Alaska, polar bears, and conservation

June 24, 2008

Regarding the (Alaska Governor Sarah) Palin Administration's 60-day notice in opposition to the polar bear listing (available here), Jeannette C. Schuster recently remarked on Tonkon Torp LLP's Sustainability Law Blog that considering that Alaska touts itself as "the premier destination for adventure and ecotourists seeking a personal ...

Florida's 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

June 23, 2008

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued a 60-day notice to the Army Corps of Engineers of Florida's intent to sue the Corps for alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act.  The 60-day notice is available here.  The alleged ESA violations pertain to the Corps' management of resevoirs in the Apalachicol ...

certiorari granted in Winter v. NRDC

June 23, 2008

Next fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Winter v. NRDC.  The case concerns a judge's ability to enjoin military exercises under the National Environmental Policy Act.  While the Council on Environmental Quality determined that the Navy should be exempted from NEPA due to "emergency circumstances," a federa ...

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Hall on ESA reform

June 23, 2008

In an op-ed in yesterday's Las Vegas Review-Journal, Director H. Dale Hall writes that the ESA is a good and powerful law that has proved its worth over the past 35 years. However, the lack of clear guidance and definition of important terms from Congress has allowed mischief to occur. The ESA needs to be … ...

polar bear op-ed

June 20, 2008

In an op-ed in yesterday's Hanford Sentinel, Don Curlee offers thoughts on the polar bear listing and how it relates to the mission of Pacific Legal Foundation. … ...

more analysis on Sierra Forest Products

June 19, 2008

As a follow-up to PLF's post on Sierra Forest Products v. Kempthorne, one may wish to check out Keith Rizzardi's post on the case, available at the ESA blawg.  … ...

Lawsuit filed against Coast Guard re harm to endangered whales

June 19, 2008

The Center for Biological Diversity yesterday filed suit in federal court in San Francisco challenging the Coast Guard’s failure to consult, under ESA Section 7, 16 U.S.C. § 1536, with the National Marine Fisheries Service over the effect on endangered whales caused by the Coast Guard’s establishment of California offshore shipping lan ...

forecasting the polar bear population and peer-review

June 18, 2008

The U.S. Department of Interior's decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species rests upon several models, which have projected a downward trend in polar bear populations over the coming years. These models are based upon historical figures of polar bear populations and changes in arctic ice levels. In a recent National Review … ...

Challenge to new Columbia River hydro-projects biological opinion filed

June 17, 2008

Today attorneys from EarthJustice, on behalf of National Wildlife Federation and other parties, filed an amended complaint before Judge James Redden of the District of Oregon challenging the latest biological opinion governing the operation of federal hydroelectric power facilities in the Columbia River Basin. The new biological opinion, issued las ...

Emergency Listing Petition Submitted

June 16, 2008

Wild Earth Guardians, a new environmental organization formed from the amalgamation of Forest Guardians and Sinapu, has petitioned the Service to list, on an emergency basis, 32 species (largely insects and plants).  Last year the group submitted a petition to list over 600 hundred species, but in response to that petition, the Service determ ...