. "A quarter of the world's mammals are threatened with extinction, an international survey showed on Monday, and ...
Do greens know diplomacy? In the eyes of some, W can do nothing but harm.
Posted on October 04, 2008At this point, there is nothing George W. Bush or Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne can do. Any action taken with respect to the Endangered Species Act -- even the do-gooder announcements -- will receive criticism and suspicion. Take, ...
NOAA considering expanded critical habitat for Hawaiian monk seal
Posted on October 03, 200873 Fed. Reg. 57583 / 73 FR 57583-57585 / Vol. 73, No. 193 / Friday, October 3, 2008 (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 50 CFR Part 226; Docket No. 0809161218–81253–01 RIN 0648–AX23; Listing Endangered and ...
Local HCPs may help California's June beetles and spineflowers
Posted on October 03, 200873 Fed. Reg. 57644 / 73 FR 57644-57646 / Vol. 73, No. 193 / Friday, October 3, 2008 (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; WS–R1–ES–2008–N0222; 81440–1112–0000 ABC Code F2Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Incidental Take ...
FWS considering delisting of marbled murrelet
Posted on October 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 57314 / Vol. 73, No. 192 / Thursday, October 2, 2008 (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; [FWS–R1–ES–2008–0095; 92220–1113–0000–C5]; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a ...
Federal judge rejects FWS delisting of Minnesota's gray wolves: Humane Society v. Kempthorne (D.D.C.)
Posted on October 01, 2008Humane- Society v. Kempthorne, Civil Action No. 07-0677 (PLF), --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2008 WL 4378080 (D.D.C. Sept. 29, 2008)(Paul L. Friedman, District Judge). INTRO: In 1978, the gray wolf (Canis lupus ) was listed as threatened in Minnesota and ...
The wolf saga continues... LA Times says excess hunting putting it back on the list of endangered species
Posted on September 30, 2008Earlier this year, FWS delisted populations of the grey wolf. See prior ESA blawg entries in January and February and Since then, according to a recent LA Times article, hunters have gone on a shooting spree, and the species may be heading ...
ESA news emerging in Florida...
Posted on September 30, 2008While the Federal Circuit's recent decision on takings law and the Endangered Species Act may one day be recognized as a huge legal earthquake in California and the western U.S., see ESA blawg (Sept. 29, 2008), in Florida, tropical depressions with ....
FWS seeking information on piping plovers for 5-year review
Posted on September 30, 200873 Fed. Reg. 56860, 73 FR 56860-56862, Vol. 73, No. 190 (Tuesday, September 30, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; FWS–R3–ES–2008–N0235; 30120–1113–0000 C4; 50120–1113–0000 C4; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and ...
Takings and the ESA: Casitas Municipal Water District v. United States (Fed. Cir.)
Posted on September 29, 2008Casitas Municipal Water District v. United States, Case No. 2007-5153 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 25, 2008) SUMMARY: Casitas Municipal Water District (Casitas) appeals the judgment of the United States Court of Federal Claims granting summary ...
YouTube, Sarah Palin, Penn&Teller, and the Endangered Species Act
Posted on September 26, 2008Tired of reading your Endangered Species Act news on the internet? Try watching it. How about Sarah Palin on You Tube explaining her view that the Endangered Species Act is being abused by extreme environmentalists, and discussing Alaska's ...
NOAA seeks comments on Middle Columbia River steelhead recovery plan
Posted on September 24, 200873 Fed. Reg. 55045 / 73 FR 55045-55052 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; RIN 0648-XK45; Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans; Notice of Availability; request for ...
Senator Boxer calls Bush administration officials cowards for no-show at hearing on ESA rules
Posted on September 24, 2008Earlier today, Department of Interior Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife Lyle Laverty failed to attend a Congressional hearing anticipated to include a discussion of the proposed regulations to amend the Endangered Species Act's consultation ....
FWS reopens comment period on slickspot peppergrass
Posted on September 22, 200873 Fed. Reg. 54345 / 73 FR 54345-54346 (Friday, September 19, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; WS-R1-ES-2008-0096; MO 9221050083-B2 RIN 1018-AW34; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Plant ...
Postscript on Northern Rocky Gray Wolf litigation... FWS reverses its own reversal
Posted on September 18, 2008According to the Defenders of Wildlife, who in turn cite recent statements by senior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) officials, "FWS intends to rescind its own wolf delisting rule - issued in March - sometime this week. This will place the Northern ...
More information on FWS's proposed actions on reticulated salamanders
Posted on September 18, 200873 Fed. Reg. 54125 / 73 FR 54125-54132 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; WS-R4-ES-2008-0082; 92210750083-B2 RIN 1018-AU85; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Endangered ...
In long-shot legislation, California Congressman seeks to exempt Sacramento Delta from Endangered Species Act
Posted on September 17, 2008Implementation of the Endangered Species Act in the Sacramento Delta has been a frequent topic on the pages of ESA blawg. See ESA blawg on OCAP decision" target=_newOCAP decision and July PCFFA decision. While the slow-motion train wreck, ...
The sound of bats along the Kissimmee River
Posted on September 17, 2008Yesterday, the South Florida Water Management District and newsmedia reported that Endangered Florida bonneted bats have been making sound waves along the Kissimmee River, far from its historic range near Miami. The Florida bonneted bat is ...
