Endangered Species Law & Policy

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced it is listing the Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri) as endangered on an emergency  basis under the Endangered Species Act.  The agency decision (pdf) appears in the August 10, 2011 Federal Register.  The species "is currently known to occur at only a few small remote islands within the Florida Keys."  This current distribution is dramatically smaller than the historic distribution, according to the Service: "the Miami blue has undergone a substantial reduction in its historical range, with an estimated > 99 percent ...

On August 8, 2011, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed five fish species located in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.  The five fish species include the Cumberland darter (Etheostoma susanae), rush darter (Etheostoma phytophilum), yellowcheek darter (Etheostoma moorei), chucky madtom (Noturus crypticus), and laural dace (Chrosomus saylori).  All five fish species were previously identified on the Service's candidate list, which ...

The United States District Court for the District of Oregon issued a decision (pdf) invalidating the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) 2008 and 2010 biological opinions for operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) by the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation after the parties to the litigation challenging those decisions filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The court held that NMFS improperly made a no jeopardy determination with respect to certain listed salmonids on the basis of unidentified habitat mitigation measures.

The ...

On August 3, 2011, a federal judge upheld (pdf) a congressional budget rider that removed Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for gray wolves in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Utah. The legislation was included as part of the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011 (pdf) (H.R. 1473) (the Act), which was passed by Congress and signed by the President in April 2011. Section 1713 of the Act directed the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) to reissue a 2009 rule that removed ESA restrictions on the gray wolf, except for in the state of ...

On July 27, 2011, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings announced that the Committee will "move forward" in the fall to examine the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in an effort to reauthorize the law.  Chairman Hastings issued his statement shortly after the House passed an amendment offered by Rep. Norm Dicks to the FY 2012 Interior Appropriations Bill that restored funding to the ESA's listing program.  The original spending bill would have eliminated funding for the processing of petitions, preparation of 12-month findings, and issuance of final rules ...

The journal Conservation Biology recently posted a forthcoming article on their website that I co-authored with Drs. Dennis Murphy and Kenneth Cummins entitled, A Critical Assessment of the Use of Surrogate Species in Conservation Planning in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California (U.S.A.). The principle purpose of the article is to assess the use of surrogate species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Specifically, we examined the use of surrogate species, in the form of cross-taxon response-indicator species, that is, one species from which data are used to guide ...

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has suspended its letter of authorization (LOA) under Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) allowing the States of Oregon and Washington to lethally remove California sea lions caught eating endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River.  NMFS cited pending litigation in Federal court and limited sea lion activity for its decision, and invited the states to renew their request for an LOA in 2012.  NMFS’ decision comes in the wake of an agreement (see earlier post) between wildlife advocates and the two states to ...

On July 22, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) erred when it designated 143 acres of private property as critical habitat for the endangered San Diego fairy shrimp (Branchinecta sandiegonensis) based on a single observation of the shrimp on the property in 2001.

The question presented in Otay Mesa Property L.P. v. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, No. 10-5204, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14998 (D.C. Cir. July 22, 2011) was quite narrow: whether a single confirmed sighting of the endangered fairy shrimp in a ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) made a "warranted but precluded" finding (PDF) for the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis).  This finding means that the Service has determined that the whitebark pine should be listed, but that it will not currently list the species because there are other higher priority species in the queue and there is a lack of funding.  Therefore, the Service has added the whitebark pine to its candidates species list and will develop a proposed rule to list the species as priorities and funding allow. 

As we previously reported, the Natural Resources Defense ...

On July 12, 2011, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced that is strengthening a work plan to address a backlog in making listing determinations regarding numerous candidate species.  The work plan is part of a settlement agreement (Agreement) with WildEarth Guardians (WildEarth) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the two plaintiff groups that most frequently file suit on endangered species issues.  The Agreement builds on a multi-year work plan that the Service had previously filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in May.

The Service ...

In a settlement agreement (pdf) filed in federal court on July 5, 2011, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) agreed to issue a final rule by November 15, 2011, likely revising the critical habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) to include waters off the U.S. West coast. 

