Articles

The bald eagle was listed as a protected species in the lower 48 States under the Endangered Species Act in 1978.  Fortunately, by 1999, the eagle had sufficiently recovered for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists to recommend the delisting of the American icon.  However, the eagle languished on the protected list for years without any a ...

In 1972, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (subsequently amended as the Clean Water Act).  That law prohibited the discharge of pollutants into “navigable waters” without a federal permit.  Although government agencies initially interpreted “navigable waters” to mean traditional navigable waters (i.e. ...

In 2005, Pacific Legal Foundation filed suit on behalf of the California State Grange, the California Forestry Association, and the California Cattlemen’s Association to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct mandatory 5-year status reviews for more than 100 threatened or endangered species in the State of California. It was th ...

Yesterday, we filed our joint opening brief in the Court of Appeals challenging the listing of the polar bear as a “threatened” species. In May, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the polar bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. This resulted in a number of challenges by the State of Alaska,  ...

No, I’m not talking about the Sackett decision wherein a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court hammered the EPA for its complete disregard for the rights of citizens to challenge the agency’s heavy-handed enforcement practices. I’m talking about something else. Last year, the EPA tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat by claiming it could ...

PLF’s recent unanimous Supreme Court win in the Sackett case has enlivened the debate about agency abuse and federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. In Sackett, the Supreme Court once again chastised the agency for not adopting clear, formal rules delineating federal jurisdiction over “navigable waters.” But the EPA and C ...

For years, environmental activists have sought to expand the scope of the Endangered Species Act by distorting the standards for listing wildlife populations as threatened or endangered. PLF has consistently opposed illegal expansion of the ESA. The bald eagle was listed as a protected species in the lower 48 States under the Endangered Species Act ...

In 2005, PLF entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the California State Grange, the California Forestry Association, and the California Cattlemen’s Association, whereby the Service agreed to undertake belated 5-year status reviews of nearly 100 listed species in the State of California.  In ...

The media has given a lot of ink to a self-serving  “report” put out by the Center for Biological Diversity that purports to demonstrate “90 percent of species are recovering at the rate specified by their federal recovery plan.” The problem is, it ain’t so. The “report” does demonstrate the authors’ ...