Endangered Species Law & Policy

We previously reported the Fish and Wildlife Service's intention to delist the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the State of Wyoming.  Today the Service announced "that the Wyoming population of gray wolves is recovered and no longer warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act."  A host of news outlets reported the announcement, including the New York Times (Aug. 31, 2012, by Feilicity Barringer).  Delisting of the gray wolf is controversial, but the species has been delisted in numerous parts of the upper mid-west and western United States.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has granted (pdf) a motion by appellees to dismiss an appeal pursued by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other organizations from an interim order enjoining one component of a reasonable and prudent alternative imposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service on operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project.  The order, which we reported on here, enjoined implementation of a water management action, referred to as the Fall X2 Action, which requires a combination of reservoir releases upstream from the ...

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) recently completed its initial evaluation (pdf) of a petition to list the gray wolf (Canis lupus) under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).  The Center for Biological Diversity, Big Wildlife, the Environmental Protection Information Center, and the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (collectively, Petitioners) submitted a petition for the listing to DFG on March 5, 2012.  DFG recommended the Fish and Game Commission (Commission) accept the petition for further consideration, finding that there is ...

The  Associated Press is reporting that the federal government intends to issue a final rule delisting the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming on August 31, 2012 (The Missoulian, Aug 14, 2012, by Ben Neary).  The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed (pdf) removal of the gray wolf in Wyoming from the list of endangered and threatened species on October 5, 2011, and reopened the comment period (pdf) on that proposal on May 1, 2012.

On August 13, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit laid to rest litigation that threatened to profoundly affect water and power supplies for 25 million people throughout the arid Southwest.

In Grand Canyon Trust v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (pdf), the Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is not required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) every year when it prepares an annual operating plan for the Glen Canyon Dam.

The court held ...

In a recent decision (pdf), the United States District Court for the District of Idaho remanded a determination (pdf) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list slickspot peppergrass (Lepidium papilliferum), a small, flowering plant in the mustard family, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.  The controversy  over the listing of the species has spanned more than a decade, resulting in numerous Service determinations and court orders.

Slickspot peppergrass is only found in portions of Idaho.  Idaho's Governor, Butch Otter, and others brought the case challenging the ...

An article was published today in the E&E Reporter entitled "Petitions for new species protection wobble balance in FWS settlement with environmentalists."  The article, authored by Allison Winter, provides an interesting lens through which to view the ongoing struggle between the federal wildlife agencies and environmental groups.  In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), Wild Earth Guardians, and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into a settlement agreement, which was subsequently approved by a federal court, obligating ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently announced a proposal to protect 40 different species native to Hawaii under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The Federal Register notice of the announcement can be found here (pdf).  The proposal encompasses 37 plant species, including herbs, shrubs, trees, and ferns, and three species of tree snails.  The species are native to the Hawaiian Islands of Moloka'i, Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, and Maui.  They are found in 11 different ecosystem types.

The Service's announcement also included critical habitat designation for 39 of the ...

Today Governor Brown and Secretary of the Interior Salazar announced plans to construct two tunnels to transport water under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in an effort to guarantee a stable water supply for Californians and contribute to the protection and recovery of the Delta ecosystem and at-risk species.  In a press release that accompanied the announcement, the federal and state officials stated "the parties expect to issue a draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan and corresponding Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for public review this fall."

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a 2-1 decision (pdf) affirming a lower court holding that plaintiff environmental groups lacked standing to challenge the renewal of certain water contracts by the Bureau of Reclamation and that other contract renewals by the Bureau were not subject to consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act because the renewals constituted non-discretionary actions outside the scope of the consultation requirement.

At issue in the case was the renewal of water contracts between the Bureau and two sets of ...