NMFS initially designated critical habitat for the leatherback in 1979, issuing a final rule (pdf) designating critical habitat only in waters adjacent to Sandy Point Beach, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.  In 2007, the Center for Biological Diversity

On June 30, 2011, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a revised recovery plan (PDF) for the Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina).  Most people are familiar with the spotted owl because of the intense media attention it received during the 1990s when a fight erupted over whether to continue to allow timber harvesting in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, which conservationists argued was causing loss of critical habitat for the species.  The Service first issued a recovery plan for the spotted owl in 2008, and numerous parties challenged that plan in court.  In ...

On June 30, 2011, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dan Ashe as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Ashe has held various positions with the Service over the past 15 years.  His immediate predecessor was Rowan Gould, who served as Acting Director beginning in February 2010 when then-Director Sam Hamilton passed away.  Though the position requires Senate confirmation, it has frequently been filled by career Service employees.  The Department of the Interior announced Ashe's confirmation in a press release, available here.

Over 38 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced the Government Litigation Savings Act (H.R. 1996) to amend provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) to limit recovery of attorneys’ fees and other expenses in cases brought against federal agencies.

EAJA was passed in 1980 to help individuals, groups or businesses with limited access to financial resources defend themselves against harmful government actions. Under EAJA, plaintiffs who prevail on their claims against the federal government may seek recovery of attorneys’ fees and certain ...

In a closely watched and hotly contested challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to list the Polar Bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the final listing rule at 73 Fed. Reg. 28,212 (May 15, 2008) (pdf), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a 116-page opinion (pdf) in which it upheld both the decision to list the bear as threatened, not endangered, and the Service's interpretation of "endangered species" as a species that is "on the brink of extinction."

As previously reported here, the Center for ...

A plan to remove four dams along the Klamath River, which flows from Oregon through California to the Pacific Ocean, has major proponents including the federal government, the States of California and Oregon, and a number of environmental groups.  But in a June 13, 2011 report (pdf), an independent review panel has raised serious questions regarding the likelihood that the dam removal proposal will achieve the principal conservation goal of increasing the population of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Klamath River system.

The panel acknowledged the potential ...

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona entered summary judgment (pdf) for the United States Forest Service in a case filed by Defenders of Wildlife and other plaintiffs alleging the Forest Service failed to fulfill its duty to conserve under section 7(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The case focused on efforts to conserve the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) by reintroducing an experimental population of the species into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area, which includes portions of east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico ...

The wildfires in Arizona have raged through forests and burned down homes, but as recently reported by the Washington Post, three packs of endangered Mexican gray wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) appear to have been spared.  (Story by Associated Press, June 23, 2011).  Firefighters have spotted two of the three packs moving around with their pups, and researchers were able to confirm the survival of at least three wolves from the third pack via radio collar data.  It is currently unknown whether pups from the third pack have survived the fires, but a spokesman for the ...

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced its determination to retain the listing of the Oregon Coast (OC) Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The agency's determination was published (pdf) in the Federal Register on June 20, 2011.  NMFS first proposed listing of the Oregon coast coho salmon in 1995 and first listed (pdf) the species in 1998.  The status of the species has been the subject of considerable controversy and a number of lawsuits.  Most recently, a 2008 ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced (pdf) that it has re-opened the comment period on its August 18, 2009 proposed designation of critical habitat for the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) under the Endangered Species Act.  The Service is reopening the comment period to allow interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed addition of 4,945 acres of critical habitat for the Santa Rosa Plain Unit as described in the January 18, 2011 notice (pdf).  In total, the Service is proposing to ...

On June 16, 2011, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a draft of its scientific integrity policy (pdf).  The policy comes in response to President Obama’s March 9, 2009 memorandum directing the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to consult with relevant executive departments and agencies to recommend a plan to achieve the highest level of integrity in all aspects of the executive branch’s involvement with scientific and technological processes.  Director of OSTP John Holdren issued further guidance on scientific integrity in a ...

