This week has been marked by our work on the Fish and Wildlife Service’s regulation of endangered species — regulation that is often too harsh and, more importantly, in violation of the law.
Environmental Law — Endangered Species Petition
We filed this 60-day notice to sue with the Fish and Wildlife Service over the Services failure to downlist the Tidewater Goby and its failure to delist the Eureka Valley Dunegrass and the Eureka Valley Evening Primrose. Our argument is simple: the Fish and Wildlife Service has already concluded that these species do not deserve their current listings. As usual however, it is only under threat of or actual litigation that the Service will act. Since the law requires us to threaten first before we sue, that’s what we’re doing. If the Service doesn’t take the next step and initiate a formal review within 60 days, we’ll sue.
Environment — Endangered Species
The Federal District Court for the Central District of California handed down an adverse ruling in a challenge to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s designation of critical habitat for the Santa Ana Sucker in Bear Valley Municipal Water Co. v. Salazar. We had filed an amicus brief arguing that the Service failed to adequately cooperate and consult with local and state agencies prior to making the designation.