Posts from October 2012

In a decision with important implications for the intersection of water rights and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the federal district court in Santa Ana, California upheld the designation of critical habitat for the Santa Ana Sucker (catostomus santaanae) in Southern California. (A .pdf copy of the court's decision is available here.) The ruling is the latest in a decade-long fight over critical habitat for the fish that some have dubbed Southern California’s delta smelt. Louis Sahagun, Court Upholds Habitat Protection for Santa Ana Sucker, Los Angeles Times (Oct. 24 ...

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Posted in Conservation

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has released a public draft recovery plan for the distinct population segment (DPS) of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that occupies California's South-Central Coast.  NMFS announced the availability of the draft recovery plan and issued a request for comments in the Federal Register (pdf).  Steelhead are anadromous fish that spawn in coastal watersheds, rear in freshwater or estuarine habitats, and migrate to the ocean for the balance of their lives.  The South-Central Coast DPS extends from south of San Luis Obispo in the south to ...

Posted in Litigation

On October 22, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) abused its discretion when it issued a biological opinion (BiOp) and incidental take statement for the Ruby Pipeline Project, and ordered the Service to prepare a revised BiOp.  Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, No. 10-72356 (9th Cir. Oct. 22, 2012) (pdf). 

Specifically, the court held that the Service's "no jeopardy" and "no adverse modification" to critical habitat determinations relied on protective measures that are not ...

Posted in Listing

On October 18, 2012, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition (pdf) requesting that the California Fish and Game Commission list the Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) as endangered or threatened throughout its range in California.  The petition states that the bat is in widespread decline throughout the western United States, and that the bat is "severely threatened by a combination of disturbance of cave and mine sites, loss of mine and cave habitat to mining, logging and urban development, white-nose syndrome and other factors."  The next step in ...

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Tags: Listing
Posted in Legislation

Recently, House Representatives John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton, CA), Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento, CA), George Miller (D-Martinez, CA), and Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena, CA) introduced H.R. 6484 (pdf), a bill entitled the SAFE Levee Act. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to local interests for levee stability improvements within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of water conveyance options being considered in the Bay Delta ...

Posted in Legislation

Part I: Assembly Bill 2402 (Huffman)

On September 25, 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2402 and Senate Bill 1148, which make a number of changes to the Fish and Game Code, into law.  AB 2402 was sponsored by Assemblyman Jared Huffman and SB 1148 by Senator Pavely and these bills will implement a number of recommendations that emerged from a Strategic Vision process for the Department of Fish and Game and the Fish and Game Commission that took place during 2011 and 2012.  SB 1148 will be discussed in Part II of this update.

The key provisions of AB 2402 are described below.

  • Section 8 ...
Posted in Litigation

Previously, we reported on the latest chapter in the decade-long dispute between environmental groups, federal agencies, and pesticide manufacturers over the impact of pesticides on the Pacific Northwest’s listed salmon populations.  The next chapter is scheduled for October 24, 2012, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will hear oral argument in DowAgrosciences LLC v. National Marine Fisheries Service. In that case, a consortium of pesticide manufacturers are arguing that a Biological Opinion (BiOp) issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service ...

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Posted in Court Decisions

Last week, environmental advocacy groups celebrated a victory in a decade-long fight over the proper balance between agricultural and environmental interests in the Pacific Northwest. On October 1, in Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides v. EPA, the federal district court for the Western District of Washington denied the defendant’s effort to dismiss the lawsuit thereby permitting plaintiffs' citizen suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to move forward. (A .pdf copy of the court's decision is ...

Posted in Delisting

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposed rule (pdf) to remove the valley elderberry Longhorn beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus) from the list of threatened species.

The delisting will be significant for landowners, flood control agencies, and irrigation districts throughout the Central Valley of California because they will no longer be required to seek prior authorization for the incidental take of the beetle.  The beetle, as its name suggests, depends upon its host plant species, the valley elderberry, which grows along streams, rivers ...

Posted in Legislation

Governor Brown signed a bill into law that generally makes it unlawful to permit or allow a dog to pursue a bear or bobcat at any time. The bill, introduced as SB 1221 by State Senator Ted Lieu, is intended to curb the use of dogs to hunt bears or bobcats.  Debate over the bill divided both houses of the California legislature.  David Siders reported that "[t]he legislation pitted wildlife advocates against hunters at the California Capitol – the former raising concerns about the humane treatment of animals, the latter about urban elitism" (Sacramento Bee, Sept. 27, 2012).

The bill to ban ...

Nossaman’s Endangered Species Law & Policy blog focuses on news, events, and policies affecting endangered species issues in California and throughout the United States. Topics include listing and critical habitat decisions, conservation and recovery planning, inter-agency consultation, and related developments in law, policy, and science. We also inform readers about regulatory and legislative developments, as well as key court decisions.

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