Endangered Species Law & Policy

On May 2, 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a 12-month finding concluding that, based on the best available scientific and commercial information, the endangered Lane Mountain milk-vetch (Astragalus jaegerianus), a plant found in a small portion of the central Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, should not be reclassified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.  The Service found that the "primary threats to Lane Mountain milk-vetch are habitat loss and disturbance from military training, OHV use, recreational mining, and the effects of climate change."  The Service also found that, as these significant threats extend throughout the plant's entire range, the Lane Mountain milk-vetch is in danger of extinction.  The Service's 12-month finding was issued pursuant to a settlement agreement between the Service and the Pacific Legal Foundation.