Sarah Palin wins CBD's rubber dodo award
Posted on September 17, 2008As readers of this blawg know, I'm not a big fan of the insulting practice of anti-awards. The newsmedia tends to disagree with me however, so, for anyone interested, here it is: The Center for Biological Diversity announced that Sarah Palin earned ...
FWS expands proposed critical habitat for California red-legged frog
Posted on September 17, 200873 Fed. Reg. 53491 / 73 FR 53491-53680 (Tuesday, September 16, 2008)(Volume 73, Number 180)(Department of Interior; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Critical Habitat for the ...
Another ESA controversy: Endangered Species Coalition says proposed rule (not the one you think) misled public, reduced habitat protections
Posted on September 10, 2008It seemed innocent enough. On August 6, 2008, the FWS announced a change in the formatting of the listing table for endangered and threatened species. See ESAblawg post. The summary of the rule stated that FWS proposed to amend ...
Removal of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout listing not yet justified, FWS concludes
Posted on September 09, 200873 Fed. Reg. 52257, 73 FR 52257 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; [FWS-R8-ES-2008-0098; 92220-1113-0000-C5]; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a ...
FWS declines listing of Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, finding 80 percent of occupied habitat to be in fair to excellent condition
Posted on September 09, 200873 Fed. Reg. 52235, 73 FR 52235, Vol. 73, No. 175 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; 50 CFR Part 17; WS-R6-ES-2008-0023; 1111 FY07 MO-B2 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on ...
FWS notices two more scrub jay HCPs in Florida
Posted on June 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 33105 (Wednesday, June 11, 2008) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Construction of Two Single-Family Homes in Volusia County, FL; Notice: receipt of application for an incidental take permit; request ...
Environmental impact analysis underway for South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan
Posted on June 10, 200873 Fed. Reg. 32729(Tuesday, June 10, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Habitat Conservation Plan for South Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA; Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental ...
Extinct (perhaps since 1952?): the Caribbean monk seal
Posted on June 09, 200873 Fed. Reg. 32521 (Monday, June 9, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Endangered and Threatened Species; Proposed Rule to Remove the Caribbean Monk Seal from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened ....
Court rules FWS improperly withdrew proposed listing of slickspot peppergrass because it failed to re-consult expert panel
Posted on June 09, 2008Western Watersheds v. Kempthorne, Case No. CV 07-161-E-MHW, Memorandum Decision and Order (D.Idaho, June 4, 2008) NATURE OF THE CLAIMS: Western Watersheds argues that the Federal Defendants have violated the ESA and/or the Administrative Procedures ...
Sorry, ya'll, been on vacation...
Posted on June 08, 2008Will post recent judicial decisions, and Federal Register announcements, tomorrow ...
Public comment, and controversy, continues for Tejon Ranch Habitat Conservation Plan
Posted on June 05, 200873 Fed. Reg. 31876 (Wednesday, June 4, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Tehachapi Uplands Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan; Notice of intent). Tejon Ranch is a 270,000 acre parcel of contiguous private land at the ...
Humane Society v. Kempthorne (D.C.Cir.): another judicial decision applying mootness and vacatur in ESA context.
Posted on June 03, 2008Humane Society v. Kempthorne and Safari Club, Nos. 06-5396 & 06-5397 (D.C. Cir., June 3, 2008). In this case, environmentalists sought to preserve a district court victory on the regulation of the gray wolf even though the wolf was ...
FWS continues comment process on Salt Creek Tiger Beetle
Posted on June 03, 200873 Fed. Reg. 31665 (Tuesday, June 3, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana); ...
New biological opinion on ACF watershed disappoints Florida leaders
Posted on June 02, 2008Earlier today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its new biological opinion evaluating the effects of Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint watershed management on endangered species, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The biop ...
Previously "delisted" Cactus ferruginous pygmy owl getting another look based on CBD petition to "relist" the species
Posted on June 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 31418 (Monday, June 02, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium ridgwayi cactorum) as ....
Polk County, Florida, proposes Habitat Conservation Plan and mitigation for impacts of wastewater treatment on skinks
Posted on June 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 31140 (Friday, May 30, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of receipt of an application for an incidental take permit for the expansion of the Sun Ray Wastewater ...
Draft recovery plan for Loggerhead sea turtle reflects agency efforts, but not good news for turtle watchers
Posted on June 02, 200873 Fed. Reg. 31066 (May 30, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans; Recovery Plan for the Northwest Atlantic ...
Why you should love Gators too...
Posted on June 01, 2008ESA Blawg readers already know how I feel about Florida Gators. Your health now demands that you love them too. Once a threatened species in the 1950s and 60s due to overharvesting, and eventually regulated under the Endangered Species ...
Still Catching Up on SCOTUS decisions: Home Builders v. Defenders
Posted on June 01, 2008National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 127 S. Ct. 2518 (2007). In this post related to a recent Supreme Court decision, ESA Blawg contributor Liz Batres explains how the Court analyzed the interplay of the ESA ...
Polar bear just the beginning of Arctic species litigation (and a postscript on ESA Section 10 permits)
Posted on May 29, 2008In two recent press releases, the Center for Biological Diversity has announced its future litigation plans, and in the process, has signaled its future plans. First, CBD declared its intention to seek Endangered Species Act protections for the ...
FWS seeking information on potential listing of Northern Mexican Gartersnake
Posted on May 28, 200873 Fed. Reg. 30596 (May 28, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of Status Review for the Northern Mexican Gartersnake (Thamnophis eques megalops) and solicitation of new ...
