Endangered Species Law & Policy

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has prepared a 90-day finding (pdf) under the Endangered Species Act, in which it concludes that list of the ‘I’iwi (Vestiaria coccinea) as threatened or endangered  may be warranted, according to an article in Greenwire by April Reese.  The species, also known as the scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper, is endemic to Hawaii, and its known distribution is limited to the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai.

The Service received a petition to list the species on August 25, 2010, from Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, and Dr ...

President Obama announced a government consolidation plan that would involve transferring parts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ("NOAA"), which is currently part of the Department of Commerce, to the Department of the Interior.  NOAA oversees marine wildlife, including endangered marine species.  The Fish and Wildlife Service, which is an agency within Interior, oversees freshwater species and land-dwelling wildlife.  In his remarks regarding the proposed consolidation, President Obama, suggested that having the two agencies that conduct oversight ...

On January 12, 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found, after completing a 90-day review, that a petition to list the Humboldt marten (Martes americana humboldtensis) as an endangered or threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act presented substantial scientific information indicating that listing may be warranted.  The Service will now conduct a comprehensive status review of the species to determine whether listing of the Humboldt marten is warranted.  The Service will be accepting comments on the Humboldt marten until March 12, 2012. 

For almost 50 years ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) have approved the San Diego County Water Authority’s (Authority) Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP), which is expected to contribute to the conservation of San Diego County’s natural resources, while providing a more efficient endangered species permitting process for the Authority. The 55-year plan satisfies the requirements for incidental take authorization under California’s Natural Community Planning Act and the federal ...

In September 2011, we reported that a federal district court made a rare finding of agency bad faith in litigation challenging a biological opinion and reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) issued with respect to the effects of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project in California on the threatened delta smelt.  The finding came on the heels of a decision by the court granting injunctive relief to the State of California and public water agencies and agricultural interests, enjoining implementation of a component of the RPA previously determined to be arbitrary and capricious, which is referred to as the Fall X2 Action.  Following the bad faith finding, the House of Representatives held an oversight hearing, and a number of Representatives expressed their concern about the conduct of the federal agency personnel.

Rather than launch an Inspector General's investigation, the Service decided to hire an engineering and designing consulting firm, Atkins, to oversee a review of the finding of bad faith.  At the same time, the Service vehemently defended the conduct of its personnel, going so far as to give a merit award to one of the two personnel charged with bad faith less than a month after the court's decision and well before the outside review was completed.  The decision to contract directly with an outside organization to conduct the review allowed the Service to control the scope of the review including the questions posed to the reviewers, determine what materials the reviewers would be provided, and limit the panel to communicating only with the Department of the Interior during the course of the review.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced this week a 90-day finding (pdf) on a petition (pdf) submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity to list the Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate critical habitat. As reported in the Sacramento Bee and the Modesto Bee, the Service stated that there is enough evidence to consider protecting the fox based on its small population, threats from off-road vehicles and disease transmission from dogs.

The fox, considered one of the ...

As Peter Fimrite reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, this week a lone gray wolf (Canis lupis) crossed the border from Oregon into California.  This marks the first time since 1924 that a wolf was seen in California.  The species was hunted to extinction within the state, due at least in part to concerns about the risks it posed to humans.  The species is listed (pdf) as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.  It is not listed under the California Endangered Species Act.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently announced that the Fish and Wildlife Service would remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) population in the Great Lakes region from the list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The species was listed in 1967 under the predecessor to the ESA.  The final rule delisting the gray wolf is available here (pdf).  The Service released the proposed rule (pdf) on May 5, 2011.  The population of gray wolfs in the Great Lakes region is estimated (pdf) to include 2,921 wolves in Minnesota, 687 wolves in ...

Federal and state officials have issued proposed changes to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan’s (BDCP) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to address public comments concerning the language of the MOA and the need for meaningful public involvement in the BDCP process.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued the draft MOA on September 6, 2011 and requested public comments (pdf) by November 16, 2011. The MOA is intended to replace in its entirety an earlier memorandum of agreement that was executed in March 2009.

In ...

As recently reported by Matt Weiser of the Sacramento Bee, on December 15, 2011, the California Fish and Game Commission named the black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) a candidate species.  Under the California Endangered Species Act, the Department of Fish and Game now has 12 months to complete a status review of the species "based on the best scientific information available" and submit a report and listing recommendation to the Commission.  After receiving the Department's recommendation and all appropriate public comment at a public hearing, the Commission will ...