In a recent lawsuit filed Tuesday, conservation groups sued the US Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS), the Forest Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers, claiming that their approval of the PolyMet open-pit copper mine and land exchange violates the Endangered Species Act. The suit challenges four separate issues all stemming from the FWS 2016 Biological [...]
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Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to rescind Trump-era endangered species rules
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed Tuesday to rescind two rules enacted during the Trump administration concerning designation of critical habitats. The proposal is part of a concerted effort by the Biden administration to rewrite rules that undermine environmental protection in favor of industry interests. The first [...]
Fish and Wildlife Service sued for failing to act on endangered species proposals
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on Thursday for failing to classify certain species as endangered within a reasonable time frame. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) created a system for processing requests to list species as threatened or endangered. Interested parties can submit a petition [...]
Trump administration reduces critical habitat for northern spotted owl
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) updated the critical habitat designation for the northern spotted owl on Wednesday, eliminating almost 3.5 million acres of forested land from federal protection. The FWS reevaluated the northern spotted owl’s critical habitat designation based on the terms of its settlement agreement with several logging groups. These groups challenged [...]
Trump administration moves to limit protections for migratory birds
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published its final environmental impact statement (EIS) Friday assessing the potential impacts of its planned rulemaking to clarify the “take” prohibition under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to include only intentional killings of bird species. In response to various federal court decisions that interpreted the MBTA’s take [...]
Ninth Circuit upholds Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears
The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Montana District Court decision reinstating Endangered Species Act protections for the grizzly bear population in the Yellowstone region. In 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) declared grizzly bears a “distinct population segment” and attempted to remove the species from protection under the Endangered [...]
Federal appeals court allows Fish and Wildlife Service to issue permits for hunting trophy imports
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) could issue permits for hunters to import elephant trophies from Zimbabwe. The FWS created a general ban on the importation of hunting trophies to the US. However, the agency does provide exception when the [...]
Environmentalists sue Trump administration over Mexican wolf
Environmental activists WildEarth Guardians and Defenders of Wildlife filed lawsuits on Tuesday against the Trump administration alleging the recovery plan for the endangered Mexican wolf is so flawed it would lead to the wolf's extinction. The Mexican wolf...
Alaska Supreme Court upholds dismissal of climate change challenge
The Supreme Court of Alaska on Friday ruled that a lawsuit claiming that officials have failed in their obligations to address climate change was rightfully dismissed in 2012, but not for the reasons cited by...
President Barack Obama on Friday established by Executive Order a Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The task force, with members including state, local and tribal officials and executive agencies, is to advise the federal...