FWS announces HCP (Scrub jays) and CCPs (Lower Keys) in Florida
Posted on May 28, 200873 Fed. Reg. 30139 (May 28, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Lower Florida Keys Refuges, Monroe County, FL; Notice of availability; draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment; request for comments.) ...
FWS proposes critical habitat for the Alabama sturgeon
Posted on May 27, 200873 Federal Register 30361 (Tuesday, May 27, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Alabama Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus suttkusi); ...
In the eye of the polar bear storm
Posted on May 26, 2008It has been a relatively quiet week for Endangered Species Act watchers. Most of this week's Federal Register notices were nothing more than announcements related to a few researchers receiving scientific enhancement permits. Maybe, in ...
Court refuses to stop Ice Storm Recovery project in Daniel Boone National Forest, finds no immediate threat to Indiana bats.
Posted on May 21, 2008Heartwood v. Peterson, Case 5:07-cv-00114-KSF, Document 40 (E.D. Ky. May 21, 2008). In a motion for preliminary injunction, Heartwood, a public interest group, sought to stop activities by the U.S. Forest Service in the Daniel Boone National Forest, ...
Five-year status review for Florida's smalltooth sawfish
Posted on May 21, 200873 Federal Register 29482 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of a 5-Year Review of the Endangered U.S. Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of ...
Another look by FWS at Northern spotted owl critical habitat and economic analysis
Posted on May 21, 200873 Federal Register 29471 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina); Proposed rule; reopening of comment ....
The lighter side of the ESA
Posted on May 20, 2008Introducing another feature on ESA blawg... humor. Let's face it. The ESA is a pretty dark topic. Species on the brink of extinction, and periodic bad news. So, whenever the darkness gets to you, consider embracing the ultimate ...
More crtitical habitat for piping plovers; this time in Texas
Posted on May 20, 200873 Federal Register 29294 (May 20, 2008) (Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the Wintering Population of the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) in Texas; Proposed Rule). SUMMARY: We, the U.S. ....
Bald eagles: FWS issues final rule for take, and initiates status review for Sonoran desert bald eagles
Posted on May 20, 200873 Federal Register 29075 (May 20, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Authorizations Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act for Take of Eagles; Final rule). SUMMARY: These final regulations provide two mechanisms to ...
Bennett v. Spear: revisiting the jurisprudence of constitutional standing
Posted on May 18, 2008Below is the latest contribution of Liz Batres, proving once again that I am not the only lawyer captivated by the Endangered Species Act. This time, her SCOTUS summary is on Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154 ...
FWS still seeking comments on critical habitat for piping plovers in North Carolina
Posted on May 18, 200873 Federal Register 28084 (Thursday, May 15, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the Wintering Population of the Piping Plover in North ...
Arizona Game and Fish seeks delisting of the Hualapai Mexican mole; FWS agrees to further review
Posted on May 18, 200873 Federal Register 28094 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on Petition To Delist the Hualapai Mexican Vole (Microtus mexicanus hualpaiensis); ...
Ashy storm petrel listing under further review
Posted on May 18, 200873 Federal Register 28080 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Ashy Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa) as Threatened or ...
Delisting the Maguire daisy (and official citations for polar bear listing documents)
Posted on May 18, 200873 Fed. Reg. 28410 (Friday, May 16, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Removal of Erigeron maguirei From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants; ...
Happy (uh, sort of...) Endangered Species Day!
Posted on May 16, 2008Yes, really, is is Endangered Species Day. For more information visit the Endangered Species Coalition. See also Senate Resolution 520, sponsored by Dianne ...
Secretary Kempthorne announces polar bear bear listing, but explanations infuriate climate change thinkers
Posted on May 14, 200873 Federal Register ___ (May 14, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Threatened Status for the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Throughout Its Range; Final ...
Rio Grande Cutthroat trout listing is warranted, but precluded, by other priorities
Posted on May 14, 200873 Federal Register 27900 (Wednesday, May 14, 2008)(Department of Interior; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Status Review for Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout; Fish and Wildlife Service; Notice of candidate status review.) SUMMARY: We, ...
FWS reopens comment period on San Diego thornmint critical habitat
Posted on May 13, 200873 Federal Register 27483 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Acanthomintha ilicifolia (San Diego thornmint)) SUMMARY: We, ...
In Lake Belt mining case, 11th Circuit rebukes lower court, reaffirms deference principles in Federal APA litigation
Posted on May 09, 2008Sierra Club v. Flowers, No. 07-13297 (May 9, 2008) available online BACKGROUND: Sierra Club brought this action against the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) after the Corps granted Rinker Materials and other mining concerns (“Miners”) Clean ...
Rhetoric heating up over global warming in cool places; polar bear litigation taking shape
Posted on May 08, 2008We knew it was coming. Even before the U.S. District Court Judge demanded a decision by May 15, wildlife watchers knew that the debate over the fate of the polar bear would lead to years of litigation. See ESAblawg (March 2, 2008) on ...
White tailed prarie dog under further review for listing by FWS in response to petition
Posted on May 06, 200873 Federal Register 24910 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the White-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys leucurus) as Threatened ...
Petition to list landlocked, freshwater Kokanee salmon may be warranted and triggers FWS status review
Posted on May 06, 200873 Federal Register 24915 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Lake Sammamish, Washington, as ...
FWS announces new proposed critical habitat for Louisiana black bear
Posted on May 06, 200873 Federal Register 25354 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Louisiana Black Bear (Ursus americanus luteolus); Proposed ...
