Endangered Species Law & Policy

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently issued (pdf) a proposed rule to remove Eureka Valley evening-primrose (Oenothera avita ssp. eurekensis) and Eureka dune grass (Swallenia alexandrae) from the federal list of endangered species. The Service’s proposed rule follows its 12-month finding on the Pacific Legal Foundation’s petition to delist the species.

Eureka Valley evening-primrose and Eureka dune grass are endemic to three dune systems in the Eureka Valley, located in Inyo County, California. Eureka Valley is managed by the National Park Service (Park Service) because it is located within federally designated wilderness areas of Death Valley National Park.

At the time of listing, the primary threats to Eureka Valley evening-primrose and Eureka dune grass were identified as off-highway vehicle activity at the Eureka dunes, as well as impacts from camping associated with such off-highway activities. The Service determined that these threats have been ameliorated by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Park Service actions, including habitat protections and ongoing management of off-highway activities. According to the Service, remaining potential threats, including predation, stochastic events, climate change, and competition with Russian thistle, may be causing some stress to certain populations of the species, but these potential impacts do not rise to a level that warrants listing either species as threatened.

The two species were originally listed as endangered on April 26, 1978. On May 18, 2010, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a petition requesting that the Service delist Eureka Valley evening-primrose and Eureka dune grass, based on the Service’s analysis and recommendations in its 2007 five-year status review for the species. On March 27, 2013, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging the Service’s failure to issue the required 12-month finding. The Service’s issuance of its 12-month finding came pursuant to a settlement agreement and revised court order in that litigation.