As reported on June 15, 2011 by John Ellis and Mark Grossi of the Fresno Bee, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied a motion for temporary restraining order that sought to order the Department of the Interior to lift pumping restrictions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.  Judge Wanger ruled that the pumping restrictions were necessary to protect migrating fall-run Chinook salmon, explaining that under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) must protect all fish, not just endangered species.  ...

On June 13, 2011, President Obama and Vice President Biden announced the Administration’s Campaign to Cut Waste. As part of that campaign, the Administration is seeking to eliminate a multitude of websites the government now maintains.  Both the President and Vice President singled out a website dedicated to the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) – a species native to the southwest and listed (pdf) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act -- as one example of the type of government waste they intend to eliminate.  The media has reported frustration in response to the ...

The House Committee on Natural Resources is set to hold hearings on a bill that will allow for the lethal removal of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) caught eating endangered salmon and steelhead just below the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. The Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act (H.R. 946), introduced in March 2011, would allow the states of Washington and Oregon, and four local tribal organizations, to get year-long leases to lethally remove a limited number of sea lions that prey on salmon and steelhead listed as endangered under the Endangered ...

On June 8, 2011, Senator Inhofe (R-OK) filed an amendment (SA 429 (pdf)) to S. 782, the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011, that would amend section 4 of the Endangered Species Act to exempt the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) from protection under the Act.  According to Inhofe, if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were to list the lesser prairie-chicken, it would greatly restrict the development of wind energy in Oklahoma.

Senator Inhofe's proposed amendment comes on the heels of Senator Cornyn's proposed amendment (SA 396 (pdf)) to S. 782 ...

On June 7, 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a final rule under section 4 of the federal Endangered Species Act revising the critical habitat designated for the Pecos assiminea (Assiminea pecos), and designating critical habitat for the Roswell springsnail (Pyrgulopsis roswellensis), Koster's springsnail (Juturnia kosteri), and Noel's amphipod (Gammarus desperatus).  The designated critical habitat for the four endangered species, which occur primarily in sinkholes, springs, and associated spring runs and wetland habitats, is ...

Senator Cornyn (R-Texas) has filed an amendment to S. 782 (pdf), a bill entitled the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011, that would block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) as endangered.

The amendment would make good on half of the proposal of House Republicans from West Texas and southeastern New Mexico earlier this Spring (blogged about here) to use legislation to exempt the lizard and the lesser prarie chicken from the Endangered Species Act.

Opponents of the proposed rule (pdf) to list ...

The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed (pdf) revising the current critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by extending the current designation in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands out to the 500-meter depth contour, including Sand Island at Midway Islands; and by designating six new areas in the main Hawaiian Islands, including Kaula Island, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui nui, and Hawaii.  One article reporting on the proposal states that "[t]he Hawaiian monk seal is facing some ...

In a decision that addresses a number of the more difficult issues the federal wildlife agencies grapple with during the section 7 consultation process, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona recently struck down (pdf) a biological opinion (pdf) issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service for ongoing operations at Fort Huachuca that affect species in the upper San Pedro River area of southeastern Arizona. The court also held that the Department of the Army violated its section 7 obligation by relying on the legally flawed biological opinion.

Fort Huachuca is a major military base in southeastern Arizona. Base operations affect two listed species, the endangered Huachuca water umbel (Lilaeopsis schaffneriana ssp. recurva) and the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). The court identified two categories of impacts to the species: direct and indirect effects of activities within the Fort’s boundaries and indirect effects on a portion of the San Pedro River including groundwater and surface water consumption.

On June 1, 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided notice of a proposed revision to the Riverside fairy shrimp's designated critical habitat that would add approximately  2,678 acres, raising the total designated critical habitat to approximately 2,984 acres.  The additional lands proposed to be designated are located in Ventura, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties in California.

The proposed revision is to a 2005 final critical habitat designation that identified 306 acres.  The notice recently issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...

The states of Oregon and Washington have agreed to suspend the lethal removal of California sea lions caught eating endangered salmon and steelhead just below the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. The sea lion removal program had been implemented to reduce the number of sea lions that prey on salmon and steelhead listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the sea lions have a significant effect on the ability of the fish stocks to recover. The agreement was reached between wildlife advocates, including the ...