In response to petition, FWS finds that listing of the longfin smelt may be warranted
Posted on May 06, 200873 Federal Register 24911 (May 6, 2008) (DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Petition To List the San Francisco Bay-Delta Population of the Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) as ....
Babbit v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Greater Oregon, 515 U.S. 687 (1995)
Posted on May 05, 2008Continuing her service to the legal community, ESAblawg contributor Liz Batres submitted the following summary of Babbit v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Greater Oregon, 515 U.S. 687 (1995), as published by FindLaw Photo of Northern ...
NOAA Fisheries announces three new BiOps on dam irrigation projects
Posted on May 05, 2008In a press release issued earlier today, NOAA’s Fisheries Service, the federal agency charged with protecting Northwest salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act, announced the release of "a trio of biological opinions that provide ...
Busy future for NOAA Fisheries includes ESA rules for killer whales, smalltooth sawfish, and green sturgeon
Posted on May 05, 2008In today's Federal Register notices, NOAA Fisheries discussed its plans to consider three different Endangered Species Act rulemaking initiatives, including protective regulations expressly prohibiting take of killer whales and green sturgeon, and ...
Desert bald eagle formally "relisted" by FWS in response to Court order
Posted on May 01, 200873 Federal Register 23966 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Potential Sonoran Desert Bald Eagle Distinct Population Segment as Threatened Under the ...
Maybe we need the ESA, but we need the species even more.
Posted on April 30, 2008While the Endangered Species Act may be among the most powerful of our environmental laws, sometimes, it still can't match the potential of simple human compassion, creativity, and self-interest to remind us about the importance of endangered species ...
ESAblawg on Comcast Newsmakers
Posted on April 30, 2008ESAblawg recently earned news coverage from Comcast Newsmakers. Watch for Spero Canton's interview with ESAblawg founder Keith W. Rizzardi in April ...
Regarding listing decision for polar bear, Federal Judge says delay is over...
Posted on April 29, 2008Center for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne, No. C 08-1339 CW, (N.D.Cal., April 29, 2008) Photo from Defenders of Wildlife Campaign to Save Polar Bears By Court order, the Federal Government will soon make its decision regarding the listing of ....
BLM's consultation on fire management in Nevada upheld
Posted on April 27, 2008Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management, 03:06-CV-00527-LRH-RAM, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32299 (D. Nevada, April 18, 2008). BACKGROUND: The Elko District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) consists of 7.5 million acres of land ...
Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
Posted on April 27, 2008Adding a new feature to ESA blawg... Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) case law links and summaries (see "Read More" below), authored by ESA blawg contributor Liz Batres. Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978) ...
Yet another Pacific Northwest salmon case, and yet another remand to NOAA to reconsider its biological opinion.
Posted on April 25, 2008National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS, Nos. 06-35011, 06-35019, 2008 WL 1821470 (April 24, 2008) available online. In the Ninth Circuit's own words... These consolidated appeals bring us once more to the Pacific Northwest, for another round in the ....
Ninth Circuit refines its standards for injunctions in MMPA case, implications for ESA.
Posted on April 25, 2008Humane Society v. Gutierrez, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 8733 (April 23, 2008). What the District Court giveth, the Ninth Circuit can taketh away (and vice versa). While this case was based on the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the call for an emergency ...
NOAA biop on salmon in Sacramento Delta struck down, due, in part, to global climate change.
Posted on April 24, 2008Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations v. Gutierrez, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31462 (April 16, 2008) Chinook salmon photo from California Department of Fish and Game It was inevitable. Sooner or later, NOAA's biological opinion on the ....
Rhinos: perspectives after a South African visit
Posted on April 23, 2008An Endangered Species Recovery Success Story from Southern Africa. by Pete David, www.esablawg.com contributor. The Hluhluwe-Umfolozi (pronounced Shloo-shloo-ee Im fuh-low-see) Game Reserve (Reserve) located approximately 264 km (165 mi) northeast ...
NOAA proposes Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon Recovery Plan
Posted on April 23, 200873 Fed. Reg. 21913(Wednesday, April 23, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans; Notice of Availability; request for comments.) Photo of Sockeye salmon from ...
Comments sought by FWS on Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Posted on April 23, 200873 Fed. Reg. 21978 (Wednesday, April 23, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, Volusia and Lake Counties, FL; Notice of availability: Draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental ...
NOAA needs 6 months more to reach listing decision on beluga whale
Posted on April 22, 200873 Fed. Reg. 21578(Tuesday, April 22, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Endangered And Threatened Species; Endangered Status for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale; Final determination regarding petitioned ...
FWS undertakes status review on Midwestern species
Posted on April 22, 200873 Fed. Reg. 21643 (Tuesday, April 22, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Reviews; Notice of initiation of review; Request for information on seven listed midwestern ...
Was this Mississippi developer represented by Greedy Associates? Court rejects ESA-related 5th Amendment claim.
Posted on April 21, 2008Schooner Harbor Ventures v. U.S., No. 06-87L, 2008 WL 1765482 (Fed. Ct. Claims., April 15, 2008) Introduction (excerpt of opinion): The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, a nonmigratory subspecies of the sandhill crane, was added to the United States' ...
Ninth Circuit opinion (unpublished) tackles analysis of troublesome ESA provisions in cutthroat trout case
Posted on April 21, 2008Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, No. 06-35080, D.C. No. CV-05-00165-KI (9th Cir. April 18, 2008) In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded a District Court order ...
