Posts from September 2013

As reported earlier today by Emily Yehle of Greenwire, if the U.S. Government fails to avoid a government shutdown before tomorrow, a number of federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of the Interior are planning to "pull the plug on their online presence."  (E&ENewsPM, Sept. 30, 2013).  You may ask, what other impacts will there be as a result of the impending government shutdown?  While, according to the Department of the Interior's website (pdf), as a general matter "Service employees will not continue to work" on court ordered ...

Posted in Listing

On September 24, 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) entered into a settlement agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, requiring the Service to determine whether to list nine species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The agreement covers three freshwater species, the bridled darter (Percina kusha, formerly Percina sp. cf. macrocephala), Panama City crayfish (Procambarus econfinae), and Suwannee moccasinshell mussel (Medionidus walkeri), which are found in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli), a New ...

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Tags: Listing

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently listed (pdf) the Jemez Mountains salamander (Piethodon neomexicanus) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service also recently published (pdf) a final rule listing the Texas golden gladecress (Leavenworthia texana) as endangered and the Neches River rose-mallow (Hibiscus dasycalyx) as threatened under the ESA.

The Jemez Mountains salamander is found only in the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico, in Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, and Sandoval Counties. The salamander is generally found around the rim of ...

Earlier this month, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) announced (pdf) the availability of its recovery plan (pdf) for the threatened southwest Alaska Distinct Population Segment of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni).  The recovery plan describes the status of the otter, its history, and a number of actions the Service believes will allow for the delisting of the otter.  With respect to the otter's declining status, the recovery plan states that "[t]he only identified threat factor that is judged to have a high importance to recovery is predation[,]" and ...

Posted in Listing

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has listed (pdf) the Neosho mucket (Lampsilis rafinesqueana) as endangered and the rabbitsfoot (Quadrula cylindrica cylindrica) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Both are species of freshwater mussels found in river systems in the eastern half of the United States.

The Service reported that of 16 historical populations of Neosho mucket, only nine remain extant, and of those all but one is declining in numbers.  The Neosho mucket has been extirpated from appriximately 62 percent of its historical range.  ...

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Tags: Listing
Posted in Delisting

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold three public hearings on its proposed rule to delist the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of endangered and threatened species. The first hearing is scheduled to occur on September 30, 2013 in Washington, DC. The second will be held on October 2 in Sacramento, California, and the third on October 4 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As we reported here, the comment period for the proposed rule has been extended to October 28, 2013. For further information regarding the proposed rule and its potential impacts on the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus ...

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Tags: Delisting
Posted in Consultation

In 2012, the Mill Fire burned almost 30,000 acres in California, destroying large areas of forest, including threatened Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) habitat.  Even after the Mill Fire was finally snuffed out, it continued to have a lasting impact on the environment, as the fire created hazardous conditions along roads and trails used by the public and the National Park Service.  

After preparing an Environmental Assessment and Biological Assessment, on April 23, 2013, the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) approved the Mill Fire Salvage ...

On August 20, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held (pdf) that appellants’ claims against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an alleged failure to take certain actions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with respect to the straight-horned markhor (Capra falconeri jerdoni) were moot. 

In 1976, the Service classified the markhor as endangered under the ESA. The species’ primary habitat is the Torghar Hills along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In response to the reduction of the markhor population, local tribal leaders formed ...

Posted in Court Decisions

In American Forest Resource Council v. Ashe, 1:12-cv-00111 (D.D.C. Sept. 5, 2013), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (Service) determination that the Washington, Oregon, and California (tri-state) population of the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) warrants listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a distinct population segment (DPS).

Under the ESA, three factors should be considered when determining whether a population constitutes a DPS: (1) the discreteness of the population segment in ...

Posted in Delisting

On September 4, 2013, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the public comment period regarding its proposed rule to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of endangered and threatened species, which was due to close on September 11, has been extended by 45 days through 11:59 p.m. on October 28, 2013.  For a discussion of the proposed rule and its potential impacts on the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), see our June 20, 2013 post available here.  You may also want to check out Sylvia Fallon's blog post on SWiTCHBOARD, which is available here.

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Tags: Delisting

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has proposed (pdf) downlisting the Santa Cruz cypress (Hesperocyparis abramsiana; previously listed as Cupressus abramsiana) from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The Service originally listed the Santa Cruz cypress as endangered in 1987, citing development-related threats to the species’ habitat as the reason for its decline. Officials also noted that alterations in the natural pattern of wildfires were having an adverse impact on the species’ population, as the Santa Cruz cypress relies on ...

On September 4, 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the Services) issued a proposal rule to amend the regulations governing consultation under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that would codify the practice of using surrogates to express the amount of extent of anticipated take in an incidental take statement issued concomitant with a biological opinion. The Services indicate that these changes are proposed to improve the flexibility and clarify the development of incidental take statements.

Section ...

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.

Stay Connected

RSS RSS Feed

Categories

Archives

View All Nossaman Blogs
Jump to Page

We use cookies on this website to improve functionality, enhance performance, analyze website traffic and to enable social media features. To learn more, please see our Privacy Policy and our Terms & Conditions for additional detail.