The Fish and Wildlife Service is initiating a five-year review of 53 species under the Endangered Species Act.  The subject-species consist mainly of various frogs, butterflies, moths, snakes and lizards, including the El Segundo blue butterfly, San Francisco garter snake, California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander (Central), Western snowy plover, Longhorn fairy shrimp, and Vernal pool fairy shrimp.  Several plant species are also under review.  The purpose of the five-year review is to determine whether any of the species should be removed from the endangered ...

The White House recently unveiled plans to improve the federal regulatory system developed in response to an Executive Order issued by President Obama, which include a proposal by the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to improve administration of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The proposal is reproduced in Departmental workplans submitted by both Interior (pdf) and Commerce (pdf).  It includes the following actions:

• Minimize requirements for written descriptions of critical habitat boundaries in favor of map- and internet-based ...

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has authorized (pdf) the states of Washington and Oregon to lethally remove California sea lions that eat thousands of endangered salmon and steelhead just below the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. According to NMFS, the small number of sea lions that prey on salmon and steelhead listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) have a significant effect on the ability of the fish stocks to recover. While the population of California sea lions is considered healthy and stable, the population of salmon and steelhead ...

On May 17, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia stayed its approval of a proposed settlement agreement (Agreement) aimed at expediting findings related to petitions to list 251 species. The Center for Biological Diversity (Center) opposed approval of the Agreement after being left out of the negotiation process.

As we previously reported, plaintiff WildEarth Guardians (Guardians) entered into the Agreement with the Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), under which the Service agreed to a six-year work plan to address ...

On May 11, Representatives Nunes, Denham, and McCarthy introduced H.R. 1837 (pdf) "to address water-related concerns on the San Joaquin River, and for other purposes."  A section by section analysis is available here (pdf).

Title I of the bill includes a number of proposed amendments to the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), 106 Stat. 4706.  Among other things, it eliminates non-native fish including striped bass from the list of "anadromous fish" that are protected by the CVPIA and it facilitates water transfers.  This title also:

• specifies that all Endangered ...

On May 4, 2011, the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior withdrew (pdf) a controversial 2007 opinion (pdf) (the Opinion) that was recently criticized and rejected by federal courts in Montana and Arizona.  The Opinion provided an interpretation of the phrase "in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range" (the SPR phrase). This phrase is key for listing determinations under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), as an "endangered species" is defined as "any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service") announced that the mountain plover, a small native bird inhabiting open, flat lands with sparse vegetation, does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

Mountain plovers breed in the western Great Plains and Rocky Mountain States from extreme southern Canada to northern Mexico.  Within the United States, most breeding occurs in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado; fewer breeding birds occur in Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.  Mountain plovers winter mostly in California, southern ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced that it has developed a six-year work plan that would allow the Service to systematically review and address the needs of more than 250 species currently listed as candidate species for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The work plan is part of a settlement agreement (PDF) between the Service and WildEarth Guardians (WildEarth) that will be filed in a consolidated case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

While the Candidate List was envisioned as an administrative tool that would identify species for which the Service would shortly make listing decisions, the dramatic increase of listing petitions and lawsuits has led to a backlog of species on the list. The Service has received petitions to list more than 1,230 species in the last four years – nearly as many petitions as the amount of species listed under the ESA in the previous 30 years. The work plan provides a schedule for making listing determinations for current candidates species, and it includes some species that have been petitioned for protection under the ESA.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently announced that it was opening a 30-day public comment period on updated information for the draft revised recovery plan for the threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). This announcement follows the completion of a new computerized modeling tool developed for assessing spotted owl habitat quality and population dynamics. It also predicts the effectiveness of different conservation measures.

The new modeling tool synthesizes more than 20 years of demographic data regarding the spotted owl ...

On March 1-2, 2011, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Marine Fisheries Service held a two-day conference entitled "Demystifying National Flood Insurance Program Alignment with the Endangered Species Act."  The agenda for the conference and associated materials are provided below. 