It ain't over 'til it's over, but Federal Judge in Texas says "it's over," calls San Antonio transmission line challenge moot.
Posted on April 21, 2008Aquifer Guardians v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Civil Action Nos. SA-06-CA-1121-XR, SA-07-CA-0582-XR. 2008 WL 972661 (W.D.Tex. April 8, 2008). INTRODUCTION (Excerpt from opinion) This case arises from the issuance of a June 23, 2006 ...
Court declines to second-guess NOAA actions related to Puget Sound Chinook
Posted on April 21, 2008Salmon Spawning & Recovery Alliance v. Lohn, No. C06-1462RSL, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30809 (W.D.Wash., March 20, 2008) Introduction (excerpted verbatim from opinion) This case concerns a challenge to two decisions by National Marine Fisheries ...
18 southwestern species under review by FWS
Posted on April 16, 200873 Federal Register 20702 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Status Review of 18 Southeastern Species; Notice) SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and ...
FWS proposes critical habitat revisions for San Barnadino kangaroo rat
Posted on April 16, 200873 Federal Register 20581 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the San Bernardino Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami ...
FWS proposes critical habitat for California plant species
Posted on April 16, 200873 Federal Register 20600 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Poa atropurpurea (San Bernardino bluegrass) and Taraxacum ...
FWS reopens comment period related to Bay checkerspot butterfly critical habitat
Posted on April 15, 200873 Fed. Reg. 20237 (Tuesday, April 15, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis); Proposed ...
Religious Views Fail to Avoid ESA Prosecution in Northern California
Posted on April 14, 2008United States of America v. Moses Adeyemo, No. CR 03-40220 MJJ, 2008 WL 928546 (N.D. Cal. April 4, 2008). Moses Adeyemo, a Nigerian, moved to dismiss an indictment for violations of the Endangered Species Act based upon the Religious Freedom ...
Federal Judge Upholds Listing of the Lower Columbia River Coho Salmon
Posted on April 14, 2008Jack Marincovich v. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Civil No. 07-6228-Ho, 2008 U.S. Dist. Lexis 26560 (D.Ore. March 31, 2008) Plaintiffs allege damage and continuing harm as a result of the listing of the Lower Columbia River Coho salmon ESU, as ...
Federal Judge in Minnesota Directs Agency to Cease Unauthorized Incidental Take of the Canada Lynx
Posted on April 14, 2008Animal Protection Institute and Center For Biological Diversity vs. Mark Holsten, Civil No. 06-3776 (MJD/RLE) (D. Minnesota, March 28, 2008). Plaintiffs allege that Holsten, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of ...
NOAA elects not to list Lynn Canal Pacific Herring, But Undertakes Status Review of Pacific Herring As A Whole
Posted on April 14, 200873 Fed. Reg. 19824 (Friday, April 11, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Endangered and Threatened Species; Notice of Finding on a Petition to List the Lynn Canal Population of Pacific Herring as a ...
Charlotte County, FL Resident Submits Incidental Take Permit Application for Scrub Jays
Posted on April 14, 200873 Fed. Reg. 19525 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for Residential Construction in Charlotte County, FL) SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife ...
Like the millions of unnamed species, the unpublished case law is out there...
Posted on April 08, 2008Through the Endangered Species Act, Congress empowered citizens to act as private attorney generals, and to bring suits against the government. For better, or for worse, this policy decision has turned the federal judiciary into a critical area ...
11th Circuit rules against FEMA and FWS in historic case; development in key deer habitat remains enjoined
Posted on April 01, 2008Florida Key Deer and National Wildlife Federation v. Paulison, No. 05-16374 (11th Cir., April 1, 2008) available online. In an opinion released today, the 11th Circuit upheld a U.S. District Court ruling, finding that the Federal Emergency Management ...
NOAA considering listing of ribbon seal, and initiating status reviews of other Alaskan seal species
Posted on April 01, 200873 Fed. Reg. 16617 (Friday, March 28, 2008)(Department of Commerce; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Notice of a 90–day petition finding; request for information; and initiation of status reviews of ...
FWS announces critical habitat for Pecos Sunflower
Posted on April 01, 200873 Fed. Reg. 17762 (Tuesday, April 1, 2008)(Department of Interior; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Helianthus Paradoxus (Pecos Sunflower); Final Rule SUMMARY: We, ...
Learning to blawg...
Posted on March 26, 2008Sorry, loyal readers. This post is for the search engines. I need more fans like you, so I'm registering with various web / blog services, like Technorati. Technorati ...
Polar Bear Predictions in the Villanova Environmental Law Journal
Posted on March 25, 2008Laura Navarro, Comment. What About the Polar Bears? The Future of the Polar Bears as Predicted by a Survey of Success Under the Endangered Species Act, 19 Vill. Envtl. L.J. 169 (2008). In this law review comment, the author discusses the proposed ...
Wood storks as ecological indicators
Posted on March 24, 2008Although an endangered species, wood storks can still be spotted with regularity by knowledgeable South Floridians. A white feathered bird with black accents, a scaly unfeathered neck and head, and pinkish toes, the wood stork has an extensive ...
Climate Change and ESA in new law review article
Posted on March 21, 2008In the February 2008 issue of Boston University Law Review, Professor J.B. Ruhl at Florida State University published yet another article on the Endangered Species Act, CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: BUILDING BRIDGES TO THE NO-ANALOG ...
