Endangered Species Law & Policy

In Conservation Council for Hawaii v. Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (D. Haw. Apr. 24, 2026), a federal district court in Hawai’i applied Federal Rule of Evidence 702 regarding the admissibility of expert testimony in the context of a lawsuit alleging unauthorized “take” of species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The decision reflects the effort of the trial judge to balance the gatekeeping function of the judiciary, which is intended to prevent parties from blurring the line between lay and expert testimony, and the notion that parties are entitled to ...

On December 17, 2012, the National Association of Home Builders, the Olympia Master Builders, the Home Builder Association of Greater Austin, and the Texas Salamander Coalition, Inc., filed a lawsuit (pdf) against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ken Salazar, in his official capacity, alleging that when the Service entered into stipulated settlements with WildEarth Guardians (pdf) and the Center for Biological Diversity (pdf) establishing procedures and deadlines for reviewing the listing and critical habitat determinations for 251 candidate species ...