Full Conference Agenda (PDF)

Glossary of Terms (PDF)

Compliance Options (PDF)

Importance of Healthy Floodplains by NMFS (PDF)

The Importance of Floodplains to Functioning River Ecosystems (PDF)

NMFS FEMA FAQ (PDF)

NMFS RPA #3 (PDF)

Additional Resources (PDF)

On May 5, 2011, an ad hoc panel appointed by the National Research Council (NRC) issued a report titled The Review of the Use of Science and Adaptive Management in California’s Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (pdf). The NRC is a division of the National Academies, and the panel it appointed developed the report in response to requests from the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior. The report provides an independent scientific assessment of the draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) issued November 18, 2010 .

In general, while recognizing the BDCP’s ...

On April 20, 2011, the San Francisco Superior Court issued a peremptory writ of mandate (PDF) enjoining the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) from implementing a pilot program to facilitate recovery of the Klamath Basin coho salmon (Coho) and compliance by farmers with the DFG's Lake and Streambed Alteration Program (referred to as the Shasta Valley and Scott River Watershed-Wide Permitting Programs).

In March 2005, the California Fish and Game Commission listed the Coho as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).  Therefore, the taking of Coho is illegal without authorization from DFG.

On February 11, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded (pdf) the decision of a lower court, finding that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's implementation of a reasonable and prudent alternative may have resulted in a taking requiring just compensation under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Pursuant to congressional authorization issued in 1902 and 1905, the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) manages and operates the Klamath Irrigation Project (Klamath Project), which provides water to approximately 240,000 acres of irrigable crop land, as well as to several national wildlife refuges in southern Oregon and Northern California.

A public rally to oppose the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's proposal to list the dunes sagebrush lizard (formerly known as the sand dune lizard) as endangered is being sponsored by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association in west Texas.  That proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Congressmen Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Mike Conway (R-TX). 

Both the PBPA and the Congressmen claim that the listing will cost jobs in the oil and gas industry by blocking exploration and extraction in counties on or near the Texas-New Mexico border for several years.  Advocates for the listing decision ...

The New York Times reported that the number of petitions to list a species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) received by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has skyrocketed in recent years.

"Over the last four years, a few environmental groups have requested that more than 1,230 species be listed, compared with the previous 12 years in which annual requests averaged only 20 species."

(The New York Times, April 20, 2011, by Todd Woody.)  The increase from an average of 20 petitions to an average of more than 300 petitions is certain to tax the ...

On April 20, 2011, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) issued its final management measures for the 2011 salmon fisheries season. The report, titled Preseason Report III: Analysis of Council-Adopted Regulatory Measures for 2011 Ocean Salmon Fisheries (pdf), covers the period of May 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012, and is the last in a series of three preseason reports prepared by the Council’s Salmon Technical Team to guide salmon fishery management off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. The report will be submitted to the National Marine Fisheries ...

This week the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designated (PDF) 3,013 square miles (nearly 2 million acres) of marine habitat in Alaska as critical habitat for the Cook Inlet beluga whale. NMFS listed the species as endangered (PDF) in 2008 under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Critical habitat was subsequently proposed (PDF) in 2009. The final rule includes several small changes to the areas proposed as critical habitat—most importantly, it excludes the Port of Anchorage for reasons relating to national security as well as portions of military lands.

The ...

As reported by a number of news outlets including The New York Times, Congress is poised to pass an appropriations bill (pdf) to fund the federal government for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2011, that includes a provision to remove the gray wolf from the list of threatened and endangered species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the states of Idaho and Montana.  The gray wolf would remain listed in Wyoming.  (The New York Times, April 13, 2011, by Felicity Barringer and John M. Broder.)

The relevant provision is section 1713 of the bill ...

A federal judge has denied a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and 10 conservation groups that would have lifted Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the gray wolf in Montana and Idaho. In the decision (pdf), U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy cited the court’s lack of authority to put only a portion of an endangered species’ population under state management. He reasoned that the District Court is still constrained by the ‘rule of law.’ No matter how useful a course of conduct might be to achieve a certain end, no matter ...