FWS considering listing of the coaster brook trout in Great Lakes region
Posted on March 20, 200873 Fed. Reg. 14,950 (March 20, 2008 ) (Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the U.S. Population of Coaster Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) as ...
FWS announces 5 year reviews for 28 listed southwestern species.
Posted on March 20, 200873 Fed. Reg. 14,995 (March 20, 2008)(Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Reviews of 28 Southwestern Species) SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce ...
D.C. federal judge invalidates FWS biop covering California sand bar breach, cites poor incidental take statement
Posted on March 18, 2008Pacific Shores Subdivision California Water District v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Civil Action 04-02091 (HHK), 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20164 (D.D.C. Mar. 17, 2008) Henry H. Kennedy, Jr., United States District Judge. ISSUE: Plaintiffs bring this ...
NMFS evaluating need to list five species of rockfish
Posted on March 17, 200873 Fed. Reg. 14195 (Mar. 17, 2008)( NOAA Fisheries; Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat: Notice of Finding on a Petition to List Five Rockfish Species in Puget Sound (Washington) as Endangered or Threatened Species ...
Will FWS get tied up in red knots? Horseshoe crab lovers hope so.
Posted on March 16, 2008On an annual migration, the red knot flies from the Arctic to the southern tip of South America -- by way of Delaware. But the red knot may be growing weary of its long travels, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has already identified the ...
Should NOAA list the Pacific eulachon?
Posted on March 12, 200873 Fed. Reg. 13185 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Listing Endangered and Threatened Species: Notification of Finding on a Petition to List Pacific Eulachon as an Endangered or Threatened Species under the Endangered ...
FWS finds petition to list wolverine in continuous 48 states "not warranted"
Posted on March 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 12929 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)(Fish & Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the North American Wolverine as Endangered or Threatened) SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and ...
Desert bald eagles "relisted" as threatened by U.S. District Court Judge in Arizona
Posted on March 10, 2008Center for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17517, No. CV 07-0038-PHX-MHM (D.Az., Mar. 5, 2008) BACKGROUND: In 2004, CBD submitted a petition to list a desert population of bald eagles as a “distinct population segment...
Upon further review, court upholds FWS decision not to list the Florida black bear.
Posted on March 10, 2008Defenders of Wildlife v. Kempthorne, 2008 WL 590865 (D.D.C., Mar. 5, 2008) BACKGROUND: In 1998, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service found that the Florida black bear did not warrant ESA listing. 63 Fed. Reg. 67613 (Dec. 8, 1998). However, a ...
Regulation of lands under Clean Water Act did not trigger special Endangered Species Act protections for listed plant
Posted on March 10, 2008Northern California River Watch v. Wilcox, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17441, No. C 06-06685 CRB (N.D.Cal. Mar. 6, 2008) BACKGROUND: This case involved the Sebastopol meadowfoam, a plant. With respect to plants, the Endangered Species Act, Section 9 ...
Lack of 60-day notice sinks salmon case
Posted on March 10, 2008McCrary v. Gutierrez, 528 F.Supp.2d 995 (N.D.Cal. Dec. 6, 2007) SUMMARY: Plaintiff filed a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service, seeking to revise the designation of a California Central Coast evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) ...
FWS delays designation of critical habitat for marbled murrelet, awaiting completion of Bureau of Land Management plans
Posted on March 06, 200873 Fed. Reg. 12067 (Mar. 6, 2008)(Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)) Photo from FWS SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and ...
FWS revises proposed critical habitat for Hawaiian picture wing flies
Posted on March 06, 200873 Fed. Reg. 12065 (Mar. 6, 2008)(Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for 12 Species of Picture-Wing Flies From the Hawaiian Islands) Photo from FWS SUMMARY: ....
NOAA lists North Pacific and North Atlantic Right Whales as endangered; and corrects critical habitat designation for threatened Elkhorn and Staghorn corals
Posted on March 06, 200873 Fed. Reg. 12024 (Mar. 6, 2008)(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Endangered and Threatened Species; Endangered Status for North Pacific and North Atlantic Right Whales). Photos of right whales available from ...
FWS announces 5-year status reviews
Posted on March 05, 200873 Fed. Reg. 11945 (Mar. 5, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Reviews of 58 Species in California and Nevada; Availability of Completed 5-Year Reviews in California, Nevada and Southern Oregon) click here for ....
NOAA seeks comments on potential listing of loggerhead sea turtles
Posted on March 05, 200873 Fed. Reg 11849- (March 5, 2008)(Listing Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Designating Critical Habitat; 90-day Finding for a Petition to Reclassify the Loggerhead Turtle in the Western North Atlantic Ocean) click here for pdf SUMMARY: We, ...
NOAA announces revised recovery plan for Steller's sea lion
Posted on March 05, 200873 Fed. Reg. 11872 (Mar. 5, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Species; Revised Recovery Plan for Distinct Population Segments of Steller Sea Lion) SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability of the Final Revised ...
An Endangered Species Act Glossary
Posted on March 03, 2008So, you've been reading this blawg, but realized that you still don't know some of the terminology of the Endangered Species Act? No worries! This page, its internal links, and the left column links on the ESAblawg Home Page (see Notable ESA ...
Polar bears ? an unfortunate policy proxy.
Posted on March 02, 2008Stakeholders continue to debate whether or not the Bush Administration should list the polar bear as a threatened species. See FWS proposed rule. But the reason for the intense discussion of this topic is the potential for the ESA's powerful ...
