Endangered Species Law & Policy

On January 20, 2025, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) will publish a positive 90-day finding on a 2016 petition (Petition) to delist the golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) (GCWA). The decision comes on the heels of the agency’s recent recommendation to downlist the GCWA from endangered to threatened. Pursuant to Endangered Species Act section 4 and relevant implementing regulations, the Service will receive information from the public to inform a more detailed status review, and will publish a 12-month finding in which the agency will make a final determination on whether delisting is, in fact, warranted.

As we have previously reported, the Service has twice denied the Petition at the 90-day finding stage, finding that the Petition did not present substantial scientific and commercial information indicating delisting may be warranted. Each of these denials were challenged in federal court and, ultimately, vacated and remanded to the agency for further review. The latest negative 90-day finding, which was vacated and remanded by the U.S District Court for the Western District of Texas, is the subject of an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.