FWS proposes revised Lynx habitat
Posted on February 28, 200873 Fed. Reg. 10860 (Feb. 28, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Critical Habitat for the Contiguous United States Distinct Population Segment of the Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)) SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...
FWS "delists" a segment of the wolf population
Posted on February 27, 200873 Fed. Reg. 10514-10560 (Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Rule Designating the Northern Rocky Mountain Population of Gray Wolf as a Distinct Population Segment and Removing This Distinct Population Segment From the Federal List ....
FWS announces status review on Sage Grouse, and two new Habitat Conservation Plans make news
Posted on February 26, 200873 Fed. Reg. 10218-10219 (Feb. 26, 2008) (Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of Status Review for the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) as Threatened or Endangered) SUMMARY: “We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...
Panthers vs. ORVs
Posted on February 25, 2008From the Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008 Palm Beach Post...Panther Safety at heart of fight over off-road vehicles. "Off-road vehicles were prohibited in 2000 in much of the region north of Interstate 75, known as Alligator Alley. But preserve ...
Case summaries: owls critical habitat, RICO-related elephants, delta smelt (yet again), and butterflies
Posted on February 25, 2008Arizona Cattle Growers Association v. Kempthorne, 2008 WL 435488 (D.Ariz., Feb. 4, 2008)(upholding Mexican spotted owl critical habitat designation by FWS). BACKGROUND: This case arose from the Fish and Wildlife Service's promulgation of the Final ...
FWS proposes "non-essential experimental population" of Rio Grande silvery minnows (yes, I'll explain...)
Posted on February 24, 200873 Fed. Reg. 9755-9756 (Feb. 22, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Establishment of a Nonessential Experimental Population of Rio Grande Silvery Minnow in the Big Bend Reach of the Rio Grande in Texas) SUMMARY: "We, the U.S. ...
ESAblawg gets write up in the Palm Beach Post online
Posted on February 22, 2008From Seeing Green, with Christine Stapleton, on PalmBeachPost.com Green Day: February 22, 2008, 08:30 AM Forget how you feel about lawyers. Today, check out ESAblawg.com - “A legal blog promoting thoughtful discussion of the Endangered Species ...
Why bother blawging...?
Posted on February 22, 2008So why do I bother blawging? After all, pessimism gets the better of me sometimes, as I read the scary science and predictions related to climate change. Maybe the oceans really are dying, as the Los Angeles Time reported today. See, ...
American Bird Conservancy v. FCC: D.C. Circuit orders reconsideration of cell phone tower rules to address bird collisions
Posted on February 21, 2008American Bird Conservancy v. FCC, No. 06-1165 (Feb. 19, 2008) SUMMARY: "The American Bird Conservancy and Forest Conservation Council petition for review of an order by the Commission denying in part and dismissing in part their petition ...
Eighth Circuit upholds Corps operations along Missouri River
Posted on February 21, 2008In re: Operation of the Missouri River System Litigation,, No. 07-1149 (8th Cir. Feb. 8, 2008)(affirming lower court, upholding U.S. Army Corps operations along Missouri River.) BACKGROUND: In numerous federal courts, South Dakota, Nebraska, ....
AFRC v. Hall: Wanna sue over a 5-year review? Sorry, no can do.
Posted on February 21, 2008American Forest Resource Council v. Hall, Civ. No. 07-0484 (D.D.C. Feb. 5, 2008)(a 5-year status report, leading to no change in a species status, was not subject to judicial review.) BACKGROUND: For many years, the Plaintiffs, American Forest ...
Delisting the Brown Pelican
Posted on February 20, 200873 Fed. Reg. 9408- 9433 (Feb. 20, 2008) (Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Petition Finding and Proposed Rule To Remove the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Proposed ...
Plants only partly protected by ESA
Posted on February 19, 2008Pursuant to the ESA, §9, “take” of animal species is prohibited. Take has further been defined to include harm and harassment of animals. Plants, however, receive significantly less protection pursuant to the ESA. As FWS Virginia field ...
FWS proposes listing of Hawaiian plant, Phyllostegia hispida, and requests public comments.
Posted on February 19, 200873 Fed. Reg. 9078 (Feb. 19, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Phyllostegia hispida (No Common Name) as Endangered Throughout Its Range) Click here for a fact sheet from the State of Hawaii Click here for photos of ...
Border security vs. wildlife?
Posted on February 14, 2008Founders' Note: Announcing the first blawg entry by an ESAblawg Contributor. Pete David, a former colleague -- and still a friend -- is a wildlife biologist and consultant living in New Mexico, and he will be periodically contributing to the ...
FWS revises critical habitat for Peirson?s milk vetch
Posted on February 14, 200873 Fed. Reg. 8748-8785 (FWS revises critical habitat for Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii (Peirson’s Milk-Vetch); Final Rule) SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and ...
FWS designates critical habitat for Berberis nevinii
Posted on February 13, 200873 Fed. Reg. 8412-8440 (Feb. 13, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Berberis nevinii (Nevin’s barberry)) SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are designating critical habitat ...
President's budget ups NOAA funding for climate change... Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act gains new cosponsor
Posted on February 12, 2008In a Feb. 4, 2008 press release, NOAA announced that "President Bush today released a fiscal year 2009 budget for NOAA that includes significant increases to implement the President’s Ocean Initiative, to maintain critical weather forecasting ...
Responding to Court ruling, NOAA Fisheries announces final rule on Oregon Coast coho salmon
Posted on February 12, 200873 Fed. Reg. 7815-7873 (Feb. 11, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Species: Final Threatened Listing Determination, Final Protective Regulations, and Final Designation of Critical Habitat for the Oregon Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit of Coho Salmon; ...
FWS seeking comments on Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep critical habitat and taxonomy
Posted on February 12, 200873 Fed. Reg. 6684-6689 (Feb. 5, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) and Proposed Taxonomic Revision Photo from Nevada Fish & ...
NMFS (and FWS) critique Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in joint report on National Forest Plan
Posted on February 12, 200873 Fed. Reg. 7260-7261 (Feb. 7, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Species: Program Review for Section 7 Counterpart Regulations National Fire Plan Activities) SUMMARY: “The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability of a joint ...
FWS finds listing of Gunnison?s prairie dog is warranted, but precluded, for a significant portion of the species range
Posted on February 11, 200873 Fed. Reg. 6660-6684 (Feb. 5, 2008)(Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Gunnison’s Prairie Dog as Threatened or Endangered) SUMMARY: "We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), ...
Is an ESA exemption coming soon to a Pacific Theater near you?
Posted on February 10, 2008For years, environmentalists have been suing the U.S. Navy over the effects of naval sonar training upon whales and other protected marine mammals and endangered species. See, e.g., NRDC Press Release. To some extent, the suits are focusing ...
Add the Longfin smelt to the Sacramento delta pile
Posted on February 10, 2008According to the San Diego Union-Tribune environmentalist press releases, and Bay Area Indymedia, the California Fish and Game Commission in San Diego voted 3-0 on February 7, 2008 to designate the longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), as a ...
FWS revisits finding on Bonneville cutthroat trout
Posted on February 10, 200873 Fed. Reg. 7236-7237 (Feb. 7, 2008) (12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki utah) as Threatened or Endangered) SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the opening of a ...
FWS notice regarding Devils River minnow rulemaking
Posted on February 10, 200873 Fed. Reg. 7237-7242 (February 7, 2008)(Notice re: Designation of Critical Habitat for the Devils River Minnow) SUMMARY: “We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the comment period on the proposed designation of ...
No trash talk at ESAblawg!
Posted on February 04, 2008"Garbage in, garbage out." It a phrase often used by computer / IT geeks, but it applies equally to bloggers. (And they, too, are computer geeks!) Consider this phrase an important reminder to you, the reader. If you've ...
New FWS rule provides ESA protection for 6 foreign bird species
Posted on February 04, 200873 Fed. Reg. 3146-3179 (Jan. 18, 2008). Final Rule To List Six Foreign Birds as Endangered. SUMMARY: "We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered status for six foreign avian species under the Endangered Species Act ...
Forest Service nears contempt, and court threatens prison for Department of Agriculture official
Posted on February 01, 2008Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics v. U.S. Forest Service, 2008 WL 110602 (D.Mont., Jan. 11, 2008)(Judge Molloy)(agency failure to meet deadlines deemed deliberate, triggering evidentiary contempt hearing.) BACKGROUND: The ...
What does climate change mean for hibernating species?
Posted on February 01, 2008Each day brings another news bite about the potential effects of climate change on species. Today, National Geographic reported that global warming is creating extinction risks for hibernators. See also, National Geographic (Feb. 2, ...
As if the Delta smelt wasn't enough... Chinook collapse in Sacramento Delta
Posted on January 31, 2008For Californians wrestling with how to manage the needs of the Delta smelt and the need for regional water deliveries, (see ESAblawg, Dec.14, 2007) the difficulties in the Sacramento Delta keep getting worse. According to a January 30, 2008 press ...
Gray wolf experimental population rule announced; lawsuit follows
Posted on January 31, 2008U.S. Department of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revision of Special Regulation for the Central Idaho and Yellowstone Area Nonessential Experimental Populations of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rocky ...
The Preservation Predicament
Posted on January 29, 2008On the front page of today’s (Jan. 29, 2008) Science section, the New York Times discussed “The Preservation Predicament.” Echoing concepts previously discussed in this blawg, the Gray Lady tackled the green dilemma; namely, how to manage and ...
Deep coral: a future listed species?
Posted on January 23, 2008Perhaps due to the passions of recreational snorkelers and divers worldwide, threats to tropical coral receives substantial attention, contributing to Endangered Species Act listing determinations for elkhorn and staghorn coral species. But ...
Severed deer heads in the Florida Keys?
Posted on January 22, 2008Once again justifying the criminal provisions of the ESA (see also Jan. 18, 2008 ESAblawg "Harassing a manatee"), multiple Florida newspapers today reported unusual killings of the endangered Key deer. According to the Bradenton ...
Federal court rejects decision not to list greater sage grouse
Posted on January 19, 2008Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Forest Service, 2007 WL 4287476 (D.Idaho, Dec. 4, 2007)(reversing agency decision that listing of greater sage grouse was not warranted.) Sage-grouse populations have been in significant ...
Harassing a manatee = prison
Posted on January 18, 2008From an AP wire story, reported online by News4jax.com: Two men who harassed a manatee in a canal, videotaped the encounter and posted it on a Web site were sentenced to prison Friday, after pleading guilty to violating the federal Endangered ....
Has climate change jeopardized the ESA?
Posted on January 18, 2008Now that Al Gore won an Oscar, debates over climate change rage. But what, exactly, does climate charge portend for the Endangered Species Act? According to the Christian Science Monitor, the designation of critical habitat for elkhorn and ...
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